October Classes 4-7 Retail Sales Uneven
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Classes 4-7 U.S. retail sales in October were off 5% from a year earlier, thanks only to strength in Class 6 as the other classes fell, Wards Intelligence reported.
Sales reached 20,261 compared with 21,333 a year earlier.
“On a year-over-year basis, I am a little challenged as to why we can’t make more progress. The factors we are dealing with we have been dealing with since well before this time last year,” said Steve Tam, vice president of ACT Research.
Isuzu’s year-to-date sales were 5,885 compared with 5,607 a year earlier, according to Wards. (Isuzu)
Class 7 sales fell 8.1% to 3,958 compared with 4,307 in the 2021 period. October’s total, oddly, was only one less than in September.
Class 6 sales climbed 30% to 6,678 compared with 5,136 a year earlier.
“That Class 6 market has been all over the place. ACT doesn’t distinguish between 6s and 7s. It’s the same truck, just how big it is. The same manufacturers, same customers,” Tam said.
Classes 4-5 sales overall fell 19% to 9,625 compared with 11,890 in the 2021 period.
Class 5 accounted for 7,142 of the combined total. That was down compared with 9,353 sold a year earlier.
Class 4 sales fell to 2,483 compared with 2,537 a year earlier.
“That Class 5 market has been kind of interesting, especially the Japanese manufacturers, and really that would be Isuzu Commercial Truck of America,” Tam said. “They seem to be catching up, accelerating into year end.”
Isuzu’s year-to-date sales were 5,885 compared with 5,607 a year earlier, according to Wards.
In related news, the major wholesale plumbing and HVAC distributor Ferguson Enterprises, which reported fiscal year 2022 revenue of $22 billion, announced a collaboration with Ford Motor Co. to place a first-of-its-kind F550 Fuel Cell Prototype Chassis Work Truck in service within Ferguson’s daily fleet operations for six months. It operates 5,600 vehicles from 1,700 branches.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing above or go here for more info
Participation in Ford’s F-550 Fuel Cell Prototype Work Truck, a Department of Energy SuperTruck 3 Initiative, complements Ferguson’s overall sustainability strategy to reduce a sizable proportion of Scope 1 emissions from its fleet, the Newport News, Va.-based company said.
Ferguson will share operational data with Ford, it noted, to address industry challenges within the medium-duty and heavy-duty segments, like battery range and payload capacity, that have prevented faster conversion to environmentally friendlier options. As part of this collaboration, Ferguson also will prepare a location in Charlotte, N.C., for the installation of temporary infrastructure equipment for the duration of the pilot.
“This collaboration with Ferguson is a strong example of where our Ford Pro business and the potential of fuel cell propulsion systems might address the application gaps that battery-electric vehicles just can’t fulfill,” said Jim Buczkowski, executive director of Ford research and advanced engineering.
