As NADA Show 2023 was about to get started in Dallas, Work Truck Solutions founder and chief vision officer Kathryn Schifferle outlined a path that stores can tap into the growing commercial vehicle space.
In this episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast, Schifferle also shared what’s piquing her interests most when it comes to commercial vehicles and the businesses that need them.
To listen to the conversation, click on the link available below.
Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes.
On Wednesday, Work Truck Solutions finalized its third industry relationship since the beginning of September.
Coming after alignments with Manheim as well as FordDirect, the company specializing in commercial vehicles announced inventory listing partnership with Holman’s small business division, providing Holman’s customers greater access to locate and acquire commercial vehicles.
When companies with shared goals come together, new solutions seem to fall into place naturally.
With that in mind, dealers of Work Truck Solutions are now able to add commercial inventory listings and details to the Holman Fleet Marketplace, to increase visibility and provide opportunities to move more units.
While Work Truck Solutions customers already have access to business tools that help them adjust to today’s dynamic market conditions, the company sees that adding Holman’s connections with a nationwide network of fleet managers means dealers can grow their commercial prospecting possibilities.
“Some dealers simply don’t historically carry enough inventory to fulfill a sale of twelve or more commercial vehicles for a fleet,” said Kathryn Schifferle, founder and chief vision officer at Work Truck Solutions.
“Smaller dealers can get passed by when a buyer needs numerous vehicles quickly. But, our partnership with Holman opens the door for our dealers to these larger fleet opportunities. Larger dealers just become more efficient,” continued Schifferle, who also is among the speakers set to appear during Used Car Week that begins on Monday.
Work Truck Solutions dealer listings can go much further than basic chassis information, to include on-lot photos and searchable, detailed upfit information, which is pulled into the Holman Fleet Marketplace.
Holman is a leading provider of fleet management services, helping fleet operators source, fund, manage, and dispose of commercial vehicles as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.
“This partnership with Work Truck Solutions offers our customers access to the most robust inventory in the industry at the click of a button via our innovative Holman Fleet Marketplace,” said Kevin Quinn, vice president and chief operating officer of small fleet at Holman.
“In all market conditions, but even more so in today’s disrupted supply chain, inventory availability is critical. This partnership offers significant growth potential for Work Truck Solutions’ dealer network and provides a simple and efficient vehicle acquisition process for our small fleet customers,” Quinn went on to say.
In response to continued industry demand for used vehicles, Penske said Friday that it increased the footprint of its network of used truck centers.
And perhaps the third quarter ComTrend analysis from Work Truck Solutions of new and used commercial vehicles reinforced why the publicly traded company made this decision.
Work Truck Solutions indicated that continuing supply chain issues with new commercial vehicles induced predictable trends associated with used work trucks and vans. But analysts said there was also a bit of good news for dealers and buyers alike.
Although persistent manufacturing obstacles have kept new inventory per dealer drastically lower than last year, Work Truck Solutions reported there was an uptick in inventory of almost four more vehicles per dealer compared to last quarter.
“The good news here is that this builds on the increase of two vehicles per dealer in Q2, which indicates inventory levels are improving, even if slowly,” analysts said in a news release.
Work Truck Solutions determined average prices across new commercial vehicles have remained relatively steady and still significantly higher than pre-pandemic, showing only a 0.2% increase Q3 over Q2, reflecting a three-quarter trend in 2022, and a 1.5% average increase year-over-year.
Analysts pointed out that the proliferation of last-mile delivery service businesses is evident as new vans have continued to increase in price across class and body types. For example, although light duty upfitted cargo van average prices remained almost constant quarter-over-year. But year-over-year, there was a 5.6% increase from $39,789 in Q3 2021.
In terms of web searches, Work Truck Solutions indicated empty cargo vans led the charge in percentage point increase from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022.
Meanwhile, Work Truck Solutions reported used work trucks sustained an average price drop of 6.4% quarter-over-year.
Analysts also noted the median mileage of used work trucks rose 8.2% quarter-over-quarter, up to 58,301 from 53,865. This rise marks a 23.7% year-over-year mileage increase from Q3 2021.
Work van prices, however, did not follow suit with trucks, according to Work Truck Solutions.
Its report found that overall used van prices continued to climb, especially compared to this time last year. Averaged across all categories, prices jumped more than 4.5% quarter-over-quarter and soared 32.05% year-over-year.
“The data from the first three quarters of this year tell the story of how the market is reacting to a prolonged manufacturing crisis,” Work Truck Solutions CEO Aaron Johnson said in the news release. “Used inventory per dealer has been increasing the past few quarters, while new inventory remains at historic lows, even though we’re encouraged with this year’s marginal increases.
“The fact that used van pricing remains aggressive is a testament to the evolving landscape of modern businesses. If dealers want to succeed in such uncertain times, they must stay informed and armed with tools that help them thrive, rather than just survive,” Johnson continued.
And evidently, Penske is thriving in the used commercial truck space since the company recently opened four retail locations in Kansas City, Mo., Chicago, Miami, and Tampa.
“While the majority of our used-vehicle sales continue to take place online, our physical used truck centers also remain an effective channel and touchpoint with business customers,” said Jack Mitchell, senior vice president of vehicle remarketing at Penske.
“We currently have 16 used truck centers open and we plan to open one more by year’s end to better serve customers and demand for used vehicles in Texas,” Mitchell added in another news release.
Penske Used Trucks, a business unit of Penske Truck Leasing, is a seller of high-quality late-model used commercial trucks to retail, wholesale, used truck dealers, and corporate truck fleet buyers. Penske sells used sleeper and day cab semi-tractors, straight trucks, flatbeds, refrigerated vans, semi-trailers, box trucks, cargo vans and more.
Penske sells numerous brands of light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial vehicles including Ford, GMC, Hino, Isuzu, Freightliner, International, Volvo and others.
Visit penskeusedtrucks.com to learn more or call (866) 309-1692 for sales inquiries.
On Tuesday, Work Truck Solutions released its second quarter ComTrend Analysis of new and used commercial vehicles.
Although there are still many supply chain challenges in the industry, Work Truck Solutions noted certain positives for operators who need these workhorses.
Looking at the used market, Work Truck Solutions reported the median mileage for used vehicles sold was …
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