Martin Labbe, president of Martin Labbe Associates, said the trucking industry is facing $2.5- to $3-billion in write-offs because of low used truck prices, and adds that the situation will not get better soon.

According to Lewis Nerman, formerly with Arrow Truck Sales, some 200,000 Class 8 trucks entered the used truck market last year, with 40% coming from rental and leasing companies and 30% from truckload carriers. The problem, Nerman says, is there are not enough traditional buyers for that equipment because small fleets, construction fleets and owner-operators simply cannot absorb that volume.

“The demand for those units is simply not there,” Nerman said. “That has created a major problem.”

Nerman added that the current used truck market has 60,000 to 70,000 surplus units in inventory, which is further depressing market conditions.

Though the export market for used trucks has potential, Nerman said demand is not there, either. He said the 10,000 used trucks exported for sale last year were just a “blip on the radar screen – it makes no dent in our current problem.”

For fleets, however, the devaluation of used trucks could have a silver lining. There are so many late model used trucks with low mileage on the market that traditional new truck buyers may choose to invest in used vehicles instead. Nerman said a large truckload carrier bought 800 used trucks from Arrow last year.