Used Sleeper Truck Supply Falls Below COVID Lows, Lifting Prices for 12-18 Months
Updated
Updated · FreightWaves · Aug 25
Used Sleeper Truck Supply Falls Below COVID Lows, Lifting Prices for 12-18 Months
3 articles · Updated · FreightWaves · Aug 25
Summary
Sandhills data shows used sleeper inventory has dropped below its COVID-era floor, giving carriers and leasing companies unusually strong resale gains on aging trucks, Daimler Trucks Remarketing President Chris Backeberg said.
Two forces drove the squeeze: fleets kept trucks longer through a prolonged freight downturn, and chip shortages from 2021 to 2023 limited new-truck production enough to prevent the oversupply that usually crushes used values.
12 to 18 months of tight supply could still lie ahead, because rising new-truck orders after an 18-month lull are not yet translating into faster trade-ins while used prices remain elevated.
800 day cabs entered the year on Daimler's books, but demand has strengthened in each of the past four months as intermodal volumes and port activity picked up.
4 to 4.5 years is the key maintenance threshold for aging trucks, a point that can push fleets to sell, though strong residual values are helping support balance sheets for now.