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Used Truck Sales End Five-Month Run of Year-Over-Year Gains
November Volume Decreased 1.5% to 20,400 Units
Key Takeaways:
- Used Class sales decreased 1.5% to 20,400 units from 20,700 in the prior-year period.
- The average retail sale price fell 5.2% to $53,654 from $56,587 from 2024.
- Average mileage increased to 412,000 from 411,000 miles in October.
Used Class 8 truck sales ended five consecutive months of year-over-year gains by slipping in November.
reported that sales decreased 1.5% to 20,400 units from 20,700 in the prior-year period. The results also were 17.4% below the 24,700 units reported in October.
The average retail sale price decreased 5.2% to $53,654 from $56,587 in the prior-year period and 3.1% sequentially from $55,352. Average mileage decreased 1% to 412,000 from 416,000 a year ago but inched up 0.2% from 411,000 miles the previous month.
“November is usually the eighth-weakest sales month of the year, running just below average,” said ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam. “Both the auction and wholesale markets gave up ground in November. Auction volumes softened 33% [month-to-month]. Dealers saw activity slow 16% month to month. Combined, total market same-dealer sales volumes fell 24% month to month in November.”
[December State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks Update] - November Used Truck Sale Volume Decrease Met Seasonal Expectations
Read more from the December update here: — ACT Research (@actresearch)
ACT Research notes in the report that the sequential decline in sales was consistent with the expected seasonal performance. This also marked the second month-to-month loss in a row with there also being signs of a slowdown in October.
“We had high expectations that we would see some improvement in the used truck market in Q4,” said Trey Golden, vice president of used trucks at Rush Enterprises. “In September rates were beginning to increase, and I was feeling really bullish on Q4. However, the stringent enforcement of CDL requirements has had a significant cooling effect on the market.”
Golden also pointed to the calendar being unfavorable with how holidays fell during the quarter, but he viewed that impact as fairly benign when compared with the stricter CDL enforcement. He noted that the broad and punitive approach to the crackdown has meant that a lot of good truck drivers with clean records have found themselves caught up in it as well.
“The issue has many layers,” Golden said. “We hear about drivers getting CDLs from schools that had low standards, which is not good and needed to be addressed. The other piece is the non-domiciled driver issue.”
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Golden noted that a major problem is how subjective enforcement inherently is when assessing whether a driver is proficient at speaking English. He warned that drivers could pass multiple checks but still get grounded if just one officer decided they weren’t proficient enough. He also expressed concern that this could impact citizens as well, depending on their English proficiency.
“From a public safety perspective, we fully support the idea that drivers must be able to communicate with law enforcement and interpret road signs adequately,” Golden said. “But I think what we are seeing, however, is a discrepancy in enforcement standards from state to state. A driver might pass an English proficiency test multiple times at stops across the southern border, but then fail at a weigh station in New York, for example.”
Commercial Truck Trader, an online marketplace for new and used commercial vehicles, tracks where customers are focusing their attention with vehicle detail page views (VDPs). They showed softer buyer interest for used Class 8 trucks in November, but the online dealer reports demand rebounded in December.
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“Sleeper demand increased 11.4% month-over-month, signaling renewed buyer engagement,” said Charles Bowles, director of strategic initiatives at Commercial Truck Trader. “Just as important, used day cab demand, which has been pressured for months by oversupply, was flat versus November. That stabilization is an early sign the market may be moving toward better supply-demand balance.”
Commercial Truck Trader also reported that buyer interest was strongest in Houston, followed by Memphis, Tenn.; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Chicago; Atlanta; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. This also was consistent with how activity trended into December.
“Looking ahead, 2026 is already presenting significant headwinds: retaliatory tariffs, supply chain disruptions and ongoing credit constraints,” Bowles said. “That makes Q1 a critical inflection point. OEMs that establish momentum early will disproportionately influence share performance for the remainder of the year. Winning share in 2026 won’t be accidental.”
Bowles added that these successes will come from making disciplined investment in strong brand messaging that is aligned with real buyer intent, improved dealer-level advertising and promotional programs that are designed to convert demand, instead of just creating awareness.
“In a volatile market, demand visibility and effective media activation will separate brands that protect share from those that lose it,” Bowles said.
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