Canada Class 4-8 Truck Sales Fell 5.4% in February

Canadian medium- and heavy-duty truck sales fell 3.9% in February. Deliveries totaled 2,921 units compared with 3,038 in like-2015, WardsAuto data shows. Results were mixed among the weight classes.

Sales in Class 8 slipped 9.1% to 1,858 units. Freightliner (+23.7%), Western Star (+17.6%) and Mack (+24.5%) were the only brands to post year-over-year gains. PACCAR took the hardest hit as Kenworth fell 46.1% and Peterbilt slid 21.6%. Through February, 2016 sales reached 3,410, 18.2% below prior-year.

Medium-duty deliveries hit 1,063 units, 6.8% above 995 from like-2015. Year-to-date, sales were up 17.6% from like-2015.

Class 7 deliveries rose just 0.3% to 387 units. Hino lifted sales 80.4% to 92 vehicles. International also showed a big gain, up 46.9%. Freightliner slowed the weight class’s growth with a 55.4% decline.

In Class 6, sales tumbled 23.8% to 96 units. Freightliner recorded a 76.7% drop, slipping to a 20.8% share compared with 68.3% in February 2015. Hino grew 81.3%, and International gained 76.9%.

Class 5 ended the month 26.3% ahead of year-ago on sales of 480 trucks. The top-four sellers posted double-digit gains, including Ford (+47.1%), FCA (+26.2%), Hino (+25.0) and Isuzu (+23.1%). The remaining companies posted double-digit declines, but on small volume.

Class 4 fell 2.9% to 100 orders. Ford posted a 7.6% decrease, and Mitsubishi Fuso lost 33.3%. Isuzu doubled its import sales to six trucks, while domestic models were flat from year-ago.

Over the first two months of 2016, sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in Canada totaled 5,352 units, 8.1% less than year-ago.

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