Every spring, buyers and sellers of used trucks ask the same question: is the market turning? The first version of this insight answered it with figures from private industry reports. We couldn’t verify those figures or link you to them, so we’ve rebuilt the piece from public data you can check yourself.
Public data can’t give you a used-truck price, but they show what moved around it in early 2026: trucks crossing the border, the price of new ones, freight and the rules. If you’re shopping, our used trucks for sale show the price, specs and full VIN for each unit.
Far fewer trucks came in from the US
Statistics Canada’s trade data count every tractor and truck imported, by tariff code. In the first quarter of 2026, Canada imported 1,456 diesel road tractors for semi-trailers from the US, against 3,513 a year earlier: 58.6% fewer. Their value fell 63.6%, to $257.9 million against $709.5 million.1
1,456
diesel road tractors imported from the US, Q1 2026
−58.6%
against Q1 2025 (3,513)
−73.4%
heavy diesel trucks over 20 t GVW (649, against 2,441)
Imports from the US, January to March
| Q1 2025 | Q1 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel road tractors (8701.21), units | 3,513 | 1,456 | −58.6% |
| Diesel road tractors, value | $709.5 million | $257.9 million | −63.6% |
| Diesel trucks over 20 t GVW (8704.23), units | 2,441 | 649 | −73.4% |
| Diesel trucks over 20 t GVW, value | $524.6 million | $150.2 million | −71.4% |
Statistics Canada, Canadian International Merchandise Trade database, as it stood on October 5, 2026. Change is ours.
Then the spring brought them back
Month by month, the imports climbed through 2026. From May they passed the year before: 906 tractors against 767 in May, and 1,172 against 824 in June. From April to June, 2,752 diesel road tractors came in from the US, 14.0% more than a year earlier. Heavy trucks over 20 tonnes stayed down, at 871 against 1,481.1
Diesel road tractors imported from the US, by month (units)
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 966 | 331 | −65.7% |
| February | 1,246 | 458 | −63.2% |
| March | 1,301 | 667 | −48.7% |
| April | 824 | 674 | −18.2% |
| May | 767 | 906 | +18.1% |
| June | 824 | 1,172 | +42.2% |
Statistics Canada, CIMT, HS 8701.21, imports from the United States, as the database stood on October 5, 2026. Change is ours.
Check these numbers yourself
Open Statistics Canada’s trade database (linked in the sources), choose imports, the HS code (8701.21 for diesel road tractors, 8704.23 for diesel trucks over 20 tonnes), the United States as the trading partner and the months you want. It shows units and values, month by month.1
The trade data don’t split new from used, and early 2025 is a high bar: Canada’s imports and exports both hit record highs in January 2025, “in the context of tariff threats on Canadian goods.”2 What the drop does say is that far fewer US trucks, new or used, joined the Canadian market in early 2026.
What new trucks cost
A used truck is always weighed against a new one. Statistics Canada’s machinery and equipment price index tracks what Canadian buyers pay for new medium and heavy-duty trucks. In the first quarter of 2026 it averaged 5.5% below a year earlier; for imported trucks the drop was 5.8%, while trucks produced in Canada were 1.0% higher.3
Factory-gate prices for trucks produced in Canada moved the same way: the industrial product price index for medium and heavy-duty trucks averaged 1.1% higher in the quarter, and for freight and utility trailers 2.7% lower.4
−5.5%
new medium and heavy-duty trucks, Q1 2026 average
−5.8%
imported trucks
+1.0%
trucks produced in Canada
What we couldn’t find
We found no public price index for used heavy trucks in Canada. Statistics Canada’s indexes cover new equipment. That is why this insight shows no used-truck price trend: any figure we gave you would come from a private report you can’t check.
What drove the spring
Freight got dearer
Statistics Canada’s price index for for-hire truck transportation was 1.9% higher in the first quarter of 2026 than a year earlier, and 9.5% higher in the second quarter.5
Tariffs, mostly at the US border
Since November 1, 2025 the US has charged 25% on medium- and heavy-duty trucks it imports, on the non-US content of approved USMCA trucks.7 Canada’s counter-tariff on US motor vehicles covers goods vehicles of 5 tonnes or less, not highway tractors or heavy trucks.8 Our guide to tariffs on trucks, trailers and chassis sets out every rate, with its source.
EPA 2027
The US EPA’s tougher NOx standards for model year 2027 heavy-duty engines, adopted in January 2023, still stand.9 In July 2026 the EPA proposed changes to warranty and useful-life periods and penalties for engines that miss the standard, and said it “is not reopening” the NOx limits.10 Our EPA 2027 guide covers what it means for a new or used purchase.
A steady fleet
BC had 54,150 registered Class 8 vehicles in 2025, down 1.1% from 54,775 in 2024.6 The fleet didn’t shrink much; fewer trucks were added to it from the US.
If you’re buying or selling
None of these numbers prices your truck. A used truck is priced on its own year, kilometres, spec and condition, so compare like with like:
- Buying: read the spec sheet line by line with our guide to reading a used truck spec sheet, and follow the checks in how to buy a used semi truck in BC.
- Selling or trading in: have the service records, the inspection and the spec ready; then ask us for a number.
- Paying for it: the truck payment calculator works out a payment from your own price and rate.
