Class 8 Truck Demand Rolls On

Truck sales remained strong through January, topping the previous figure for the month by more than 26% in the Class 8 category and fulfilling the predictions of some manufacturing executives.

In recent news conferences, James Hebe, president of Freightliner, and Paul Vikner, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mack Trucks, voiced optimism that truck sales would hold the high ground well into 1999.

Class 8 sales for the past month totaled 16,526 — 3,448 more than January 1998.

The 209,483 heavy truck tractors that manufacturers sold in 1998 set a record, topping the previous high mark set in 1995 by more than 8,000 units.

When the 1998 figures were reported, Hebe cited a variety of factors, such as shorter replacement cycles, prevalence of just-in-time inventory practices and the use of Class 8 trucks for regional distribution, as reasons for growth in the “year-to-year demand for heavy-duty trucks.”

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