Stronger freight market conditions in April, despite soaring fuel prices, appear to have brought more buyers to the used-truck market than seasonal expectations would suggest.
- ACT Research preliminary numbers for April showed a 5% decline in same-dealer used Class 8 sales in April from March, less than an expected 11% based on historical seasonality.
- Fusable's Price Digests reported declining prices, with April sales of 2-year-old Class 8 sleepers fetching nearly 10% less money than in March, diverging from the wider market in some ways.
- “Used truck pricing has historically tracked freight spot rate movement," according to J.D. Power.
- Spot rates have been on a tear, particularly for flatbeds, for much of the year, the rise dampened at once by exorbitant fuel costs.
Activity at dealers was strong, yet auction sales fell by a whopping 52% in April, ACT Research noted, typical for the first month of a quarter. Wholesale sales between dealers grew 14%, the firm reported.
“Total reported preliminary sales finished April down 27%” from March, Tam added. Given general "outperformance relative to seasonality, it appears as though freight growth continues to entice used equipment buyers.”
[Related: Roadcheck spurs spot rates to new record highs]
J.D. Power's monthly Commercial Truck Guidelines report underscored the point with data showing dealer sales were down slightly from March’s “exceptional performance.” Yet April was still the second-strongest month for sales in more than four years.
On the pricing front, the newest used trucks on the market in April fetched notably lower prices than in March, according to data from Overdrive sister company Price Digests.
Two-year-old Class 8 sleepers in April fetched an average $95,290, Price Digests reported, down from $105,310 in March. Compared to April in 2025, average pricing was down even farther from an annual peak that month of more than $107K.
As also illustrated in the chart below, 5- and 10-year-old sleepers were flat or just slightly cheaper in April.
J.D. Power tracked retail sales prices for 3- to 5-year-old sleeper tractors essentially flat, up just 0.2% from March. Wholesale prices fell 2.1% in April from March, while auction prices saw a notable 8.5% increase along with a decline in volume.
Both used truck pricing and spot market rates "began turning positive in Q4 of last year with momentum building through Q1 of this year,” J.D. Power’s report noted.
J.D. Power added that average “retail truck age is stabilizing near 58 months -- a full year younger than the long-term average -- as waning retail demand for trucks older than five years becomes an entrenched market pattern.”
ACT Research’s preliminary numbers for April showed a 5.4% increase in retail used-truck pricing to hit $57,148, which beat seasonal expectations, the firm said.
Price Digests’ numbers were closer to seasonal expectations ACT alluded to for the wider market, with 2-year-old units down 9.5% from March.
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