Volvo’s January-February Truck Sales Drop 13%

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Truck maker Volvo AB said its sales for the first two months of the year fell 13%, as U.S. deliveries plunged following new emissions standards that boosted truck prices, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.Sales through February fell to 28,275 vehicles worldwide from 32,336 a year earlier, Sweden-based Volvo said in a statement. North American sales plummeted 41% to 6,382 units.Volvo’s U.S. truck orders, an indicator of future sales, fell 60% in the fourth quarter to 7,517 vehicles, Bloomberg reported. Volvo is the parent of Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks.U.S. sales have slowed as carriers reduced their purchases because of new Environmental Protection Agency rules in force as of Jan. 1 mandating cleaner diesel engines that are more expensive.Leif Johansson, Volvo chief executive officer, said Feb. 2 that the U.S. truck market as much as 45% in the first half of 2007.