Semi truck depreciation by age and mileage: what the value data shows

This page tracks semi truck depreciation by age and mileage using published market data, so you can see what a truck is likely to be worth when your loan or lease ends. The figures are from J.D. Power's monthly Commercial Truck Guidelines, with a source and date on each, and every percentage we computed is shown with its math.

Key finding: in May 2025, each older model year of used sleeper tractor sold for 24% to 25% less at retail than the next newer one, a steady loss of about a quarter of value per year of age (J.D. Power, June 2025 Market Update).

Sleeper tractor values by model year

Prices: J.D. Power Commercial Vehicle Guidelines, June 2025 Market Update, average retail prices of late-model sleeper tractors sold in May 2025. Percentages computed by RigCaptain.

Download the data (CSV), including the auction figures below.

Auction values by model year

Auctions sell trucks as-is and fast, so prices sit below retail. J.D. Power's benchmark sleeper at auction in May 2025:

Source: J.D. Power, June 2025 Market Update. J.D. Power warned that very few model year 2023 trucks reached auction that spring, so their average swung with the mileage mix; we leave that year out. Percentages computed by RigCaptain.

The gap matters when you sell. A truck worth $57,000 on a dealer lot may bring closer to $43,000 at auction, and a dealer taking it in trade will price it nearer the auction number so it can recondition and resell.

How fast semi trucks depreciate each month

J.D. Power also reports depreciation as a monthly rate. For calendar year 2025, auction values of used sleeper tractors fell an average of 2.4% a month, which it called well within the historically typical range, and retail values fell 1.2% a month (January 2026 Market Update).

Compounded over 12 months, 2.4% a month is about a 25% loss in a year, which matches the drop between model years in the retail table. The 1.2% retail figure, about 13.5% a year, reflects a strong 2025 market in which dealers had few late-model trucks to sell. Rates move with the market: in February 2026, J.D. Power reported January retail prices up 1.7% from December and 7.1% from a year earlier.

How mileage changes the value

Age and miles travel together, so most of the drop above is both. Two J.D. Power numbers anchor the mileage side:

• The average sleeper sold at retail in 2025 was 57 months old with 432,970 miles (January 2026 Market Update).
• Trucks with less than 400,000 miles continued to bring strong money (June 2025 Market Update).

That works out to roughly 90,000 to 95,000 miles a year on the average truck traded. A truck that has run well above that pace usually sells below the average for its model year, and a low-mileage truck above it. No public dataset we found prices each extra 100,000 miles, so use comparable listings with similar miles when you price one truck. Our semi truck value estimator adjusts comparables for miles.

What depreciation means for a buyer

EXAMPLE: you buy a one-year-old sleeper for $132,000 and keep it four years. If it follows the May 2025 retail pattern, it would be worth roughly a third of that, about $43,000 to $44,000, when you sell. That is close to $89,000 of value used up, or about $22,000 a year. At 100,000 miles a year, depreciation alone costs about 22 cents a mile.

EXAMPLE math for illustration; future values depend on the market when you sell.

Three practical points follow:

1. Watch the loan balance against the value. If you finance most of the price over a long term, the balance can stay above the truck's value for years. Our used semi truck financing guide covers terms that fit an aging truck.
2. A lease sets the residual for you. In a lease the lessor prices depreciation into the payment; see what leasing a semi truck costs.
3. The middle years are often the value buy. A three- to five-year-old truck has already taken the steepest dollar losses.

For the month-to-month market, see our used semi truck price index and forecast, which tracks ACT Research's average retail price through August 2026. For the buying process, start with the used semi truck guide.

Market value vs tax depreciation

Tax depreciation follows a schedule, not the market. Under IRS Publication 946, a tractor unit for over-the-road use is 3-year MACRS property, and bonus depreciation or Section 179 can allow a larger first-year deduction. A truck can be fully depreciated for tax while still worth tens of thousands of dollars, and selling it then can create taxable gain. Work through the numbers with the truck depreciation calculator and a tax professional.

Method and limitations

• Source: J.D. Power Commercial Truck Guidelines monthly market updates for June 2025 (May 2025 data), January 2026 (calendar 2025 data) and February 2026, downloaded as published PDFs and read in full. ACT Research figures are cited only through our price index page.
• What the prices are: averages for sleeper tractors sold in one month, retail through dealers and auction for J.D. Power's benchmark truck. They are not appraisals of any one truck.
• Cross-section, not a track: each model year's average reflects the miles and specs of the trucks sold that month, not one truck followed over time.
• Day cabs, box trucks and hotshots: not covered; we found no citable model-year series for them.
• Updates: we recheck this page each quarter and add newer model-year data when J.D. Power publishes it. Next check: January 2027.

To cite this data, credit "J.D. Power Commercial Truck Guidelines, compiled by RigCaptain" and link to this page.

Whatever the truck is worth on paper, it earns its keep on the road. Our truck dispatch service books loads that clear your full cost per mile, depreciation included.