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With the summer holidays coming to an end, used truck dealers anticipate trading will step up a gear
Words: Steve Banner Summer, what there was of it, is over and dealers report that operators are starting to return to the serious business of buying used trucks
“You can tell the holidays have finished, because the phones have been ringing off the hook,” says Stuart Wolstenholme, used sales manager at the Middleton, Manchester branch of Scania dealership West Pennine Trucks.
“Customers are back with a vengeance, and we’ve had a lot of enquiries for some Euro-3 tippers we’ve got in stock. Some have come from operators, but we’ve had a lot of calls from exporters as well.
“Late-registered tractor units with big engines are in demand too,” he adds. “V8 Scanias remain popular and we can always sell tag-axle units, although there are never that many about.” There is a healthy appetite for 18-tonners and 26-tonners as well, he says, but he can’t get hold of them.
“As far as 18-tonners are concerned, all I’ve had available are an 02-registered DAF and an 03-registered Volvo,” he says. “I had an 06 Mercedes-Benz Atego 12-tonner too, but it’s just been sold.” Andy Mackay, used truck sales specialist for the north-west of England at DAF dealership Chatfields, is in the same position.
“If I had 30 18-tonners, I could get rid of the lot tomorrow, and for a lot of money,” he sighs. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any.
“Something else we are finding is that Scanias priced at £20,000 and under are in short supply,” says Wolstenholme. Operators who have them tend to be owner-drivers, and in the current economic climate they are often hanging on to them rather than taking the risk of buying replacements.
Fits and starts
While Allan Hilton’s phone has not been ringing consistently after the summer break, calls have been coming in fits and starts after an August that was a little quiet, he says.
However, he reckons it should begin to ring steadily soon. As the man in charge of used sales at DAF dealership Ford and Slater’s Kings Lynn, Norfolk branch, he believes that hauliers who go in and out of the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) regularly will generate sales for LEZ-compliant trucks between now and Christmas.
“I think customers who are likely to be affected finally understand what the LEZ is all about and what they need to do,” says Hilton. “Put it this way: I haven’t been asked to explain it to anybody recently.” If they need a rigid, however, they might struggle because Milton is also seeing a shortage of suitable vehicles.
Chatfield’s Mackay reports that a growing number of operators are opting to equip their existing Euro-3 trucks with filters that will bring them up to the Euro-4 particulate standard required by the LEZ from next January because they cannot obtain the Euro-4 rigids they would like.
“August was really quiet, so we’re hoping business will pick up between now and mid-November,” says Mackay. After that, the market is likely to go off the boil again until the New Year as people become increasingly preoccupied with Christmas.
Thin on the ground
While stock shortages are hitting some sectors of the market at present, the lack of vehicles will become more acute next year, says Mackay, when the impact of rockbottom new registrations in 2009 takes effect. If trucks were not sold new, they cannot be sold used, so three-year-old vehicles are likely to be thin on the ground in 2012.
That could result in a marked upswing in prices. At present, though, prices across the market are holding steady, with no significant rises or falls, says Volvo used trucks director Peter Groome – a view Hilton shares.
“Prices are stable, with no evidence of any decline,” says Matt Heath, general manager, fleet sales, at Maritime Transport, responsible for the company’s used truck disposal operation. “What’s more, we had the busiest August we’ve ever had – possibly because dealers are having such difficulties finding stock that their customers are coming to us instead – and I’m confident that we’ll now see a further increase in business.” Heath takes his stock straight from the Maritime fleet. “As a consequence, I can draw on a large pool of Euro-4 and Euro-5 tractor units,” he says.
Volvo’s Groome says: “Although dealer sales people were away on holiday, we didn’t see business tail off hugely during the summer, and enquiry levels held up well.”
Run-up to Christmas
“We’ve not yet seen a big increase in sales now that summer is over, but we’re expecting a bit of a rise in the run-up to Christmas thanks to the LEZ. Most operators who buy our vehicles are aware of it and know what they need to do.” He, too, reports a lack of 18and 26-tonners, but adds that tractor units are in better supply.
Groome is also detecting an increase in demand for multi-wheelers for use on tipper work. “It’s not a dramatic rise, but it’s something we’re seeing in certain areas of the country, with customers interested in newer rather than older vehicles.” ■