2000 Goes Down in History As Second Best for Truck Sales

If Charles Dickens were writing about U.S. Class 8 truck sales in 2000, he might have said: “It was almost the best of years; it was the worst of years.”

Now that December’s numbers have been placed on the books, the final tabulation for the year can be examined. Sales of Class 8 trucks totaled 211,417 last year, making 2000 the second-largest sales year in history.

But here’s the paradox: Sales of big trucks finished the year with four months of steep decline to wind up 19.4% behind the record year of 1999 when 262,316 big trucks were sold.

All of the major truck manufacturers reported downturns in sales, both for the month of December and for the entire year. And the trend, which had been foreshadowed all year, seems likely to carry into 2001.

The sense that 2000 would be a difficult year for truck manufacturers was heightened by the fact that new truck orders started dropping in late 1999, leading first Volvo Trucks North America, then International Truck and Engine, to announce production cutbacks before the end of 1999.

As the year wore on, one manufacturer after another announced layoffs, job eliminations, temporary plant closings and other measures designed to reduce expenditures. By year’s end, layoffs and job eliminations in the industry, totaled more than 11,000, with additional thousands idled at companies making truck parts.

For the full story, see the Jan. 22 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.