Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/14162
LogBook Arrow foresees used truck shortage Arrow Truck Sales’ new chief execu- tive says inventories of used trucks for sale will go from a recent glut to a shortage in the near future. The inventory of used trucks in May was down 33 percent from May 2009, and “we’re getting fairly close to a normalized inventory,” says Steve Clough, president and CEO of the Kansas City, Mo.-based used truck remarketer, which is owned by the Volvo Group. Other trends point to improve- ments in the used truck market, says Clough. Arrow’s retail sales are up 60 percent year over year, and credit applications are up 27 percent year over year. Used truck values are firming as well, but they had nowhere to go but up. Clough points to National Automobile Dealers Association data showing that in absolute dollars – not adjusted for inflation – the price of a mid-range Class 8 sleeper in 2009 was comparable to the price in 1982 and was the lowest in many years. Used truck inventories are des- Drive where it’s scorching hot? Then you’ll love the new NITE® Phoenix. It has the highest cooling power of any battery-powered no-idle system. The Phoenix joins the NITE Plus and the NITE Day Cab in the bestselling lineup of no-idle systems. Own the NITE — and chill out! tined to decline sharply, Clough says. Last year, many 2005-2006 pre-buy trucks came into the sec- ondary market and there also was SHORT HAULS DAIMLER TRUCKS North America said it is recalling about 540 workers to three North Carolina manufacturing facilities. “Our Class 8 daily build rate in the U.S. will increase by more than 67 percent this July versus July 2009,” said Mark Lampert, a senior DTNA vice president. FOR-HIRE TRUCKING added jobs for the third consecutive month in June, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payroll employment in trucking is up 8,800 jobs since March, according to preliminary BLS numbers. www.iowntheNITE.com 866.204.8570 14 OVERDRIVE AUGUST 2010 Bergstrom_CCJ0810PG.indd 1 7/8/10 2:50 PM ABOUT $6 MILLION was added by the U.S. Department of Transportation to help address the truck parking short- age on five U.S. interstates: I-15 in Utah, I-10 in Mississippi, I-5 in Oregon, I-40 in Tennessee and I-81 in Pennsylvania. The funds will be used to add parking capacity and to develop ways to inform drivers about space availability. ORDERS FOR CLASS 8 trucks in June for North American truck makers were 15,667 units, a 20.5 percent increase over May and 90.8 percent better than June 2009, according to FTR Associates. SURFACE TRADE between the United States and Canada and Mexico increased 32 percent in April com- pared with a year earlier, reaching $66 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The increase is the third consecutive monthly gain of at least 24 percent from the previous year. Arrow Truck Sales says low-mileage trucks are selling quickly. excess equipment due to failures and repossessions. “Supply mush- roomed in 2009, while demand was weak.” But low-mileage used trucks are rapidly disappearing, although there remain “a fair amount” of 400,000-mile trucks. With low new truck sales in 2007- 2009, the supply of used trucks is about to drop, Clough says. “There will be a shortage of used trucks.” Even if some analysts are right that lenders will demand trucks back from so-called “zombie truckers” – carriers that are in arrears on note payments – as used truck values strengthen, the result probably will just be a welcome increase to soften the inevitable short- age, Clough says. — Avery Vise Visit www.overdrive.hotims.com and enter 201 Courtesy of Arrow Truck Sales