Inside Edge Talks Truck Trends – Watch Now

Industry Insights Comments

A 45-min chat with the truck experts

It’s no secret that the transportation industry has been hot since the onset of the pandemic and the meteoric rise of online shopping. The demand for freight has never been higher, but how long can that last?

With our latest Inside Edge video podcast, Ritchie Bros.’ Chief Marketing Officer Matt Ackley sat down with transportation experts Steve Tam (Vice President, ACT Research), Tim Denoyer (Vice President & Senior Analyst, ACT Research), Rob Slavin (Senior Valuation Analyst, Ritchie Bros.), and Josh Lazerson (Strategic Accounts Manager, Ritchie Bros.) to discuss the latest truck and trailer trends, including supply chain issues, spot rates, used truck pricing, and more.

“There are dozens, if not hundreds of truck parts we are keeping an eye on that are limiting production,” said Steve Tam. “We thought we were making progress with semiconductor chips. Unfortunately, instead of coming out of the woods, we are going back in. Neon gas is an ingredient of silicon chips and unfortunately about 50% of the world’s neon gas comes out of the Ukraine.

“The good news for the used truck industry is the limited ability for manufacturers to produce new trucks will keep supply tight…sending prices higher.”

Ritchie Bros. Market Trends Report

Truck tractor prices up 63% YOY

According to our most recent Market Trends Report, used truck tractor prices in the United States are up 63% year over year, for the three months ending February 28, 2022.

“I’ve been in the industry for 30 years and I have never seen prices increase to the level they have,” said Rob Slavin. “Over the last 10 years, you may see a 20% price jump from a bad year to a good year, but the price levels we are seeing today are crazy. Since Q4 2020, 2016 Freightliner Cascadia trucks with 400,000 to 799,000 miles have increase in price by as much as 149%!”

The Inside Edge transportation panel also includes an in-depth discussion about spot rates in 2022 and where they may be going.

“Spot rates is where we look to understand the balance of capacity,” said Mr. Tam. “If you have rising spot rates you have increased pressure on the network. This can be from the fleet getting smaller or the work is growing faster than the fleet.”

“Rates have rolled over, but we are still above where rates were last year and significantly higher than we have ever seen in the industry.”

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