Class 8 truck sales slide continues; down 44% in April

For the first four months of 2009, 28,496 Class 8 trucks have been sold in the U.S., the worst showing on the books dating to 1985. By comparison, in the record year of 2006, 89,820 trucks were sold through April — meaning a decline this year of 68 percent from the peak.

The Trucker Staff

5/13/2009

Any economic sunshine this spring has yet to warm the heavy duty truck manufacturers, as sales remained at record low levels through April.

According to figures provided to The Trucker by Ward’s Automotive, April Class 8 sales totaled 6,664 trucks in the United States, the second worst one-month showing in data dating to 1985. Only February of this year was ever lower, but not by much, with 6,236 trucks sold.

The February and April totals join January 1992 (6,738 trucks) and February 1991 (6,977) as the only months in last 25 years to slip below 7,000 units.

Compared to the 8,222 trucks sold in March, April registered an 18.9 percent slip.

The April number is also 44.4 percent lower than April a year ago (11,983 trucks).

Truck sales in April during the run-up in 2005, 2006, and 2007 averaged more than 19,300 units.

For the first four months of 2009, 28,496 Class 8 trucks have been sold in the U.S., again the worst showing on the Ward’s books dating to 1985. In 1991, the previous low for the period, 31,827 trucks were sold. By comparison, in the record year of 2006, 89,820 trucks were sold through April — meaning a decline this year of 68 percent from the peak.

In a brand-by-brand look at the most recent figures, Navistar’s International brand took the top spot for the month, selling 1,987 trucks, and its 22.8 percent slide from the same month last year was easily the least bad of the Class 8 field. Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner sold 1,551 trucks in April, down 51.2 percent from 2008. Also down more than 50 percent were PAACAR nameplates Kenworth (-53.4 on 752 units) and Peterbilt (-50.3, 802).

Volvo Trucks North America’s Mack brand, while down 45.7 percent from the previous year, did manage to post a 50 percent gain compared to March with 652 trucks sold. VTNA’s Volvo brand was down 30 percent in April compared to 2008, but only 3.3 percent since March, on 618 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 market share pie four months into the year shows International taking the lead, with a 28.4 percent slice, edging Freightliner (27.8 percent) from its long held top spot. Peterbilt’s share is 11.4 percent and Kenworth holds 10.9 percent of the Class 8 market.

Since the April report last year, International’s market share has improved 488 basis points, while Freightliner has improved its position by 271 basis points so far in 2009. Volvo has seen its share fall from almost 11 percent to just below 9 percent.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at kevinj@thetrucker.com.

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