U.S. Sales of Medium, Heavy Trucks Rise 12.6%

U.S. sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks rose 12.6% in November to 29,963 units, an increase fueled by double-digit gains in Classes 4 and 8, WardsAuto data shows.

Class 8 deliveries jumped 19.7% on sales of 16,706 units vs. 14,511 year-ago. Mack was up 43.4% while PACCAR’s Kenworth and Peterbilt brands posted gains of 38.5% and 22.7%, respectively. International, following its fiscal year end, was the only manufacturer to post a loss, dipping 1.0% from year-ago. Through 11 months, Class 8 deliveries stood at 197,026, on pace to record the best annual tally since the record year of 2006.

Class 7 posted a 9.7% rise on unit sales of 3,721 against 3,529 in prior-period. Kenworth led the group, surging 44.3% on sales of 344 while Ford was second best, rising 30.8%. Hino suffered the only loss in the segment, slipping 16.5% on volume of 114.

Class 6 was the only segment to register a loss for the month, slipping 2.0% on 3,211 sales. A triple-digit jump by Peterbilt (+558.7%) and a 48.2% rise by Kenworth were not enough to offset a 22.7% decrease by volume leader Ford as its share slid to 32.9% from 41.8% in the prior-period.

Chrysler continued to drive gains in Class 5 as sales of its Dodge Ram Chassis Cab spiked 33.2%  and lifted the class to a 4.3% uptick. Share leader Ford slipped 3.9% and International (-33.5%) and Freightliner (-18.4%) suffered losses.

Class 4 witnessed the second-best performance for the month, up 12.5% with 1,005 units sold. Isuzu domestic trucks were up 27.6% while its import models were up a similar 25.0%. International suffered a 70.3% loss, albeit on sales of only 2 units.

Class 8 inventory continued to rise, up nearly 9,000 units to 44,403 from 35,623 year-ago. November days’ supply was 66, up from 64 in November 2013. Medium-duty truck makers ended November with 47,775 units in inventory, a 90-day supply. That compared with 39,670 and 78 days’ in like-2013.

In other big-truck news: According to TruckInfo.com, the newly released November Cass Freight Index showed a drop in total freight expenditures of 0.7% and a corresponding decline in shipment volumes of 0.2%, however, the level was higher than expected, pointing to a strong finish for 2014.The index measures trends in North American shipping activity based on $23 billion in paid freight expenses for Cass' customer base of hundreds of large shippers.

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