There's a scarcity of triaxle 13.6m box, curhainsided and flatbed
Page 51
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
trailers on air suspension, and those that do come under the hammer are attracting competitive auction bids. "But 40ft tandems with all types of body are generating much less interest as they have been very largely superseded by the latest generation of trailers," says Duncan Ward, manager of British Car Auctions's Belle Vue, Manchester, commercial vehicle centre.
Belle Vue has yet to be flooded out with hordes of low-specification, low-power, ex-supermarket day-cab tractor units, and their reception could be a cool one given current bidding. 'patterns.
"Demand for tractor units is Focused strongly on sleeper cabs, and higher-powered examples-400hp and above—are very much sought after," Ward finds. "Our heavy commercial sales at Newport and Measham further reinforce this."
The 7.5-tonner market remains remarkably buoyant, he continues. "Buyers are eagerly seeking boxes, tippers, fridge vans, and curtainsiclers," he comments. "This sector has always been strong, but demand is getting even firmer."
Just as buoyant is the second-hand light commercial market, Ward adds. He's also BCA's light commercial vehicles operations sales adviser. "Our Van Plus sales reached record levels of volume sold and turnover at our Measham, Newport, Preston and Peterborough centres, while excellent results were recorded
of Newcastle and
Newmains in Scotland," he reports. Ward is pursuing a policy of combining truck and van sales at Belle Vue. "The stratecalm gy has proved highly successful, attracting customers from all over the UK and beyond," he says. "Buyers from as far away as Eastern Europe are regularly attending."