Canada Big-Truck Market Takes Hit

Following up on a flat October, things only got worse for medium- and heavy-duty truck makers in Canada in November, where the market slipped 8.2% on a daily rate basis.

Combined Class 4-8 volume reached 3,319 units in the month, down from 3,614 in like-2011.

Class 8 fared the worst, posting a 9.6% decline on delivery of 2,373 trucks. Daimler bucked the trend, notching an 8.2% gain on sales of 935 units, and Volvo was up marginally to 476 vehicles. But International’s 53.2% plunge and a more-modest 11.8% drop at PACCAR offset the gains.

Class 4 led the medium-duty sector with a 6.3% hike on 119 trucks sold, mostly as a result of Hino sales. Class 7 also edged into positive territory – by two units over year-ago – in posting 270 deliveries, with Hino, International and PACCAR all with higher volumes.

Not faring well was Class 5, sales of which slid 6.3% on a daily basis to 444 units. Ford was the biggest culprit, declining 24.9% from year-ago, countering increases at Chrysler and Hino.

Class 6 plunged 16.3% to 113 deliveries, with Ford and International alone in recording higher volume.

Despite November’s performance, combined medium- and heavy-duty truck sales remain 17.7% ahead of year-ago on 40,851 units. Class 8 sales are up 20.9% for the year-to-date, while Classes 4-7 are running a combined 11.2% ahead of like-2011.