October Truck Sales Top 22,000

This story appears in the Nov. 24 print edition of Transport Topics.

This year’s surge in Class 8 sales continued in October as they jumped 22.5% from a year earlier to 22,032 units, the highest monthly total in almost eight years, WardsAuto.com reported.

That is the second time this year sales have climbed over the 20,000 mark. The first was in September, when they rose 24.5% year-over-year to 20,078 units.

“The strong figures show that fleets have confidence and continue to buy trucks,” Lawrence De Maria, co-group head of global industrial infrastructure with William Blair & Co., told Transport Topics.

Fleets are “replacing older trucks with more fuel-efficient trucks and [are] expanding capacity to move freight, which is needed given some of the constraints we’ve had recently,” he said.

The only times prior to this year when sales were as robust were December 2011, and in 2006 when fleets bought trucks in large quantities in advance of new federal emissions regulations.

De Maria also said a strong used-truck market, providing fleets higher trade-in values, also is helping boost new sales.

Heavy-duty sales through October are standing at 180,320, which is 19.8% higher than the same period last year.

October’s gain followed a strong report on the month’s orders, which leaped 76% to 46,200, the second-highest total ever.

“Sales have been lagging behind [orders] for most of the year . . . and it’s very encouraging to see the pickup. It’s a logical progression,” said Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research Co. in Columbus, Indiana.

Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner brand sold 8,153 trucks during October, up 28.8% year-over-year, posting the top market share at 37%. DTNA’s niche Western Star brand’s sales rose by a third, to 349.

“Our customers’ decision-making process involves not just the retail sale of a truck but also a determination of which OEM can provide the best long-term partnership to support their real cost of operations,” said David Hames, DTNA’s general manager of marketing and strategy.

Juergen Rochert, vice president of Daimler Truck Financial, estimated that at least 5% to 10% of new truck purchases are for fleet expansion.

“We see, for the first time, growth [and] not just replacement,” he said, adding that owner-operators are starting to purchase new trucks as well.

Navistar International Corp. sold 3,514 trucks in October, an 11.2% year-over-year gain, while its No. 2 market share rose to 15.9% from 14.4% in September.

Navistar “had a good month in October,” CEO Troy Clarke said Nov. 11 at Robert W. Baird’s annual industrial conference.

“There is a need for commercial trucks, the age of the fleet is still fairly high [and] new trucks have lower operating costs,” Clarke said, adding that “housing starts and good commercial activity will drive demand in 2015.”

ACT’s Tam said Navistar has taken steps to push for additional sales during October because its fiscal year ended Oct. 31. It will report results during December.

De Maria, the William Blair analyst, noted that “Navistar is starting to regain some market share, and their order book looks pretty good.”

Volvo Trucks’ sales jumped 25.5% to 2,378, for a 10.8% market share, while sister company Mack Trucks was the only original equipment manufacturer to post a decline, dipping 1.2% to 1,507. Mack declined to comment last week.

Magnus Koeck, Volvo Trucks’ North American vice president for marketing and brand management, said higher sales have been “driven primarily by a combination of replacement demand and a need for more equipment to meet freight volumes spurred by higher manufacturing activity and employment levels throughout the economy.”

Volvo’s I-Shift automated manual transmission “remains a contributing factor” in higher sales, Koeck said.

De Maria said AMTs are being used by fleets in greater numbers as a driver recruiting and retention tool.

Peterbilt Motors Co. sold 3,080 trucks in October, a 23.3% increase, posting a 14% market share. Sister company Kenworth Truck Co. sold 3,048, up 32%, for a 13.8% share. Spokesmen for the manufacturers, both units of Paccar Inc., declined to comment last week.

De Maria said strong sales should continue, especially because December is historically the strongest month of the year.

“We should expect a continuation of these strong trends well into next year, if not beyond, based on the orders we’ve seen and the fundamental drivers in the industry,” he said.

Senior Writer Daniel P. Bearth contributed to this story.