Canada Big Trucks Fall 7.7% in AprilCanada Big Trucks Fall 7.7% in April

Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in Canada fell 7.7% in April to 3,727 units, as all but Class 5 ended the month in the red, WardsAuto data shows.

Class 8 sales slipped 6.1% on several declines greater than 20% logged by major manufacturers, including a 26.3% retreat at International and a 24.9% drop in Kenworth deliveries.

Total medium-duty sales were off 11.2% from year-ago, as Class 7 lost 11.0%, owing largely to International.

As the second-highest volume player in the group, International's 46.0% slump tempered gains by all other manufacturers.

The leading gainer in Class 7 in April was PACCAR. The truck maker claimed the No.1-seller title from International with 118 deliveries, a 37.4% jump from April 2012.

Class 6's 39.1% plunge was the biggest April loss among all Canada big-truck groups, as more than half of manufacturers posted declines. International and Ford saw the biggest loss, each down 54.0%. Hino sales decreased 48.9% on a modest number of units.

PACCAR's 360.0% spike was registered on five units last month vs. just one in April 2012.

The 3.4% gain in Class 5 was the lone positive result among Canada big-truck groups in April, and can be credited to a 111.1% spike in Isuzu sales and a 9.4% rise at Ford, which strengthened its hold on the top spot.

Ford's Class 5 market share grew to 54.6% from 51.6% in April 2012.

Class 4 took the second-biggest plunge, down 33.1%, as segment-leader Ford’s volume took a sharp 30.2% decline. Also skidding was No.2 player Mitsubishi Fuso, down 57.5% on sales of 18 units vs. prior-year's 39.

Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in Canada through April were down 11.2% from like-2012, to 12,592 units from 14,176.

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