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Feb 14, 2011 2:47 PM

The unit volume of sales of used heavy-duty (Class 8) commercial vehicles increased 21% in December 2010 on a month-over-month basis, according to ACT Research Co. In the latest release of the State of the Industry: US Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, ACT reported that unit retail channel sales for the full-year of 2010 were up by 31%, followed by a 18% gain for the wholesale channel and 6% for auctions. The data is based on same dealer sales from ACT’s database of used truck dealer sales.

“Despite a pick-up in sales volume, constricted supplies of equipment of all sizes was the main headline for 2010 and will continue to garner the spotlight in the coming year,” said Steve Tam, vice-president–commercial vehicle sector with ACT. “There should be some increase in the supply of used trucks as new Class 8 sales rebound, but the supply of late-model and low mileage units is expected to stay tight. That will allow used prices to continue to rise.”

ACT Used Truck database participants report approximately 2,500 transactions per month. The company is working with additional used vehicle market participants to push the number of reported transactions higher. ACT estimates that approximately 10% of used Class 8 transactions are currently included in the database.

The report from ACT also 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). For subscription information to the full report, go to www.actresearch.net.