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The difference a year makes
Page 105
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Axle manufacturers are struggling to keep up with booming used trailer sales at SDC Northern.
Steve Banner reports.
Si...', ales of new and used trailers are booming at Scotch Corner dealership SDC Northern — MD Rod Pybus says inquiries are up substantially compared with the situation 12 months ago. But he adds:"The only drawback, so far as new is concerned, is that the axle manufacturers are struggling to keep pace with demand."
This could help DaimlerChrysler make greater inroads into the UK market with its disc-braked trailer axle system. "It's getting its fair share now, but remember that 80% of what we sell new is still on drums," says Pybus.
"What we're also seeing on the new side of things is a greater willingness to order to a spec rather than to a price," he reports. "If you're an owner-driver, in particular. then you want something you can really rely on and spending an extra £1,000 at the front end can pay dividends, especially when you come to sell the trailer second-hand."
On the used trailer side, 4.5m-high curtainsiders are proving popular, as are 4m-high trailers bound for export markets. "Demand for standard 4.2m-high curtainsiders is slow though," says Pybus. "There's a lot of interest in fiats and sliding skeletals and we're starting to see some inquiries for box trailers, although I'm not sure why.We've sold 10 in recent weeks after a period of not selling any.
"We're also getting plenty of interest in plant trailers,and in 40-70ft extending platform trailers.The prices they're fetching are amazing. If Thad 20 in the yard at lunchtime they'd all be gone by teatime."
Pybus is cautious about reefer trailers:"We do a couple a month and we don't buy in anything dated prior to 2(X)! ."The danger with older trailers is that the fridge motor may harbour a host of expensive problems that require fixing.
"When we do buy in fridge trailers we insist on seeing all the fridge motor service sheets first, and we prefer the trailers to have come from owner-drivers," Pybus concludes— the odds are that they will have looked after them properly because they depend on them for their living. •