Class 8 Auction Conditions Continue to Improve

March auction volume and pricing marked a very encouraging start to selling season, but that volume spike did not carry through to April. Pricing continued to trend upward.

Looking at late-model sleeper tractors, average pricing for our benchmark truck in April was:

• Model year 2023: $96,735; $16,472 (20.5%) higher than March

• Model year 2022: $63,152; $3,542 (5.9%) higher than March

• Model year 2021: $43,470; $3,118 (6.7%) lower than March

• Model year 2020: $35,917; $1,428 (4.1%) higher than March

• Model year 2019: $28,639; $141 (0.5%) higher than March

At auctions in April, selling prices for the four- to-six-year-old cohort of our benchmark truck averaged 1.3% more than March, and 30.3% higher than April 2024. Pricing for that group is currently 19.4% higher than the strong pre-pandemic period of 2018 in nominal figures (6.0% lower if adjusted for inflation), and 91.1% higher than the last market nadir in late 2019 (53.6% higher when adjusted for inflation). 

Trucks with under 300,000 miles brought extremely strong money in April, suggesting end users are competing for lightly-used trucks. This development explains the very wide swing in value for model-year 2023 trucks in the table above, and points to healthier bidding activity in a tightening supply environment.