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Used Truck Volumes Increase at Auctions

A summer lull in used commercial vehicle auction volume ended this past September. Analysis points to a jump in activity levels not seen since this past spring, according to findings in NADA Used Car Guide's recent Commercial Truck Guidelines report.

In spite of the increase in wholesale auction volume, prices were not notably impacted for the month.

"Our benchmark model went for the same amount of money as last month for most model-years," said Chris Visser, senior commercial truck analyst at NADA Used Car Guide. "Overall, depreciation in the auction lanes remained mild to moderate, with late-model trucks averaging about 2.6% depreciation per month. That is substantially better than the 5% depreciation per month seen last year, although absolute prices are down more than 30% over last year."

Within the retail market, prices continued to outperform expectations for the month according to the monthly report. Depreciation was very mild for the second month in a row, with no notable month-over-month depreciation for most models.

In addition to a strong retail price performance, retail sales volume outperformed its forecast as well. Volume in August posted the best result since May of 2015. The report points out lower prices may be responsible for moving more units.

Buyers are entering the market in greater numbers as prices continue to relax to attractive levels, according to the report. As the domestic economy — in general — continues to show incremental upward growth, it is possible that the biggest hits to values are likely behind the market for the remainder of the year.

Check out the NADA video update below:

Related: Used Truck Sales See Late Summer Surge

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ATRI Survey Examines How Fleets are Saving Fuel

The American Transportation Research Institute has conducted a survey of nearly 100 fleet managers and representing over 114,500 trucks to examine fuel economy and fuel usage among fleets of different sizes and needs.

Fuel consistently represents one the largest costs for trucking companies and with tightening emissions regulations, fleets are looking for ways to both increase fuel efficiency and reduce expenses.

Of the 96 fleets surveyed, the median fuel economy was found to be 6.5 mpg. Fuel economy was generally better in larger fleets than smaller fleets. The median percentage of operating cost dedicated to fuel was 24% for all fleets.

The survey separated respondents by fleet size, with statistics grouping fleets into categories of 1-20, 21-100, 101-500 and 501 or more vehicles. The largest fleets had a median fuel economy of 6.8 mpg while the smallest fleets managed 6.3 mpg. The disparity in fuel economy can be chalked up to the types of loads and routes different-sized fleets typically took on.

Small fleets tended to report weighing-out loads or carrying to maximum capacity while larger fleets were more likely to report less than full truckloads. Smaller fleets were also more likely to have long-haul routes that required an overnight stay while large fleets were more likely to have local or regional same-day return routes.

The report also looked at the devices and strategies fleets were using to reduce fuel consumption. The most common fuel-saving technology was aluminum wheels, followed by speed limiters and low-rolling resistance tires.

Of key interest to fleets in selecting and using fuel-saving devices and technology was return on investment. The median required time for a return on investment was 2 years, but the smallest fleets with 1-20 trucks reported a required time for ROI of just 1 year.

The top three fuel-saving technologies with the best ROI were aerodynamic treatments, idle reduction ...Read the rest of this story

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