News

Sharply Rising Equipment Values Being Pushed by Steep Inventory Declines Across Industries

The declining inventory levels seen throughout September continued unabated in major equipment categories during October, and a new Sandhills Global Market Report indicates used equipment values are responding with steep value increases as supply diminishes.

Inventory declines have been particularly noticeable for top manufacturers; used Freightliner sleeper truck inventory is down 71.8% year-over-year, used Caterpillar crawler excavator inventory is 37.5% less than last year, and used John Deere high-horsepower tractor inventory has dropped 43% YOY.

The key metric used in this reporting is the Sandhills Equipment Value Index (EVI). Buyers and sellers can use the information in Sandhills EVI to monitor equipment markets and maximize returns on acquisition, liquidation, and related business decisions.

Chart Takeaways

Sandhills Market Reports highlight the most significant changes in the used heavy-duty truck, construction equipment, and farm machinery markets. Each report includes detailed analysis and charts that help readers visualize the data. The latest report demonstrates how decreasing inventory levels have affected the values for major equipment manufacturers with the agricultural, construction, and heavy-duty truck industries.

U.S. Used Heavy-Duty Trucks

• Auction values for heavy-duty trucks increased 66.7% YOY, with average values going from $28,000 last October to $47,000 this October. Asking values were up 48.4% YOY with average values also increasing nearly $20,000 YOY.
• Freightliner is the top manufacturer in terms of used sleeper truck inventory, and in October, inventory dropped to just over 2,100 sleeper trucks. The 71.8% YOY inventory decline has strongly contributed to the 77.4% YOY value increase in Freightliner sleeper trucks.

U.S. Used Heavy-Duty Construction Equipment

• Flattening values for the construction market, an ongoing trend since May 2021, continued into October. The Sandhills EVI shows that auction values for construction equipment were up 17% YOY, while asking values increased 11.4% YOY.
• Crawler excavators displayed the largest YOY asking value increase within the construction market, according to the Sandhills EVI. Caterpillar, the manufacturer with the most used crawler excavator inventory, asking values were up 11.3% YOY for this category in October. Used Cat crawler excavator inventory dropped by 37.5% YOY.

U.S. Used Agriculture Equipment

• The Sandhills EVI shows used farm equipment values up in October 2021 compared to October 2020. Auction values increased 13.5% YOY and asking values were up 7.9% YOY.
• The 300-horsepower and greater tractor category posted the largest overall asking value YOY variance within the ag market. John Deere is the inventory leader in the high-horsepower category and saw a 43% YOY inventory decline in October. The Sandhills EVI charted a 14.1% YOY asking value increase for John Deere’s high horsepower tractors.

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About the Sandhills Equipment Value Index

The Sandhills Equipment Value Index (EVI) is a principal gauge of the estimated market values of used assets—both currently and over time—across the construction, agricultural, and commercial trucking industries represented by Sandhills Global marketplaces, including AuctionTime.com, TractorHouse.com, MachineryTrader.com, TruckPaper.com, and other industry-specific equipment platforms. Powered by FleetEvaluator, Sandhills’ proprietary asset valuation tool, Sandhills EVI provides useful insights into the ever-changing supply-and-demand conditions for each industry.