As I understand it, much of the reason for that is California's oppressive emissions laws. The older stuff doesn't run clean enough to be legal, so nobody can use it there. That kills not only the market for older iron, but also the market for parts for it...I'm amazed at the amount of heavy equipment I see headed for scrap - road graders, tractors and accessories, bulldozers, fork lifts, heavy trucks - you name it. Even with these relatively high scrap iron prices, I'm betting lots of this could be going for much more as reusable parts.
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