I have appraised equipment through three cycles, and the market of 2026 is the calmest I have seen since before the pandemic — which is exactly why it rewards attention. The 2021–22 shortage premium, when used machines sold above new list because new iron was unbuyable, has fully unwound. What is left is a market moving on fundamentals again: fleet age, interest rates, infrastructure spending and emissions transitions. Here is how I read it, category by category.
2021–22 → 2026
The used-price premium over pre-pandemic norms has largely unwound; values now track fundamentals — hours, condition and regional demand — rather than scarcity.