October Truck Sales Fall 10.7%

This story appears in the Nov. 19 print edition of Transport Topics.

Heavy-duty U.S. retail truck sales slid for a second straight month in October, dropping 10.7% from a year ago, although the year-to-date volume remained well ahead of its 2011 pace and truck makers characterized the downturn as more of a modest, temporary retreat rather than a collapse.

Original equipment manufacturers and their dealers sold 15,560 Class 8 trucks for the month, down from 17,424 in October 2011, WardsAuto.com said Nov. 12. Sales so far this year have risen 21.6% to 162,215 vehicles from the same period last year.

Three OEMs posted volume losses for the month, while two broke even and two reported gains. All seven companies have better year-to-date sales now than they did in the corresponding 2011 period.

“Daimler Trucks North America has benefited from an upturn in orders in the fourth quarter, and we expect most of the activity to positively impact sales in 2013,” said David Hames, general manager of marketing and strategy for DTNA, which produces Freightliner and Western Star trucks.

“Although the market for October 2012 is down in comparison to October 2011, the industry did see a positive rebound in retail sales levels from September 2012 to October 2012,” Hames added.

The September tally for Class 8s was 14,491 (10-15, p. 7).

Navistar Inc. executives started their current fiscal year Nov. 1 and said they expect it to reverse the path of the year just ended.

“Fiscal 2012 started out fast and then got slow,” said Jack Allen, Navistar president of North American trucks and parts. “But this year, the slowness will continue at the start and then get better as we go along,” Allen said in an interview with Transport Topics (see story, p. 3).

“What we’ve been seeing in the marketplace in 2012 are declining orders because of worries about the economy, the ‘fiscal cliff’ and the election. Sales have been higher than orders because we’re working through a backlog,” Allen said.

“But the economy is getting better — even if it’s not as fast as we’d all like — and we’re confident something will get done to avoid the fiscal cliff. The nation’s fleet age remains high, and we did see an uptick in October orders,” Allen said.

Net orders last month for new North American heavy-duty trucks totaled 23,200, the highest level since January (11-12, p. 1).

Freightliner led OEMs in sales for the month and the year to date. The Daimler Trucks subsidiary sold 5,670 big trucks in October, a dip of 0.4% from last year, while 10-month sales were up 26.8% to 53,176 vehicles.

Navistar’s International brand remained in second place but fell the most in October, dropping 35.2%, to 2,758 heavy trucks. Cumulative sales were up 4.4% to 30,199 units.

The two operating companies of Paccar Inc. — Kenworth Trucks and Peterbilt Motors — remained in third and fourth places. The two companies declined to comment for this story.

Kenworth sold 2,003 Class 8s for the month, a 0.7% increase from the 1,990 a year ago. Cumulative sales were up 14% to 22,750 vehicles.

Peterbilt sales dropped 15.8% to 1,983 big trucks from the previous October. The year-to-date volume rose 21% to 22,580 units.

The two North American operating companies of Volvo Group moved in opposite directions as they took fifth and sixth places in the Ward’s survey.

Volvo’s October sales declined by 7.3% from last year to 1,714 heavy trucks, although its 10-month sales were up 12.8% to 17,080 vehicles.

“As anticipated, 2012 remains choppy from month to month as customers keep a cautious eye on the economy and freight trends. Overall, our outlook remains optimistic, and we believe this year’s market will be stronger than in 2011,” said Göran Nyberg, Volvo Trucks president of North American sales and marketing.

Mack Trucks posted an 8.3% volume gain in October to 1,188 Class 8 trucks. Cumulative volume now totals 14,271 units and that 43.6% jump from last year was the most of any OEM.

“While 2012 should close as a relatively good year for us and the industry in general, given ongoing economic concerns, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some continuation of the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to purchasing decisions that has characterized the market for some time now,” said John Walsh, Mack’s vice president of marketing.

“There are also signs of life in the construction segment,” Walsh said, referring to one of Mack’s most important markets. During the long eclipse of that market, Mack has compensated by emphasizing its Pinnacle highway tractors.

The two Volvo Group executives said their respective companies continued to make progress on the corporation’s goal to increase sales of in-house engines and transmissions rather than those of outside vendors.

Daimler Trucks’ Western Star, the smallest Class 8 North American OEM, had the largest percentage increase for the month, rising 33.7% to 242 heavy trucks. The cumulative volume rose 30.9% to 2,148 vehicles.