New Report Highlights Impact of Manufacturing Woes

Work Truck Solutions released its third quarter ComTrend Analysis of new and used commercial vehicles, highlighting how continuing supply chain issues with new commercial vehicles induced predictable results in used work trucks and vans.

According to the report, manufacturing obstacles have kept new inventory per dealer drastically lower than last year, but there was an uptick in inventory of almost four more vehicles per dealer compared to last quarter. This builds on the increase of two vehicles per dealer in Q2, which indicates inventory levels are improving, according to Work Truck Solutions.

The report showed average prices across new commercial vehicles have remained relatively steady and still higher than pre-pandemic, showing only a 0.2% increase in Q3 over Q2, reflecting a three-quarter trend in 2022, and a 1.5% average increase YoY. 

Work Truck Solutions said the proliferation of last-mile delivery service businesses is evident as new vans have continued to increase in price across class and body types. For example, although Light Duty Upfitted Cargo Van average prices remained almost constant QoQ, Year over Year there was a 5.6% increase from $39,789 in Q3 2021. In terms of web searches, Empty Cargo Vans led the charge in percentage point increase from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022.

The report continued as it showed used work trucks saw a QoQ average price drop of 6.4%. Contrast that with the fact that the median mileage of used work trucks rose 8.2% QoQ, up to 58,301 from 53,865. This marks a 23.7% YoY mileage increase from Q3 2021.

Overall, used van prices continued to climb, especially compared to this time last year. Averaged across all categories, QoQ prices were up more than 4.5% and soared 32.05% YoY.

“The data from the first three quarters of this year tell the story of how the market is reacting to a prolonged manufacturing crisis,” said Aaron Johnson, CEO of Work Truck Solutions. “Used inventory per dealer has been increasing the past few quarters, while new inventory remains at historic lows, even though we’re encouraged with this year’s marginal increases. The fact that used van pricing remains aggressive is a testament to the evolving landscape of modern businesses. If dealers want to succeed in such uncertain times, they must stay informed and armed with tools that help them thrive, rather than just survive.”