Companies and Roberts Truck Center, both of them International dealers for 30-plus years, Wilson said. While Summit recertifies other
brands, like Freightliner, the Navistar/ International trucks comprise at least 90 percent of the work Summit does, said Carney, whose duties include overseeing the Summit reconditioning program. Name recognition of a particular
brand, International in Summit’s case, helps draw a segment of the truck buy- ing population, Smith said. But it also means they have to market the other brands they refit a little harder. “I believe the International truck
was built with the driver in mind,” Carney said of the dashboard configura- tions and cab layouts that have helped popularize International. “It’s the most popular as far as con-
figuration, and it has been for several years,” Wilson said. “It’s got a lot of safety features.” The market for used trucks tends
to follow the economy, Smith said, in the sense that when people aren’t buy- ing they aren’t buying, new or used. Customers may skip a trade cycle when the economy slows, as it did during the recession of 2009, and they will try to stay more current when the economy is thriving. Carney said factors like extremes
in the weather — which can add stress to a truck and take months off its life — and holidays also can affect Summit’s reconditioning center workload. Navistar’s Wilson added that
sometimes it’s an issue of timing, as when municipalities and governments set their budgets, that affect whether a truck is purchased new or used. “A lot of customers are just on a
trade cycle,” she said. There are many different makes
and models and factors — like mileage — that dictate levels of price structures, Smith said, so it’s difficult to project how much a used truck buyer saves on average. But as a general example Smith noted some over-the-road, Class A Tractors can retail for $130,000-
ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 6 2014
$150,000 while a three- or four-year-old truck with 400,000 miles on it might go for $80,000.
FACTORY FRESH (OR PRETTY CLOSE) Having all the trucks reconditioned
in one facility like Summit — or having one large facility plus a uniform reconditioning program like Navistar — helps with consistency and efficiency. “All your tooling and all your parts,
everything is in one location,” Smith said.
While there are plenty of reasons
for motor carriers to stay on top of new regulations regarding things like emissions and miles per gallon requirements, for example, it’s not a headache in the recertification process because the trucks the company refits are outfitted to the proper specifications when they roll off the line new. “Since it’s a used truck that’s
maybe two years, three years, four years old, we already know what the standards are,” Smith said. “They’ve been set. That’s more than on the new truck end.” In fact, Wilson said, emissions
componentry is one of the things that can add to the cost of a new truck during manufacture and lead people to buy recertified trucks instead. “I think the emissions regulations
are going to affect the used truck market,” Wilson said. But even with a few years age, today’s more technologically sophisticated trucks do require more work and thoroughness in the refit/recertification phase. “It needs a little more attention in
prepping it for that user,” Smith said. “Just the electronic systems alone are more advanced.” Carney agreed that keeping up with
the new technology is one of Summit’s biggest challenges. “That’s the stuff we want to hit head on,” he said. Ultimately, for Navistar and
their brethren in the used truck recertification game, it’s all a matter of restoring a truck to as close to factory fresh as possible.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JANUARY
JANUARY 12 ARKANSAS LEGISLATURE CONVENES
JANUARY 22 SAFETY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL MEETING
JANUARY 29 MAINTENANCE & TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL MEETING
JANUARY 26-30 2015 CVSA COOPERATIVE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ENFORCEMENTDEVELOPMENT (COHMED) CONFERENCE Hyatt Regency Long Beach Long Beach, Calif.
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY 11-13 TRUCKING ASSOCIATIONS INSURANCE COUNCIL New Orleans, La.
FEBRUARY 16-19 TMC ANNUAL MEETINGAND EXHIBITION FUELINGTHE FUTURE Music City Center Nashville, Tenn.
MARCH
MARCH 8-11 2015 TRUCKLOAD CARRIERS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONVENTION Gaylord Palms Kissimmee, Fla.
ATA ANNUAL BUSINESS
SAVE THE DATE APRIL 29-MAY 1
CONFERENCE & VENDOR SHOWCASE
Embassy Suites & Hot Springs Convention Center Hot Springs, Ark.
JUNE 11-13 ATA TRUCKING
CHAMPIONSHIPS
John Q. Hammons Convention Center Rogers, Ark.
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