Randall Reflects on Mack MD’s Market Entry
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ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Mack Trucks North America overcame years of upheaval after its re-entry into the medium-duty market mere weeks before the coronavirus pandemic, company President Jonathan Randall reflected.
The Greensboro, N.C.-based company announced its first medium-duty offering in almost two decades with the launch of the Mack MD Series in July 2020. But since that time, the truck market has faced major supply chain disruptions and a shortage of critical parts.
“A lot has happened since the launch of the MD,” Randall said during a roundtable discussion. “It launched into a different market, and it has done better than we could have ever imagined it would when we launched this thing. We launched it really with the purpose of addressing what we consider to be 65% to 70% of the medium-duty market.”
Randall added that market share includes the flatbed, drive van, refrigerated and box truck segments. He credits the truck’s success to its versatility, noting dealerships were quick to learn about the vehicle and adapt it to meet various customer needs from roll-offs, dump trucks, tow trucks and haulers.
“It’s done very well in a lot of different segments that we really didn’t intend it to,” Randall said. “We got the first initial rush and really the tale of the tape was, we started getting the reorders. And then once we started getting the reorders, we started getting more and more penetration within the fleets.
Kriete Truck Centers branding on truck trailer displayed during the Mack MD Ride and Drive Event. (Connor D. Wolf/Transport Topics)
“Our intention was to be a 5% market share player in about 60 months. It took us 24 months to become 5%. Last year we finished at 5.5% market share.”
Mack Trucks hosted the roundtable alongside its Wisconsin-based dealership partner, Kriete Truck Centers, as part of their Mack MD Ride and Drive Event. The companies hosted reporters to discuss their medium-duty offerings and test drive three trucks.
“Once things picked back up and the world restarted, so to speak, Kriete has had one truck deal that canceled,” said David Kriete, president of Kriete Truck Centers. “It was a 20-truck order, and it happened to be on the highway side. Now, in normal times when demand is sky high, there’s always some sort of cancellations or some sort of movement between customers. It’s been incredible that in three years we’ve had one customer cancellation.”
Cab interior of the Mack MD tanker truck used during the event. (Connor D. Wolf/Transport Topics)
Kriete noted that there are about 3,000 medium-duty truck registrations in Wisconsin. His dealership has seen about a 6% share since the Mack MD launch. Kriete believes what differentiates the truck from competitors is that it’s much like a heavy-duty truck in its transmission and engine, noting many customers are used to Class 8 trucks and it feels like one in the cab.
“There was maybe a slight stroke of luck and good timing involved with some other brands not competing at the levels they should,” Kriete said. “But we came in, and it’s a very simple truck. I don’t mean that in a degrading way. I mean it in a really great way. Our customers and our operators want a simple truck. They want a trucker’s truck.”
Put comfort in the driver's seat.
Engineered to put a premium on driver comfort and control, the #MackMD Series cab puts every detail right where it should be. pic.twitter.com/PTixdPQ917 — Mack Trucks (@MackTrucks) September 22, 2023
Mack expects to close out the year just shy of a 6% market share for medium-duty trucks. Randall noted the launch of the Mack MD could not have come at a better time because it provided dealers additional volume to sell in what has been a constrained sales market.
“That just tells you again how, number one, the customer base has adopted it, but number two, how effective our dealer network has been in selling it,” Randall said. “Which, by the way, it wasn’t a given because our dealer network is very in tune with, obviously, construction and tractors and Class 8 spec’ing, and this truck sale is a little different than what that sale is. But again, our dealers embraced it.”
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The Mack MD Series includes Classes 6 and 7 truck models, the MD6 and MD7. Both feature a sharp wheel cut for enhanced maneuverability for urban settings. They are available in 4×2 configurations and have a cab design that features a bumper-to-back-of-cab measurement of 103 inches. They were initially designed around dry van, refrigerated, stake, flatbed, dump and tank truck.
The Mack MD6 has a gross vehicle weight rating of 25,995 pounds, and the MD7 model has a GVWR of 33,000 pounds. The MD6 model does not require a commercial driver license to operate for nonhazardous payloads.
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