Heavy-Duty Truck Orders Drop to Three-Year Low
New orders for heavy-duty trucks hit a three-year low in October, sending shivers down the vehicle manufacturing industry’s spine and sparking a drop in its stock prices.
A trade group reported late last week that new vehicle orders fell to 16,100 heavy trucks last month, compared with more than 30,100 in October 1998.
"We’re already starting to see the same trend in the automotive industry’s sales, with declining consumer confidence and rising corporate interest rates that are leading to slowing orders," Gary Thayer, chief economist for A.G. Edwards & Sons, told Bloomberg News.
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 |  Michael James - Transport Topics |
| A Freightliner production line in Portland, Ore. |
Truck sales have been moving at a record-high pace all year, and are expected to rise some 29%, to more than 260,000, during 1999, reflecting the nation’s continuing strong economy. The October falloff, however, is seen by analysts as a sign of things to come.
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