Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025:
- How the Class 8 used-truck market performed to start the fourth quarter of the year.
- “If something happens, I need to stop and make sure everything is OK.”
--Highway Angel Owen Lewis
Used truck prices see October decline
Class 8 used-truck retail sales at the same dealer level fell 4.9% in October from September, according to the latest used-truck report from ACT Research.
Prices, meanwhile, during the same month fell 3.9% to an average of $55,300, ACT Research added. Looking at year-over-year numbers, used-truck prices in October were down 0.8% compared to October 2024.
J.D. Power in its November Commercial Truck Guidelines report also saw average used-truck sales prices declining at the retail level.
Overall, sleeper tractors aged 3- to 5-years-old sold for 3.8% less in October than in September 2025, but 6.2% more than in October 2024, J.D. Power reported. Late-model sleepers are now bringing 5.7% less money than the last strong pre-pandemic period of early 2019 in nominal dollars, or 26.6% less when adjusted for inflation. Compared with the last weak pre-pandemic period of late 2019, the company said late-model sleeper values are running 22.4% higher in nominal dollars or 4.8% lower in real dollars.
The October update to the Price Digests by Fusable index tracking conventional sleeper average pricing showed a similar trend for the newest used trucks, with two-year-old units selling for about $2,200 less in October than in September. Older units in the 5- and 10-year-old ranges were slightly up during the same period.
J.D. Power laid out October average pricing for late-model trucks as follows:
- MY 2024: $123,769; $2,875 (2.3%) lower than September
- MY 2023: $92,481; $3,362 (3.5%) lower than September
- MY 2022: $70,737; $1,757 (2.4%) lower than September
- MY 2021: $50,412; $3,411 (6.3%) lower than September
- MY 2020: $41,531; $1,168 (2.9%) higher than September
Looking at the overall mix of trucks retailed in October, J.D. Power said its dataset of sold sleeper tractors averaged 59 months old and 436,365 miles. Compared with September, this group was five months newer yet came with more wear, with 21,136 (5.1%) more miles on the odometer on average. Compared with October 2024, sold trucks averaged three months newer and with less wear -- 20,225 (4.4%) fewer miles.
But there were more retail customers looking for older trucks this month, the company noted, perhaps underscoring slight price gains for 5- and 10-year-old sleepers in the Price Digests by Fusable data shown above.
[Related: Ways to assess truck market value for purchase, trade or sale, insurance]
Highway Angel recognized for actions after witnessing crash
Owen Lewis, a truck driver for Sharp Transportation, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for his actions after witnessing a serious crash on I-80 in Iowa.
Owen Lewis
“I thought, ‘OK, let’s make sure everything is OK,'” he said, and he pulled over. “When I got there, the car was about 100 feet or so off the side of the highway down in an irrigation ditch.”
Upon approaching the wreck, Lewis found a young woman -- identified as Cora -- walking up the side of the hill. Uninjured but cold, the woman called 911, then her parents, then went and sat in Lewis’ truck to stay warm. Telling him she had fallen asleep at the wheel, the two sat inside the truck together until the Iowa State Patrol arrived.
In a message to Lewis’ employer, the family expressed deep gratitude:
“We are very grateful for his kindness and how he kept her safe and warm until the state trooper got to the scene. Owen is a model employee who your company is lucky to have on board. We appreciate what he did for our daughter yesterday!” --Emily Truitt and Toby Knoop
For his part, Lewis said he has “always felt like if something happens, I need to stop and make sure everything is OK.”
