Truck Repossessions Remain High; Resales Strong, Firm Says
ruck repossessions and liquidations have been high for the past five quarters, but those trucks are reselling at a brisk pace, Nassau Asset Management said Tuesday.
Truck repossessions in the first quarter rose 40% over the previous quarter, the firm said.
Nassau President Edward Castagna said many factors affect truck repossessions, including high fuel costs and driver shortages.
“We feel the rush to change out fleets before year end may leave a surplus of used trucks on the secondary market. We intend to monitor resale speed and price levels for the remainder of 2006,” Castagna said.
Repossessions began to climb in the first quarter of last year after two years of relatively low volume, Nassau said.
Comparing quarter-to-quarter, they rose 61% in that quarter, 30% in the second quarter and 32% in the third quarter, their 2005 peak.
Compared with the third quarter, truck repos dipped 118% in the fourth quarter, traditionally the slowest period of the year.
There are more financed vehicles on the road than there were a few years ago as equipment leasing and finance volumes have rebounded from the economic downturn in 2001, Castagna said.
Nassau provides asset recovery, appraisal, collections, liquidation and remarketing services for equipment leasing and finance companies.