U.S. Trucks Slump Again in August
Only Classes 4 and 7 were in positive territory last month, up 23.8% and 2.6%, thanks to gains by Isuzu and Daimler, respectively.
September 13, 2013
Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks slipped 8.4% in the U.S. in August, the sixth monthly loss for the group this year, WardsAuto data shows.
Only Classes 4 and 7 posted gains over like-2012, as nearly every group’s performance could be traced to minor or major losses by beleaguered Illinois-based truck maker International.
Class 8 sales fell 10.6% as all but two manufacturers declined from year-ago. PACCAR’s Kenworth and the Volvo Truck brand saw August sales rise 7.6% and 11.2%, respectively.
Daimler’s Western Star suffered the biggest drop in the heavy-duty sector, down 37.4%, just ahead of International’s 30.6% decline.
Medium-duty sales fell 5.7% in August due to Class 5 and 6 declines.
Despite gains at nearly every truck manufacturer, Class 7 sales rose a scant 2.6%. No.2 volume-leader International’s 32.0% slide tempered gains at No.1 Daimler, whose sales rose 21.2% last month. Hino saw sales climb 42.3% and Kenworth deliveries jumped 50.7%.
International was the leading culprit in Class 6’s 19.7% drop. The former No.1 seller in the group lost 61.8% of its August 2012 daily volume, ceding the top spot to Daimler, which saw sales rise 23.3% last month.
Smaller-volume Class 6 players suffering declines included Kenworth, down 39.5%, and Hino, off 17.2% from year-ago.
International also had a 60%-plus loss in Class 5 that, along with a 5.8% dip at volume-leader Ford, caused group sales to slip 4.8%.
Daimler’s Mitsubishi Fuso was the leading gainer in Class 5 sales, up 62.9%, and PACCAR posted a 20.5% increase, although on small volume.
The 23.8% climb in Class 4 deliveries was the best performance last month among any big- or medium-truck group, thanks largely to Isuzu’s 128.3% jump in domestically built models. The group’s other entrants, Ford and Mitsubishi Fuso, also recorded positive results.
Isuzu’s imported units posted the only Class 4 decline, down 4.8%.
Through August, sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. were off 3.3% from the same period year-ago to 225,355 units.
As has been the case in recent months, both inventory and days’ supply fell in August.
Class 8 had 35,548 units in stock at the end of last month, a 65 days’ supply. That compares with 41,151 units, or 67 days’, year-ago.
Medium-duty inventory of 38,548, an 80 days’ supply, was down from 42,621, or 83 days, in like-2012.
In other big-truck news:
Following disappointing third-quarter results, Navistar International plans to cut 500 jobs globally by the end of October, says the Chicago Tribune.
Navistar lost $247 million in its third quarter ended July 31. It posted an $84 million profit year-ago. The truck maker blames a slower-than-expected recovery in its business and a loss of market share for the poor performance.
Navistar says it will take until 2014 to return to profitability.
Volvo showed off its latest VM models for Brazil and Latin America earlier this month. The fourth generation of the trucks, first introduced in 2003, offer optional 4-axle configurations for higher load capacity.
The 4-axle VMs can be ordered with 270-hp or 330-hp engines and 6- to 12-speed gearboxes, and in 4x2, 6x2 and 6x4 configurations.
The trucks carry over styling updates already seen in European models, including V-shaped light-emitting-diode daytime running lights and restyled bumpers that have “more modern, robust materials,” Volvo says.
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