"Given slow economic growth and the threat of a fiscal cliff, the results for 2012 were not bad," said Steve Tam, vice president of ACT's commercial vehicle sector. "Prices for Class 8 used trucks were also able to hang onto positive territory year-to-date." he added. Total reported Class 8 trucks sold in December saw a modest price increase over November.
The report from ACT provides data on the average used price for the top-selling Class 8 model for each of the major truck OEMs - Freightliner (Daimler); Kenworth and Peterbilt (Paccar); International (Navistar); and Volvo and Mack (Volvo).
In other developments, trailer order volume in 2012 was the strongest since March 2006. Following a modest pullback in November, December saw new orders rise to a multi-year high, while cancellation activity remained at modest levels. New orders rose 38 percent month over month from November to 31,586 units. Trailer shipments for the full year were up almost 13 percent.
"We believe that rising consumer and business confidence will bode well for continued strength in trailer demand in 2013," says Frank Maly, director of commercial vehicle transportation.
ACT is a leading publisher of new- and used-commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market.
