Truck tractor prices up 65 percent year over year at Ritchie Bros.

Increased demand for truck tractors and other transportation assets caused unprecedented price acceleration in the sector in 2021. With its February Market Trends report, Ritchie Bros. looks closely at used truck and trailer sales last year, with in-depth charts outlining volumes, median pricing, and more by asset category.

Mitigating factors such as port congestion, COVID-related reduced workforce capacity, and continued driver shortages have hampered the industry's ability to transport goods, while manufacturers faced headwinds producing trucks and meeting demand. For example, the volume of truck tractors (tandem axle) sold in 2021 dropped by 37 percent from 2020 levels - from more than 17,800 to over 11,100 trucks.

The February 2022 35-page Market Trends Report highlights sales of truck tractors (T/A & Tri/A), van trailers, pickups, van trucks, flatbed trucks, mechanic trucks, water trucks, dump trucks (T/A & Tri/A), lowboy trailers, stepdeck trailers, and heavy haul trucks.

"We attracted a record number of bidders in 2021, resulting in the strongest pricing we have ever seen," said Doug Olive, Senior Vice President of Pricing at Ritchie Bros. "Truck tractor pricing at the end of the year was up 65 percent year over year while vocational trucks were up 44 percent in the U.S. It's a seller's market and consignors around the world are taking advantage by turning their surplus trucks and trailers into cash."

"In mid to late 2020, used equipment pricing started to increase, and since then, we've seen a steady uptick in values month-in and month-out," said Doug Rusch, Managing Director of Rouse Sales. "Since January 2019, auction values for used truck tractors are up 77 percent and vocational trucks up 27 percent. The retail channel has also shown improvement for truck tractors, up 38 percent since January 2019."

Download the free report here.