Buying Trucks in a Buyer’s Market: What Owner-Operators Are Weighing Right Now

The scramble is over. Carriers and owner-operators who spent the past few years chasing build slots, paying inflated prices for used units and taking whatever iron they could find are now facing a different problem: plenty of options and very little margin for a bad decision. Lead times have stabilized, used pricing has found a floor and freight rates are rewarding only the operators who keep costs tight.

Werner sees that shift from an unusual vantage point. Through Werner Fleet Sales, the company sells retired tractors directly to carriers and owner-operators, which puts it in daily contact with the people deciding whether to buy new, buy used or hold on to what they already have. Its read on the market is a sober one. According to John Paynter, general sales manager at Werner Fleet Sales, “the Class 8 truck and trailer market is in a disciplined realignment phase following years of supply chain volatility, freight rate normalization and elevated interest rates.”

The most visible change is the end of the emergency. Original equipment manufacturer lead times have stabilized, Paynter said, “eliminating the emergency supply shortages seen in prior years.” That does not mean new trucks have gotten easier to afford. Paynter noted that acquisition costs “remain historically high due to advanced technology, safety suites and regulatory emissions engineering.”

This story was originally published by FreightWaves. Read the full story at FreightWaves →