IT AIN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER
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Dealers believe that the used trucks drought will continue in 2012: precious few new vehicles were sold in 2009, they point out, and if a truck was not sold new, then it cannot be sold second-hand three years later.
“I’m really looking forward to next year because I know I’ll have a nice mix of Euro-4 and Euro-5 trucks coming in,” says Finney.
If orders for new Euro-5 trucks start to rise sharply because customers do not want to be obliged to take Euro-6 chassis, then that could make the drought even more acute. Euro-5 delivery times will lengthen, leaving some operators anxious to start work on new contracts obliged to hunt for late-plate second-hand examples: and they are unlikely to find the search an easy one to make.
“My gut feeling is that the stock situation will get worse next year,” says Mackay.
Matt Heath, general manager of fleet sales at Maritime Transport, and responsible for the company’s used truck disposal operation, believes that the much-discussed nationwide stock shortage is more apparent than real. He adds, however, that there is no denying that the demand for LEZ-friendly vehicles plus the need to replace high-mileage examples that are long past their best is driving the used market forwards.
“It also means that prices are stable,” he adds. “They’re neither rising nor falling.” It is a view shared by Smith. “They’ve flattened out now and are remaining firm,” he states.