Boom lifts, scissor lifts & telehandlers
Our October Market Trends Report is now available! With this month’s report, we take a close look at sales of key aerial equipment categories in North America, specifically boom lifts, scissor lifts, and telehandlers sold January 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.
Traditionally we sell more boom and scissor lifts than telehandlers, and that continues to be the case in 2022. In comparison to last year, boom lift sales are relatively flat, while scissor lifts sales have seen a slight increase, and telehandlers a small decrease. This year, we have sold more than 9,600 boom lifts, scissor lifts, and telehandlers in the United States and approximately 1,400 units in Canada.
“We’ve sold more than 11,000 boom lifts, scissor lifts, and telehandlers in the United States and Canada this year,” said Doug Olive, Senior Vice President, Ritchie Bros. “Aerial equipment is everywhere, on nearly every jobsite, so it’s no surprise how much these assets trade through our online auctions and marketplaces. In Q3 2022, aerial equipment prices in the United States were up 3% at Ritchie Bros. year over year, while prices in Canada were up 4%.”
Volumes & demand in 2022
For boom lift sales in the United States, we experienced the strongest demand and pricing in Q2 2022, with the highest buying and selling activity happening in Texas. More recently, in Q3 we experienced an influx of volume and a resulting drop in the median price.
Boom lift sales in Canada saw the strongest pricing in Q1 2022, when the volume was the lowest. Both Q2 and Q3 saw an increase in volumes and decrease in median pricing. Genie continues to be the top-selling boom lift in Canada, with the majority of buying and selling activity occurring in Ontario.
For scissor lifts, pricing in the United States has declined in Q3, while volumes have increased exponentially from Q2. We see similar trends in Canada. Interestingly Skyjack is the top-selling scissor lift in both the U.S. and Canada this year.
Telehandlers have brought consistently strong pricing in the United States throughout 2022. Volumes were highest in Q1 and the top buying and selling location is Texas. Meanwhile, units sold in Canada this year have a higher median age than units sold in 2021, but prices have still increased year over year.
Industry indexes continue to decline
After our main feature, we turn to our individual industry indexes. While all indexes show increased pricing over the same time last year, month over month changes continue to decline since peak pricing earlier this year.
In the United States, Ritchie Bros.’ mix-adjusted price indexes for the three months ending September 30, 2022, show truck tractor prices are up approximately 7% compared to the same time period last year, but down 11% compared to the three months ending December 31, 2021.
Meanwhile, large and medium earthmoving equipment prices are currently up 6% and 4% respectively compared to the same time period last year, however that is down 1% and 3% compared the three months ending December 31, 2021. Vocational trucks are up 4% YOY (down 5% since Dec. 2021).
Price indexes in Canada showcase similar trends, but slightly higher year over year inflation. Large and medium earthmoving equipment is currently up 10% and 8% year over year, while truck tractor prices are up 17% and aerial is up 4%.
Rouse retail market update
As with previous reports, we have included retail commentary and charts from Rouse Services on pages 10-13 of this report. According to Rouse, sales volume is picking up and retail values are continuing to rise.
“After a slow first half of the year, we’ve seen two consecutive months of strong sales volumes, indicating some easing of supply constraints that have gripped the industry for some time,” said Doug Rusch, Managing Director of Rouse Sales. “Overall, retail values continue to be on the rise.”
Rouse Services also issues their own regular industry reports, including a Construction Equipment report they just recently released. To learn more about Rouse, visit rouseservices.com.