On the trail of good profits
Page 67

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There's always a market for used trailers, and business is booming
The semi-trailer appears to have enjoyed something of a renaissance in the used truck trade.
Traditionally, trailers have taken a back seat to trucks in the used sector, but a flourishing export market,bigger fleets and the changing make-up of the haulage industry has meant trailers are in demand.
The numbers at auctions vary, with some seeing up to 40 up for sale, but the outstanding statistic is that they nearly all sell.
Recent Manheim Auctions noted a broad mix of trailers from 1991 to 2002, with the older products going overseas and the lateyear trailers snapped up by trade or domestic end users.
On-site clear-out auctions of specialist trailers such as low-loaders always attract competitive bids because they are so rare on the open market.The trade has stepped up its interest, with several independents seeing golden opportunities in trailer acquisitions to go with standard tractors and rids.
They are cheaper, need less maintenance and many operators in general haulage like to have at least a third more trailers than tractors to keep the fleet running.
Many independent dealers are starting to put trailers on the forecourt.They find it helps expand their portfolio and increases the likelihood that an operator might come to them directly for the entire combination, rather than just the tractor.
With the decline of certain items, such as drum brakes, on trailers, operators can only get certain products such as a tandem-axle tipper trailers with drums — through the used market.This is also cheaper than ordering the same product through a trailer manufacturer and having to wait six weeks for it to arrive. •