Buyers Finding That Low-Mileage Used Trucks Are in Short Supply

uyers and sellers of heavy-duty used trucks said they are working harder to find the equipment they need as an earlier glut of used trucks eases and prices rise. One difficulty, they agreed, is that low-mileage used Class 8 vehicles have virtually disappeared from a marketplace that is redefining the term “roadworthy.”

Several industry representatives said the market for used day cabs was especially strong as the less-than-truckload segment’s manufacturing customers show signs of increased production.

All this follows a steep decline in used-truck sales and prices that began in mid-1999 and lasted through 2002 as used-vehicle inventories and insurance rates climbed, freight levels dropped and owner-operators, especially, were squeezed out of the industry.