The Average age of wheel loaders on the resale market has varied by almost 2 years since 2012.
Key Takeaways for Decision Makers
CONTRACTORS: For buyers looking to decrease the average age of used wheel loaders in their fleets, Case and Hyundai models will likely be the youngest models on the market for the price.
RENTERS/SELLERS: The average Volvo or Komatsu wheel loader may be over a year older than the market average in 2015 without experiencing any substantial price degradation due to age.
The average age of wheel loaders on the resale market has been trending upward across all of the top 8 manufacturers, who control about 94% of the resale market. The average age of wheel loaders on the resale market varies greatly based on the make of the model. Since 2012, there have been between 1.7 to 2.3 years difference between the youngest and oldest average ages of models in the market. The newest models on the market every year belong to Case (average of 4.09 years), Hyundai (average of 3.79 years) or Kawasaki (average of 3.73 years). Conversely, Volvo and Komatsu wheel loaders are consistently older than the market average, with respective mean ages of 5.26 years and 5.39 years.
Why then are Volvo and Komatsu wheel loaders consistently so much older than their Hyundai and Kawasaki counterparts? An ideal place to search for additional insights would be average price. Newer models should be less depreciated than older models for many reasons—usage, market trends, and condition, to name a few. If models produced by any single manufacturer appear consistently younger than the market average, it would stand to reason that their prices would be higher than market average. When we examine the average price of wheel loaders on the resale market in the chart below, it appears that Kawasaki prices are among the highest each year, while Case and Hyundai prices are much lower in any given year. Note that our estimations for 2015 are much more limited, since it only encompasses the year to date. Case and Hyundai, however, do not follow the logical trend, and experienced below-average prices alongside below-average age of models. On the other end of the resale market for wheel loaders, Volvo and Komatsu models follow convention, exhibiting above average-aged models at prices below the market average.
The average price of wheel loaders also shows a great amount of variation, not all of which corresponds to fluctuations in the average age of the models.
2015 has yet to reveal any significant trends in this resale market. However, if historical data is any indication, the average wheel loader up for resale will be approximately four and a half years old with a price that may vary substantially based on factors beyond the age of the model.