July Truck Sales Climb 29.5% to Highest Level in 4 Years

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.S. retail sales of Class 8 trucks climbed 29.5% in July to their highest level in four years, as truck makers said both their highway and vocational markets remained strong despite the industry’s challenges of higher-priced fuel, finding enough drivers and dealing with a parts shortage.

Manufacturers sold 17,338 big rigs in July, compared with 13,386 a year earlier, according to data compiled by Ward’s Communications.

It was the ninth consecutive monthly sales increase from the same point a year earlier and the largest since 17,504 sales in July 2000, Ward’s said.

With the July data, truck makers had reported a 40.4% jump in sales through the first seven months of the year, to 107,184 units, from 76,321 at that point in 2003.

For the full story, see the Aug. 16 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.