In The News

August Class 8 truck sales slip 4% from July

Only big year-over-year gains from the two biggest brands prevented heavy duty truck sales in August from slipping below the dismal 10,000 unit mark — but only bigger gains through the rest of the year can prevent 2008 from being the worst this decade.

According to figures provided to The Trucker by Ward’s Automotive, August Class 8 sales totaled 10,722 trucks in the United States, compared to 11,174 in July, a decrease of 4 percent. Compared to sales of 9,817 in August 2007, the improvement is 9.2 percent.

Still, the August total trails the 11,581 trucks sold in August 2001, the worst year of the previous Class 8 downturn.

For the year so far, the industry has sold 87,164 trucks, trailing 2007’s eight-month total (107,176 trucks) by 18.7 percent.

More strikingly, compared to 2006 record sales the total is down almost 100,000 trucks (53 percent) so far. Projecting a full 12 months would leave this year at 130,746 versus 284,008 two years ago. In 2001, there were 139, 576 trucks sold (96,808 through August).

In a closer look at the most recent Ward’s data, Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner is back on top in the recent see-saw contest with Navistar’s International brand, with 3,135 versus 2,520 trucks sold.

Freightliner’s August sales surged 56.8 percent compared to the year before, and gained 15.7 percent compared to July. While International’s total improved 24.4 percent compared to 2007, its sales trailed July’s mark by 12 percent.

With the exception of Mack, which sold three more trucks in August (827 units) than it had in the same month last year, the other truck brands all lost ground. Compared to July, only Peterbilt (1,496 units, up by 10 trucks) showed improvement among those brands.

Month-to-month numbers, it should be noted, can vary greatly — especially between quarters or from year’s end — depending on an OEM’s sales incentives and reporting procedures.

So far this year, Freightliner’s year-to-date market share is 25.5 percent (22,185 units sold), and International’s is 23.2 percent (20,190 units). The sales pie also shows Peterbilt with a 13.1 percent slice (11,380 units), followed by PACCAR sibling Kenworth (12.3 percent, 10,760 units) and Volvo (10.1 percent, 8,771 units).

A year ago, Freightliner’s market share was 26.7 percent, meaning a shrinkage of 129 basis points in its slice. International is the big gainer, improving 467 basis points.

For additional Class 8 industry news and comment, please read the Oct. 1 print edition of The Trucker.