U.S. Heavy Trucks Down, Medium Trucks Up in May

Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. totaled 34,180 units in May, 0.5% below year-ago on a daily sales basis.

Class 8 plummeted 12.8% to 17,312 units. Volvo brand posted the greatest drop in the group, falling 31.3%, while its sister brand, Mack, slipped 9.7%. International also took as sharp decline of 21.4%. Western Star was the only gainer, up 28.3% on relatively small volume. Year-to-date, Class 8 sales were down 12.3% from like-2015.

Medium-duty sales fared better as all classes surpassed year-ago’s daily selling rate. Overall, the group was up 16.2%, with monthly volume at 16,868. For January-May, sales were 16.6% above prior-year.

Class 7 sales hit 4,501, up 18.9%. Group leader Freightliner rose 21.7%. Big gains also were seen by Kenworth (+32.3%), International (+18.5%) and Peterbilt (+15.4%). Ford and Hino posted declines of 10.8% and 4.1%, respectively.

Class 6 sales increased the most, shooting up 37.3% with 5,304 units. Freightliner recorded a 7.7% drop, allowing it to lose top rank to Ford, up 80.9%. International posted the highest gain within the group, jumping 82.0%. Only Peterbilt undersold last year, but on small volume.

Class 5 was the slowest-growing medium-duty segment, up just 2.5% to 5,771 orders. FCA (+14.2%), Isuzu (+54.9%) and Hino (+17.1%) posted double-digit gains, while Ford (-5.2%) and International (-18.8%) were down.

Class 4 sales totaled 1,292 units, up 4.5%. Isuzu’s domestic lineup helped the group stay in positive territory with a 61.9% leap, while its imported models were down 37.3%. Ford posted a 17.1% gain.

Through May, sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. were 0.3% higher than last year, reaching unit volume of 173,757.

Class 8 ended May with a 70 days' supply, up from 63 year-ago. Total units in inventory rose to 60,926 from 53,177.

Medium-duty days’ supply declined to 87 days from 88 in May 2015. A total of 60,926 units were in stock at the end of the month, up from 53,177 prior-year.

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