Paccar’s First-Quarter Income Jumps
Paccar Inc. said Tuesday its first-quarter profit jumped, and the truck manufacturer boosted its forecast for Class 8 North American truck production.
The company’s profit rose to $193.3 million, or 53 cents a share, from $68.3 million, or 19 cents, a year ago. Net sales and financial services revenues rose 47% to $3.28 billion.
Paccar boosted its forecast for 2011 industrywide North American heavy-duty truck sales to a range 200,000 to 220,000 vehicles, up from its February projection of 180,000 to 200,000 trucks.
“Class 8 industry retail sales in the U.S. and Canada in 2011 are improving steadily,” Executive Vice President Dan Sobic said in a statement, adding that the boosted forecast would make it the best year since 2006.
“There are industry concerns about suppliers being able to increase their production capacity to meet global demand,” he added.
Paccar is the parent company of U.S. truck makers Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co., and Europe-based DAF Trucks.
