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The boom continues at CVA
Page 71
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Volumes are going through the roof at Commercial Vehicle Auctions
and the export industry is still the 'used market sector of 20041.
Back in the summer CVA was regularly offering more than 400 vehicles at its Doncaster sales.Things were getting so tight that Charlie Wright was offering tractors at the same time as trailers to ensure a reasonable finish.
After a quieter autumn things have picked up again with a vengeance as Wright looks for extra space. At the sale on 3 November more than 483 lots went under the hammer; on 17 November there were 457, with conversion rates remaining at about 50%.
To ensure all the vehicles go through in a reasonable time Wright has been lumping older Ivecos and MANs together. Not that he's complaining about the extra numbers: "We have had so many vehicles we parked them up in the car park, numbered them and then I went out and sold them!"
Word has spread to exporters that the numbers are up. "Cyprus must have been deserted," he quipped at the last sale, where CVA did brisk business with buyers from the Mediterranean island looking for '95 and '96registered Scanias and Dafs to service the island's expanding construction industry.
Buyers are looking to convert a lot of vehicles, including older tractors, into tippers. Also up for grabs were nine 2001 51-plated Daf CF85 430 6x2s with the steel Space cab. Prices averaged £2,100 ahead of CAP 'clean'.
Three double-drive heavy-haulage tractors went under the hammer too, as turnover topped £1.3m. Wright has vehicles coming in from everywhere, including new finance and leasing vendors, a brick carrying operator and 'unsolicited' customers attracted by CVA's reputation.
Trucks numbers have been pushing 350 with more than 100 trailers up for sale too. "There is a market for everything if the price is right," he says. "You need to cover the market rather than concentrate on one range." Prices ranged from £400 to £48,000.
There are two auctions left at Doncaster this year and demand is as strong as it has ever been at CVA.Trailers are continuing to sell well; at the moment it's flatbeds that are in fashion. "They are still selling well, from 20 years old to just two,-Wright reports.
Fridge trailers with a decent ceiling height are selling well too, he adds, but those without much headroom are struggling. •