Demand for International LT Series up versus ProStar

[kscarbel2]

Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /  March 8, 2017

Barely more than six months after its initial launch, the impact of International’s LT Series long-haul tractor is already being felt.

Navistar Chairman President and CEO Troy Clarke says more than 5,000 orders have been placed for the truck that will phase out the company’s ProStar this year, adding that about 2,500 of them were delivered in the last three months.

Clarke says the LT Series has also helped unlock the doors of several large private carriers, and quoting activity is on the rise.

“We’ve got customers talking to us who haven’t talked to us for the better part of this decade, and they are interested in not just our story, but they are interested in what our products can do for their business,” he says.

“For instance in 2016, we quoted 20 of the Top 50 customers in the market. With the largest customers, we quoted 20 percent more of them than we did the previous year. We got awarded 50 percent more than we did the previous year.”

Clarke says he expects order intake for LT trucks equipped with the Cummins X15 engine to continue to exceed comparable ProStar figures for prior years, and is hopeful the launch of the company’s new 12.4 liter engine will be timed with a mid-year recovery in truck demand.

“We’ve really been kind of non-existent in that 13-liter segment and it has remained 50 percent – and growing – of the on highway market,” he says.

“Interest in our new LT product is up. I was at TMC last week and definitely there were people in and out of the truck all the time with very favorable comments. And these are the people who really make buying decisions and maintenance decisions. So we are very excited about that.”

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[kscarbel2]

'Encouraging sign': Navistar finds turnaround in new LT tractor, A26 engine

Kevin Jones, Fleet Owner  /  March 9, 2017

While Wall Street prognosticators found Navistar International Corp.’s latest earnings report “disappointing,” for truck customers there are new products to be excited about (notably the International LT tractor and A26 engine) and, most importantly, the renewed viability of a major truck and engine manufacturer means more OEM competition—and that’s good news indeed.

I’m not a stock analyst, and the finer points of Navistar’s finances don’t interest me much (I'm not a CPA for a reason). But what did get my attention during this week’s conference call with company executives were the repeated references to the immediate success of the LT Series, the Class 8 replacement for the ProStar. Company Chairman and CEO Troy Clarke reported more than 5,000 orders already, with some 2,500 shipped.

“We are back in the door with several large private carriers we haven't sold to in a number of years,” Clarke said. He also noted that the company has doubled its market penetration in the leasing and rental segment, and its share of truck orders is outpacing current market share—“a very encouraging sign.”

“I was at TMC last week and definitely there were people in and out of the truck all the time with very favorable comments. And these are the people who really make buying decisions, maintenance decisions. So we are very excited about that,” Clarke said. “We've got customers talking to us who haven't talked to us for the better part of this decade. ... Our investments in uptime, service quality, et cetera, are beginning to pay off. And one of the things we look at as a leading indicator is order share.”

Additionally, the LT combined with the new International A26 12.4 liter engine (introduced last week at TMC, based on the proven MAN powerplant and an early benefit of the alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus) will drive even more sales.

“[Customers] want the truck with lighter weight and the performance of the new A26,” Clarke said. “We’ve tested and validated this product, I think as well as we’ve ever done anything;  it’s really been a labor of love for the folks who look for an opportunity to show how good we can be at a product like this.”

Indeed, Clarke also noted the company is “over the hump” in terms of warranty expense, largely tied to problems with it’s previous, ill-fated engine line.

“So again the investments in quality are paying off for us and customer service,” he said. “So hopefully we are seeing better days.”

And with a somewhat unexpected turnaround in the Class 8 market, Navistar is well positioned.

“We expect continued gains in the LT with the [new Cummins] X15 over where the ProStar was, and then basically our reentry to the 13-litre segment with the new A26 with deliveries available mid-year, so we couldn't pick a better time with the markets recovering in the second half of the year to have these kind of new products,” Clarke concluded. “I said it once, I will say it again: We are very excited; it is a very exciting time to be at Navistar—why wouldn’t it be, right?”

And Wall Street seems to buying into the company’s recovery, as well. Stifel Transportation Group analyst Michael Baudendistel anticipates an increase in market share, and he upgraded the firm’s recommendation on Navistar stock.

“We believe the new LT series (a significant improvement, in our opinion, from its predecessor, the ProStar) is the most important piece in that recovery,” he wrote in a note to investors. “We also believe the just-released A26 engine may be just as important as the new tractor, as roughly 50% of the market now uses 13L engines. Even if the take rate from customers is low (which we expect it to be, especially initially), any incremental wins to customers it has not been able to sell into for the last several years will be beneficial to its share.”

Time to kick some tires.

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[DailyDiesel]

I wonder if the new class 4/5 vehicle will use an International cab or a GM cab?

[RoadwayR]

My guess is a GM cab on both the Chevy and International versions.

Is GM-VISTA the new name of the JV?  There are rumors the JV will eventually include class 6/7 trucks too.  

Now that Navistar has the PSI propane and gasoline engines in the conventional IC bus, they need to offer those engine options in their medium duty line.

 

Edited March 10, 2017 by RoadwayR