Booming demand for used trucks
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II Britain's used truck market is booming, according to George Alexander, commercial vehicles editor at Glass s Guide. "It's as healthy as it has ever been during the past four or five years," he says. "The auctions are buzzing, there's a feel-good factor about, and even slightly older trucks are making good money. There are three or four buyers for every decent vehicle."
However, that demand doesn't extend to vehicles more than five or six years old, he warns.
"Euro-a tractive units are certainly in demand," says Steve Smith of independent dealers Smith Brothers Services. "Operators are acquiring them so that if customers ask them to go to 44 tonnes in 18 months' time they can make the switch without having to buy another vehicle."
He agrees that pre-t995 vehicles are hard to move on, although some operators are interested in L4,000L5,4Dctc) tractors to tide them over until new trucks are delivered. "You can be talking about a three-month wait at present," Smith points out.
But how long will the present buoyancy last?" I think things will slow down in the final quarter," says Ron Holmes, who runs Hatfield, Herts Mercedes-Benz dealership S&B. "I think we'll see a small recession, but the underlying strength in the economy means that we'll ride it well."
Alexander believes that the full impact of the foot-and-mouth epidemic has yet to be felt by the truck trade: "Remember that 5% of the truck market is linked to agriculture in one way or another," he remarks.