Nothing lasts forever and nothing ever stays the same: two statements people often throw about, usually to provide comfort to someone, but are they correct? Although it may feel like it, that hangover you’ve accidentally acquired (because you’re not as young as you once were) will not last forever. Are diamonds really forever? They were once just carbon atoms under immense pressure, then suddenly they’re something rare and expensive, said to last forever.
What about things that stay the same? It’s true there are few constants in life, as everything is always changing. So maybe those declarations are, in fact, true. One thing that’s never likely to be the same from one month to the next is the views on the Commercial Motor classified website. We’re constantly discussing the ups and downs of the market and no two months are ever the same. But, perhaps we’ve finally hit upon something that has (on this occasion) stayed the same.
That’s because, compared with September, October saw a 0.0% change in views to the classifieds. That’s not to say they were exactly the same – the chances of that would be exceptionally slim – but if our maths is correct, there was a 0.03% difference in views, which, if primary school maths has taught us anything, rounds down to 0%. Just a handful of additional views compared with last month. It’s the smallest ever margin we’ve recorded on these pages, but that’s not to say that everything else has stayed the same.
With such a fine overall margin, many of the figures are either up or down just a small amount in fact the majority are down – but as you will see, a handful of bigger results appear to be enough to even things out.
Overall views of tractor units were down 3.1%, with rigids down 2.9% and trailers dropping by 2.5%. Tipper trucks reversed those small declines with a 2.5% increase, and also lead the list of the most searched for vehicle by body type. Next came tankers, which fell by 10.5%, narrowly avoiding being overtaken by vehicles with cranes, which fell just 4.3%. Fourth position in the list of most searched for body types went to tipper grabs, which were up 3.8%. However, a strong performance from beavertail bodied vehicles (+29.5%) effectively wiped out many of the losses from higher up in the list. There were also gains for hook-loaders (+5.1%), recovery trucks (+15.8%) and rigid curtainsiders (+33.5%).
The performance of individual manufacturers showed there to be much larger declines for many of them. Scania maintained its position as the most searched for brand, but there was a 22.7% drop in direct searches for its vehicles. Volvo listings fell by 11.6%, and third position saw DAF drop by 19% compared with last month.
Once again, however, the performance from lower down in the table helped to even things out. Iveco led the charge with a 31.4% increase, followed by a 19.9% boost to searches for Renault Trucks. Mercedes-Benz also managed a 16.2% increase over the previous month.
When it comes to individual models, the Volvo FH took a substantial step forward in its position as the most in-demand model. There were 10.5% more searches for the FH in October than in September, and Volvo was one of the only brands to see several of its models record strong increases. There was also a boost for the top-of-the-line FH16 (+18.3%) models, as well as the off-road focused FMX (+42.8%). Other models to see an increase were the DAF CF (+28.2%) and the Scania R-series (+13.1%).
Less successful were the MAN TGX (-18.9%), Scania S-series (-17.6%) and the Mercedes-Benz Actros (-13.3%), all of which saw fewer classified listing views.
Overall it was a mixed month, which evened out to no overall change. There was one surprise last month, though, and increasingly these surprises are to be found in the most viewed listings. Among the usual Volvo and Scania tractor units, it was a Mercedes-Benz Actros 4463 heavy haulage 8x4 tractor unit that stormed into top position. Available from Marshall Truck & Van, this 24-plate truck with just 550km on the clock is plated to operate at up to 180 tonnes. It might not be your typical classified section truck, but it’s certainly garnered a lot of attention, beating a rather tidy looking Volvo FH 750 Ailsa Edition, which in any ordinary month would comfortably have been the most viewed listing.
- This article was previoulsy published in Commercial Motor, to subscribe see the latest Commercial Motor subscription offer
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Year: 2022 | Body Type: Tractor unit | Mileage: 316,000 km | Category: Tractor units | Make: Volvo
Year: 2017 | Body Type: Crane | Cab Type: Sleeper | Registration: HX17 NXC | Mileage: 320,069 km | Category: Rigids
Year: 2015 | Body Type: Tractor unit | Cab Type: Sleeper | Registration: WM15 EFJ | Category: Tractor units
