Economic Alert: Rising Demand for Used Commercial Vehicles

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Strong demand continues for clean, used equipment to replace older equipment for commercial vehicle consumers, says Polk, a global automotive market intelligence firm based in Southfield.

Nearly 527,500 used commercial registrations were recorded during January-September, which represented a nearly 8 percent increase compared to the same time in 2012. In contrast, new commercial vehicle registrations during the first nine months of 2013 saw just a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase with nearly 427,000 registrations.

The continued growth in used commercial vehicle transactions reflects a competitive market for clean, used equipment as it becomes available, says Gary Meteer, director of aftermarket and commercial vehicle solutions at Polk.

“Our analysis indicates the total commercial vehicle population remains relatively flat, and the high demand for clean, used equipment is for the replacement of significantly older (pre-2000 model year) equipment,” says Meteer, noting that over the past four years, more than 1.5 million pre-2000 models have been eliminated from the vehicle population and replaced with newer, used equipment.

To read Polk’s full analysis, click here.