Rising Prices May Signal End of Used-Trucks Glut

PITTSBURGH - Talk to people who auction trucks for a living and they will tell you the used-truck glut is over and the economy is on the rebound.

Auctioneer Paul Wachter said those conclusions come through clearly from the truck auctions he conducts, because they are visceral indicators of the mood for both the used-truck industry and the economy as a whole.

"The auction takes place over a finite period of time," he said. "If the auction is at Thursday at 10, that's when they've got to make a decision. It's real time and you can measure it so quickly. The barometer is right there. You can see it in peoples' eyes and you can see it in the registration count."

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