Why There’ll Always Be A Place For Used Trucks

NEW ORLEANS, LA — “Used trucks? They’re just like Jell-O.”

That’s how the Vice President of the Used Truck Association (UTA) Ken Kosic describes the big and burgeoning used-truck market across North America.

“We find that there’s room for used trucks in almost every application and you remember that old Jell-0 ad. They say ‘there’s always room for Jell-O.’”

Kosic was talking to todaystrucking.com a few weeks after the UTA wrapped up its 13th Annual Convention in New Orleans.

The show, he says, was a great success and brought together a record number of exhibitors and attendees (over 600). And the mood of the convention?

“Definitely good,” Kosic reports. “We feel that the used-truck business is going to be very positive in 2013.”

According to the truck market experts ACT Research, 2012 was a “flat year” for used trucks. Explains ACT’s Steve Tam: “If you think of where used trucks come from; they come from new trucks and new truck trade cycles have been fluctuating.”

And even though ACT’s most recent study predicts 2013 to be similar to 2012, Kosic thinks otherwise.

“The price of new trucks is going up,” he says. “There’s lots of new technology coming on line and we find people often buy used when they’re expanding or taking on new contracts.”

Another advantage of used trucks? There’s no lag between the time of purchase and possession. “Used trucks are ready as soon as you need them,” he says.

Kosic, who works with Arrow Trucks, said the annual convention gives dealers from all over North America (“We play the American and Canadian National Anthems at the opening”) a chance to have fun and learn at the same time.

Highlights included a presentation by Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, an address by wounded Iraq war vet J.R. Martinez, and numerous workshops to discuss compliance and technology issues facing the industry.

Lastly, the UTA’s Jerome Nerman Fund awarded 10 scholarships of $5,000 each to deserving candidates.

Next year’s convention will be in November in Orlando, Florida.

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