Medium-Duty US Retail Sales in June Fall Flat

On July 3, Ford Motor Co. released its second-quarter sales report and noted its F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks achieved their highest combined sales since 1997. (Ford Motor Co.)

[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]

U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks in June dipped ever so slightly overall as they posted a gain only in the Class 6 segment, WardsAuto.com reported.

Total sales reached 21,574, down 0.2% compared with a year earlier when sales were 21,611.

For the six-month period, sales rose 5% to 121,991 compared with 116,227 in the 2018 period, according to Ward’s.

ACT Research is forecasting for Classes 4-7 sales of 255,000 in 2019, or 2% growth year-over-year.

Vieth

“Retail sales are tracking the medium-duty forecast very well, but the current situation, as it relates to build, suggests upward pressure on the forecast. Large new vehicle inventories and a slowing in order intake balance this pressure, resulting in stasis for the medium-duty forecast,” ACT President Kenny Vieth said in a company release.

Class 7 sales fell 7.5% to 5,123. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Trucks North America, earned a leading 40% market share.

International Truck, a unit of Navistar Inc., notched a 30% share. Paccar Inc. posted a 22% share on sales of its Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co. brands.

In related news, on July 3, Ford Motor Co. released its second-quarter sales report and noted its F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks achieved their highest combined sales since 1997.

Combined sales of both trucks were up 83% in the second quarter compared with the year earlier quarter — 5,838 vs. 3,190 — and up 53% year-to-date at 9,131 compared with 5,977 a year earlier.

“With the Super Duty, we’ve got great commercial business and we call it commercial, we’ve got like two or three accounts that are over 5,000. We have thousands of smaller accounts under 10 units a year, under 20 units a year. Are those really retail, are those really fleet? [Dealers] know those customers personally, they’re involved with their businesses, they’re making sure they keep their trucks running,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service.

Ford has 675 dealers and sold a leading 7,349 trucks in Classes 4-7 in June.

Landscape and delivery services, beverage delivery, and moving and storage were some of the segments that were drawn to the Super-Duty trucks, according to Ford.

Class 6 sales jumped 12.3% to 6,711 compared with a year earlier. Ford had a leading 34% market share.

In Classes 4-5, sales dropped 3.5% to 9,740.