Executive Cites Factors Affecting Trucking, Class 8 Sales

SAN DIEGO — A “perfect storm” of a weak economy, high fuel prices and governmental missteps have led to a 70% drop in new-truck sales in North America, according to Jim Hebe, senior vice president of North American sales for Navistar.

Hebe, addressing the annual meeting of the National Tank Truck Carriers here Monday, said that while “cycles have always occurred in this industry … they’re happening more often and they getting steeper. The highs are higher and the lows are lower.”

He said “fuel prices have changed everything,” and while they are currently at reasonable levels, most people expect them to rise sharply when the economy improves.

As a result, Hebe said, U.S. consumers are changing their buying habits, which are in turn changing the freight business.

Longhaul trucking is shrinking, with a parallel rise in intermodal for long runs and regional trucking for the rest, he told the group.