Construction financing sparked by vocational truck demand

Strong demand and steady resale values for vocational trucks are boosting the construction equipment finance sector. 

The vocational truck market is projected to nearly double to $11.6 billion by 2031 from $6.8 billion in 2024, according to market research and consulting firm Verified Market Research. Common vocational vehicles used for construction jobs include dump trucks, concrete mixers, truck-mounted cranes and flat beds. 

Construction manufacturer Ditch Witch’s Warlock vacuum truck, introduced in 2023, is one type of specialty vehicle attracting buyers and driving financing activity, Jody Ray, relationship manager at Chicago-based BMO Bank North America, the primary financing partner of Ditch Witch, told Equipment Finance News. 

“We have seen more of these financed or leased in the first few months of this year than in 2024,” he said. “It’s a fairly new product, but partnering with Ditch Witch and working internally with our sister lines of business has resulted in an attractive [terminal rental adjustment clause] lease payment for the equipment. We have seen a very nice response to the different options offered on the Warlock.” 

Lenders are also seeing an uptick in demand for vocational trucks commonly used for forestry jobs, including boom and boom-elbow trucks, John Gougeon, president of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based UniFi Equipment Finance, told EFN. 

“We’ve seen a significant amount of requests in that space. That kind of goes with the time of year as well, as you move through spring.” 

— John Gougeon, president, UniFi Equipment Finance

Financing demand is also strong for oilfield equipment such as lowboy trailers, heavy-equipment trailers and Western Star heavy tow tractors, partly because many big banks are “pulling back from those markets,” Gougeon said. 

Western Star parent company Daimler Truck North America is bullish on the heavy vocational segment, establishing a 24% market share in 2024 with plans for continued expansion, according to Daimler’s July 8 “Strong 2030” strategy report.  

Firm resale values 

Strong vocational demand is reflective of overall growth in the construction industry, driven by large commercial developments including data centers, distribution centers and infrastructure projects.  

But vocational trucks are also attractive to lenders because resale values typically hold steady, Paul Fogle, managing director at Carmel, Ind.-based Quality Equipment Finance, told EFN. 

“Vocational-type trucks, especially ones with a bucket or a built-in crane to remove waste or to deliver things, those tend to spike up this time of year,” he said. “There’s always opportunity with those types of assets, and then the resale value on those is pretty firm. They hold up over time.” 

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