An estimated 72 percent of all American goods and materials are delivered by truck and demand is high for new and pre-owned semis.
A Wichita Kenworth dealership won’t need sales staff during 2022 to close deals on new Class 8 tractors. That’s largely because the WKI Kenworth sold out of new models for the entire year.
“When we’re allocated the trucks, we have to call our customers and say they wanted 10, we have to tell them, ‘Sorry, we want to get you trucks, but we can only get you five this year,’” WKI Kenworth sales representative Gary Wenke reportedly said.
Even though the price tag for 2022 models has risen significantly, manufacturers and dealers are struggling to keep pace with buyers. Part of the backlogged tractor orders involves supply chain issues and a shortage of semiconductors. But even if commercial motor vehicle plants could maximize output, they might not be able to keep pace through 2022. The conventional wisdom is that truck prices are not coming down to Earth anytime soon. Best to pay today’s prices and cash in on truck driver demand now.
It seems almost counterintuitive that in the midst of an 80,000 driver shortage, the U.S. cannot seem to field enough new trucks. Dealerships are pivoting as best they can to refurbish used rigs and help fill the demand.
“These finance companies are looking at financing a truck that has 700,000 miles on it, and they’re looking at the numbers like how do we make this work?” Truck Center Companies sales consultant Todd Sipe reportedly said. “But, you’ve got to keep freight moving, you’ve got to keep food in the grocery stores, and they’ve got to make it happen.”
According to data from a Sandhills Global Market Report, sleeper truck inventories of up to five years old increased by 22 percent. Late models, however, hovered at 50 percent of levels in December 2020. High demand and lack of inventory appear to be driving prices in the following metrics, according to Sandhills Equipment Value Index.
Heavy-duty trucks posted a 102.3 percent year-over-year (YOY) increase in auction values in December and a 79.8 percent YOY rise in asking values (a $40,000 YOY gain).
Sleeper trucks are driving this upward trend with 109.6 percent YOY higher auction values (from $34,000 in December 2020 to $71,000 in December 2021) and a 92.6 percent YOY increase in asking values (from $44,000 to $85,000).
Sleeper truck inventory is down by 51.6 percent YOY, although it showed a 22 percent month-to-month gain between November and December 2021, driven by the 0- to 5-year age group. The increase of nearly 2,000 units resulted in inventory levels not seen since August 2020.
As production challenges wane, Class 8 vehicles are expected to eventually fill backorders. But many freight carriers and fleets withdraw orders in November and December due to price concerns and lengthy wait periods. This perfect storm could buoy semi-truck demand deep into 2023.
Sources: ksn.com, prnewswire.com
Hopefully prices go down , cause 75k for an old knight prostar is crazy
They but h about drivers causing major accidents yet they want prepubescent 18 years driving 80k lbs killing machine. All not to pay better wages and drive less hours.
$35K FOR A 2014 VNL670 900k miles, rebuilt head and new turbo. Added a new DPF, mudflap hangers and flaps, new pigtail, drive axle brakes, center bearing, and maybe (find out today) new ECM, and I’m good at $45K. 70K my a**.
Holding on to my old truck. It’s crazy, They offered me $110 thousand for my 2018 with over 500,000 miles. Hope it cools down so I can get my next truck.
last year I was looking at new W900’s for $172,000 now they’re over $224,000.. forget it.
I bought a truck 34k drove it 3 yrs paid it off sold it for 48k, now I drive a truck I pieced together for 15k
Just my 2 cents, but this is all b.s. 1st you can shove the idea that there is a driver shortage, check with these large companies and ask 2 ?’s one how many drivers do they have sitting and 2nd how many miles do those drivers have..next all this crap about new trucks..stop the b.s. with all this computerized trucks and just build a truck. Everything in this article tells me you are just making excuses for driving up the cost of a truck along with the need for a truck..tell everyone, big companies to small and individuals to rebuild what they got, don’t buy shit..the cost will go down and the need will drop off..we got so many trucks and drivers on the road now that finding parking is a problem at times, we don’t need more..so stop with all this b.s. I was going to buy a new truck but the dealer started with all this crap, I said forget it I’ll just fix what I got and keep driving it
I paid just under 40,000 for my 2015 peterbilt 587 with 515,000 miles on her less than 1 year ago. Had some issues at first, but got it all worked out now. Wonder what top dollar is on it now! Lol I won’t be selling anytime soon that’s for sure!
100k