After more than forty years in the truck business, you start to see the patterns. Prices rise, demand spikes, everyone scrambles — and then the music stops. It’s a cycle as old as the industry itself. And right now, at the end of 2025, we’re standing in a moment that feels a lot like 2008 all over again.
Back then, the market hit the brakes hard. Orders dried up. Manufacturers started laying off staff. Dealers were begging for business. The Canadian dollar was par with the U.S., so we were importing trucks at full cost and margins were razor thin. It was one of the toughest stretches we’d ever seen. But here’s the thing — that downturn created opportunities most people didn’t notice until it was too late.
We told our customers then: "Don’t just buy for this year — think ahead". Some listened, some didn’t. The ones who did were thanking us by 2011. Prices were back up, factories were full again, and anyone who had stocked up early was sitting pretty.
Fast forward to today, and the déjà vu is real. Demand has fallen off a cliff. Manufacturers are desperate to keep production lines running, and all of a sudden, discounts that “didn’t exist” eighteen months ago are everywhere. Body companies are cutting prices to keep their crews working. Peterbilt’s lead times are down to sixty or seventy-five days — that’s unheard of in recent years.
Meanwhile, repair costs are through the roof. Engine diagnostics, electronic systems, and computer calibrations are making every visit to the shop more expensive than the last. Keeping old trucks alive is costing more than ever — and it’s only getting worse.
That’s why this moment feels so familiar. The signs are the same as 2008: low demand, deep discounts, short lead times. It’s the quiet before the next storm — and for the smart operators, it’s the buying window of a decade.
Because when the market rebounds — and it always does — prices will skyrocket again. Dealers will stop negotiating, manufacturers will be backlogged, and everyone will wish they’d made their move when things were quiet.
We’ve been through every high and low this industry can throw at us. And every single time, the people who win are the ones who buy when everyone else is waiting.
If your trucks are aging, or you know replacements are coming soon, now’s the time to act. Don’t repeat 2008 — learn from it. Take advantage of the market before everyone realizes it’s bottomed out.