In The News

Class 8 truck sales improve 8.6 percent in September

Heavy duty trucks sales in September improved 8.6 percent compared to the month before, but 2009 continues to lag the previous year by nearly a third — and 2008 had been the worst year for big trucks in a long time.

According to figures provided to The Trucker by Ward’s Automotive, September Class 8 sales totaled 7,769 trucks in the United States, up from 7,151 trucks in August. Only June (8,006) and March (8,222 trucks) have topped the 8,000 unit mark.

The September number is 28.7 percent lower than September a year ago (10,891 trucks).

Truck sales in September during the industry run-up in 2005 and 2006 averaged 22,588 units.

For the first nine months of 2009, 65,880 Class 8 trucks have been sold in the U.S. (down 32.8 percent from last year), the worst showing on the Ward’s books dating to 1985.

In 1991, the previous low, 72,093 trucks were sold in the same period. By comparison, in the 2006 record year, 209,938 trucks were sold through September — meaning a decline this year of 68.6 percent from the peak.

Based on maintaining the current rate of decline from 2008, projected sales are about 87,000 units for 2009, versus 133,473 in 2008. In 2006, 284,008 big trucks were sold in the U.S.

In a brand-by-brand look at the most recent figures, Navistar’s International brand took the top spot for the month, registering a 7 percent improvement from August on 1,985 trucks sold. Still, International slipped 24.1 percent from the same month last year — but none of the Class 8 nameplates showed improvement over 2008. Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner mark was a close second, selling 1,963 trucks in September, a 5 percent gain from August and down 29.4 percent from 2008.

PACCAR nameplates Peterbilt and Kenworth sold 1,204 trucks (down 4.1 percent from August) and 1,187 trucks (up 29.3 percent), respectively. September was Kenworth’s best month this year.

The Volvo Group’s Mack brand was up 21.4 percent from the previous month on 647 trucks sold in September. VTNA’s Volvo brand was up 26 percent for the month compared to August, with 548 trucks sold.

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.

The U.S. market share pie chart through September shows International holding on to its lead, with a 28.6 percent slice on 18,830 trucks sold, edging Freightliner (26.2 percent, 17,264 trucks). Peterbilt’s share is 13.1 percent (8,625 trucks) and Kenworth holds 12 percent (7,934 trucks) of the Class 8 market. Mack has recorded 5,045 sales so far in 2009, and Volvo 4,913.

Compared to the first 9 months last year, International’s market share has improved 532 basis points, while Freightliner has improved its position by 74 basis points. So far in 2009 Volvo has seen its share fall from 9.8 percent to 7.5 percent.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected] .

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