Heavy-duty truck parts prices are telling two different stories across the country, as distributor prices slip below year-ago levels in some regions while climbing steadily in others. The good news: The inflation that gripped the heavy parts market over the last two years has cooled, with national year-over-year price growth slowing to 0.4% in October.
According to the October 2026 Heavy-Duty Price Index (HDPI) released Monday by online marketplace FinditParts, national parts prices are up 5.9% compared to January 2024 levels. However, beneath that national average lies a complex landscape of divergent pricing trends between parts distributors and manufacturers, as well as wide gaps across U.S. geographic regions.
Diverging paths for distributors and manufacturers
The October data highlights a growing disconnect between what manufacturers charge and what distributors list on their shelves.
While manufacturer prices climbed to a new index high of 106.7 (representing a 2.6% increase year-over-year), distributor prices slipped into a deflationary trend, sitting 1.4% below year-ago levels.
Price growth across the board has cooled for eight consecutive months, falling significantly from a peak of 8.4% in February.
Regional disparities emerge
For the first time, the monthly HDPI report incorporated a regional view of distributor pricing across U.S. Census regions, showing that inflation and deflation are hitting different parts of the country unevenly.
The South: Prices experienced upward momentum, rising 1.7% year-over-year.
The Midwest: Posted a modest year-over-year increase of 1.3%.
The West: Saw prices dip 1.6% compared to last year, though the region remains up 9.0% cumulatively since early 2024.
The Northeast: Experienced the sharpest decline, with distributor prices falling 2.9% year-over-year.
Matt Schweickert, CEO of FinditParts, emphasized that broad national averages often conceal critical local dynamics.
"A national average masks this variation that matters to the fleets, repair shops, and distributors navigating the context of their own specific markets," Schweickert said.
Granular subcategory variations
Pricing volatility is similarly pronounced at the product level, proving that broad category labels mask significant differences beneath the surface.
Within the Driveline & Axles category—which commands an inventory value of $884.3 million across nearly 97,700 unique SKUs—subcategories show vastly divergent trajectories:
Hardware, fasteners, and fittings have experienced the most dramatic climb, surging 19.5% compared to baseline figures from January 2024, despite holding flat month-over-month.
Service kits and axle shafts have also seen notable upward pressure, with year-over-year increases of 3.1% and 3.4%, respectively.
Drive shafts, which account for the largest share of driveline inventory value at 30.4%, rose a modest 1.3% year-over-year while dipping 0.5% in October.
Hubs and related components sit on the more stable end of the spectrum, up just 4.5% cumulatively since January 2024 despite a 2.7% increase over the past year.
