Large Year-to-Date Gains Posted by All Truck Classes in Canada

Canada big-truck sales ended the year on a strong note recording a 45.3% jump in December, marking the 10^th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. The performance brings year-to-date sales to 41,584, 17.7% above 2016’s 35,337.

December marked the seventh month of gains for Class 8, up 38.6% with 2,550 deliveries. Volvo Truck for the second month in a row was the only truck maker to underperform, with deliveries dropping 14.7%.

Sales for Daimler’s Freightliner grew 74.1% and Western Star, 49.9%. Together, the brands gave Daimler a 47.2% market share. International (+70.8%), Kenworth (+31.4%) and Peterbilt (+47.4%) all posted double-digit gains. Class 8 year-to-date sales totaled 26,141, 13.5% above year-ago’s 23,034.

Medium-duty truck sales hit 1,216 deliveries, a 61.7% increase.

Class 7 sales climbed 81.0% to 413 units. Ford was the only truck maker in the red, dropping 55.5% to only three units. Freightliner kept a firm grip on the No.1 spot, with sales soaring 362.1% for a 43.1% market share. Runner-up International grew 24.9% with a 24.5% market share. Last year, Freightliner sat at only a 16.9% market share with International (35.4%) in first place.

Sales in Class 6 saw the greatest improvement in December, rising 229.5% from 52 to 165 units. Aside from International’s 48.1% fall, all other truck makers in the class posted gains. Freightliner and Hino battled for the No.1 spot with increases of 551.4% and 100.0%, respectively. Freightliner closed in on the top spot, claiming a 41.8% (+20.7 percentage points) market share, while Hino dropped to 31.5% (-20.4 percentage points). Year-to-date sales for Class 6 were 27.5% above year-ago with 1,360 units.

A 54.4% spike in domestic sales and 11.1% growth in imports left Class 5 up 49.4% in December, totaling 538 deliveries. Volume leaders Ford and Hino posted large gains of 51.9% and 58.4%, respectively. Class 5 ended the year 36.9% ahead of 2016 with 7,405 deliveries.

Despite a 12.0% decline in December, Class 4 ended 2017 at 1,950 units, 32.8% above prior-year’s 1,468. Hino was the only truck maker to see a rise in sales in December, up 38.5% to eight units. Ford dropped 15.9% to 68 but still accounted for a 68.0% market share. Ford finished the year up 47.9% with 1,387 deliveries and a 71.1% market share.

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