Truck Values Decrease Slightly

Volume-weighted, overall truck segment (including pickups, SUVs, and vans) values decreased by 0.42% last week. In comparison, the market values decreased by 0.58% on average during the prior four-week period. In the truck segments, the Compact Crossover/SUV segment depreciated the most.

The medium-duty truck market is seeing a stabilization trend. "Increased demand has helped off-set price depreciation as a steady supply of used inventory continues through January," said Josh Giles, principal automotive analyst at Black Book.

There was a slight increase in depreciation on Class 4 through Class 6 units for January, while Black Book also saw improvements in light-duty trucks and Class 7 units. A steady supply of box trucks is helping keep downward pressure on some models, while limited supply has caused other units to increase in value. Black Book expects wholesale prices to continue a slow downward trend though the first quarter of 2019.

In the heavy-duty truck market, few high-value long and tall or vocational units showed up at auction in January, which attributed to some of the higher depreciation. Black Book noted that even with the higher value decrease over last month, depreciation was less than half the value the same month last year for over-the-road (OTR) units. Depreciation is expected to continue to increase as miles increase and condition worsens.

Heavy-duty trucks from 2016-MY to 2017-MY in the construction/vcocational segment decreased an average of $145 (0.2%) in January, compared to the average increase of $4 in December. The 2008-2015-MY heavy-duty trucks in the construction/vocational segment dropped an average of $109 (0.2%) in January, compared to the $6 average depreciation in December.

New truck orders for 2019 are expected to increase a bit over 2018 for all classes; however, increased demand will help ease overall depreciation for most units.