Estevan – When the downturn hit hard in late 2014, one of the areas that was hit hard was light truck sales for the oilpatch. Perhaps because it’s a new design, but Pipeline News has observed a substantial number of new Ford Super Duty trucks in the oilpatch in the past two months.
Randy Senchuk, dealer principal with Senchuk Ford Sales Ltd. in Estevan, noted on Sept. 14 that sales have indeed picked up. “There’s more going out the door, that’s for sure,” he said.
“Over the last few years we noticed a huge drop in the amount of vehicles that have been purchased. A lot of that was fleet. A lot of companies just weren’t buying new stuff. Probably 50, 60 per cent, it was a huge number.
“It’s not that our share of market was going down, it was the overall numbers were dropping,” Senchuk said.
“I’ve noticed in the last year, it’s not back where it was, but it’s certainly improved a lot. We’ve seen a lot more. We’re seeing a lot more numbers going out. People are getting back to work. I don’t know if they’re making any money, but they’re finding ways. They’ve made their cuts. They’ve made their adjustments and they’re finding ways to get back to work at today’s prices.”
“Vehicles wear out over time, so I think it’s a necessity for them. They have to do it. I don’t know what’s happening in heavier equipment. I know some oil companies used to get rid of their trucks around the 100,000 kilometre mark, and now they’ve pushed them to the 200,000 mark. Now they’re getting up those numbers, and I think it’s a necessity. They have to change them. They don’t have a choice anymore.”
Asked what the life expectancy of an oilfield truck is, Senchuk replied that it depends how it’s treated. He’s seen trucks go up to 300,000 kilometres, but it’s all in how it’s maintained. “You can get a lot of life out of it if it’s looked after well. It’s treated a little rough, it’ll be a shorter lifespan, for sure.”
“A lot of companies like to get rid of their vehicles at 100,000, because there’s still some value in the truck. When you start to get up to 200,000, 300,000, there’s really not much value left in the truck. The sooner you do it, the more it’s worth.”
Senchuk Ford finds their truck sales are roughly half-and-half between F-150s and the heavier Super Duties.
On fleet sales, he said, “The contract operators, you’re always going to get them, as long as they’re working. When the oil companies cut their staffs back a few years ago, they had a lot of extra trucks sitting around, too. So that was part of it as well. If you go from 50 people driving trucks to 20, you have 30 trucks left. They may have shuffled them around and found a home for them.
“They’re starting to hire more people and get people in the field.”
“Hopefully things are going to pick up a little bit and stay there,” Senchuk said. “I don’t know if we need to be as crazy as we were when it was that busy. But I think, as long as the price has stabilized to the point where everyone can do their job and be successful, that’s important.”
