Canada Big-Truck Rides 23-Month Win Streak

Canada’s torrid big-truck market tapered off in February but still managed an impressive 45.9% sales jump, compared with like-2011.

Medium- and heavy-duty truck makers booked 3,291 deliveries, compared with prior-year’s 2,165. It was the 23^rd consecutive month of year-over-year increases, according to WardsAuto data. January sales soared 64% from like-2010.

With 2,124 deliveries, Class 8 trucks accounted for nearly two-thirds of the industry’s total February volume, a boost of 41.0% from prior-year’s 1,446.

Only the Volvo brand fell short of positive sales territory in Class 8. Kenworth’s 117.1% surge was the largest, in percentage terms, followed by PACCAR stablemate Peterbilt’s 109.2% increase.

Medium-duty sales totaled 1,167 vehicles, up from prior-year’s tally of 719. Led by Daimler’s Freightliner brand, with its whopping 678.7% delivery leap, Class 6 recorded the steepest year-over-year climb of any segment at 172.6%.

Volume-leader International was second, up 171.7%, compared with like-2011.

Class 7 sales rose by half to 261, according to WardsAuto. International led the field with a 152.6% gain on 110 deliveries, while Ford slipped 55.7% to six units for the sharpest decline.

In Class 5, International again was the growth leader, albeit on low volume. Its 30 deliveries marked a 121.5% jump from prior-year. Chrysler was next among the segment’s major players, tallying 139 sales for an 87.9% rise.

Daimler’s Mitsubishi Fuso brand and Isuzu were the big winners in low-volume Class 4. They notched gains of 316.0% and 111.2%, respectively.

Through February, Canada’s total big-truck market was tracking 57.5% ahead of like-2011 on 6,229 deliveries.

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