In a virtual briefing to reporters, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) made two predictions about the future heavy duty truck market: technology and fuel efficiency in the trucking market will improve in 2021, while prices for used trucks will stabilize at pre-2019 levels.
According to Mary Aufdemberg, president and general manager of Daimler Trucks Remarketing, used truck prices started to come down last year after peaking in early 2019. The pandemic caused a drop in demand, accelerating this trend. Trucks depreciated an average of 8.5% per month in the first fiscal quarter of 2020. However, orders are soaring in the fourth quarter. Inventories are down slightly, but Aufdemberg predicts this will be partially countered by an influx of trucks from companies trading in old models. She told Heavy-Duty Trucking that buyers may have difficulty finding the exact truck they want, but there should be plenty of supply as 2018 models reach the marketplace. Her predictions are already being borne out by soaring new truck orders in the fourth quarter of this year.
The Freightliner Cascadia has been the number one selling truck on the market since it was introduced. With trucking companies introducing new trucks to their fleets every 3-5 years, Second generation New Cascadia trucks are starting to reach the used market. These trucks bring numerous improvements, including advanced driver assistance systems. Aufdemberg predicts that even after truck prices stabilize, they will remain below the peak seen in 2018 and early 2019.
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