U.S. Medium and Heavy Truck Sales Down 17.9% in January

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Wards Auto  /  February 13, 2017

U.S. big-truck sales totaled 25,726 units in January, 17.9% below like-2016’s 31,351.

Class 8 posted the largest loss with only 10,944 deliveries for January, a 31.4% decrease from year-ago’s 15,952.

Volvo Truck increased 8.6% to 1,178 units, the only truck maker in the weight class to post a gain.

International plummeted 50.4% down to 1,293 units.

Paccar’s Kenworth dropped 29.5% while sister brand Peterbilt dropped 12.3%.

Freightliner and Western Star also posted double-digit losses in Class 8 of 41.0% and 22.9%, respectively.

Medium-duty trucks overall rendered a decline on 14,782 units, 4.0% below like-2016’s 15,399.

Class 7 slid 9.2% on unit sales of 3,939, against 4,339 in the prior period. Freightliner led the group, dropping only 1.7% on sales of 2,202 units, while International was second-best, falling 9.7%. Ford plunged 37.7% on volume of 129. Hino also under-performed in January, dropping 31.4% on 72 units. Paccar fell 20% with Kenworth and Peterbilt posting double-digit losses of 18.5% and 21.0%, respectively.

In Class 6, deliveries rose 6.4% to 4,984 units on mixed results. Peterbilt recorded the worst performance in the segment, falling 30.8%, but on small units. Sister brand Kenworth climbed to 170 units, a 73.5% jump from like-2016. Ford increased 30.9% on volume of 2,086, gaining nearly eight percentage points of market share to 41.9%. Hino also had a good month, rising 15% to 514 units.

With a 7.9% rise in imports but an 11.7% drop in domestics, Class 5 fell to 5,000 units, a 10.5% flip from prior-year. Segment leader Isuzu was the only truck maker to post a gain for the month of January, increasing 22.0% on 288 deliveries. International plummeted 71.8% to 20 units. Freightliner (-10.8%), Ford (-13.6%), Hino (-18.8%) and Kenworth (-33.3%) all posted large losses.

Class 4 was the best-performing group for the month, increasing 8.6% on 859 deliveries. International doubled in sales, but on very small volume. Isuzu’s domestic line soared 35.1%, but imports sled 30.4%. Mitsubishi performed the worst in the group, dropping 94.4% on only one delivery. Hino and Ford also fell 32.1% and 4.8%, respectively.

Class 8 inventory fell to 31,972 units and was nearly 21,000 units behind last year’s 53,015. January days’ supply was 70, down from 80 in like-2016.

Medium-duty truck makers ended the month with 55,483 units in inventory, a 90-day supply, compared with 54,977 and 86 days’ in like-2016.

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