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Apr 28, 2017

COMMERCIAL TRUCK MARKET * USA: On a new turnaround

* Truck industry struggles with weak sales, but strong orders point to febound


--- After a troublesome period, the commercial truck market may be in the initial stages of a turnaround... While analysts are forecasting a second consecutive down year for heavy-truck sales and a stable year of growth in the medium-duty market, truck manufacturers are reporting strong growth in their order backlogs during the first quarter of the year... Production is starting to ramp up to support rising orders for Class 8 trucks. In March, orders rose 41 percent to 22,800 vehicles, signaling a recovery on the horizon... For example, Volvo Group, which sells Mack- and Volvo-badged trucks in North America, said Tuesday that deliveries plunged 34 percent to 7,065 vehicles in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. However, orders surged 27 percent to 11,334 in the first three months of the year... Paccar Inc., the maker of Peterbilt and Kenworth brands, said Tuesday that first-quarter deliveries of its trucks in the U.S. and Canada dipped 8.1 percent to 17,000 compared with the same period last year. But the company thinks the rest of the year will improve... The demand for Class 8 vocational trucks has also held up better than the tractor trailer side of the business because of the prospects for an improved construction market... 
 (Photo: Brian Hadden/Trucks.com - Freight liner trucks for sale)  --  Bloomington, IND, USA - Trucks.com, by CRAIG GUILLOT - APRIL 27, 2017

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Jan 24, 2017

TRUCKS SALES * Iran: To buy 5,000 cargo trucks

* Alborz - Deal to replace 5,000 aging cargo trucks in Iran

--- The Iranian government is moving to replace aging vehicles in its cargo truck fleet to cap fuel consumption and help contain the country's worsening air pollution... Based on a trilateral contract signed by the Roads Ministry-affiliate Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Iranian Fuel Conservation Company and Mammut Industrial Group, 5,000 aging trucks will be replaced with new ones. The contract was signed in a ceremony in Mammut Industrial Group's factory located in Alborz Province on Sunday... There are 120,000-130,000 vehicles in Iran's cargo truck fleet with over 25 years in age on average... As part of an agreement between the ministries of roads and oil, the government is planning to replace 65,000 dilapidated trucks within five years... The old age of the fleet has resulted in excessive fuel consumption, while contributing to air pollution... 
 (Photo: The contract was signed in a ceremony in Mammut Industrial Group’s factory located in Alborz Province on Jan. 22)  --  Karaj, Alborz, Iran - Financial Tribune - January 23, 2017

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Nov 19, 2016

HEAVY-DUTY TRUCK ORDERS * USA: DROPPED in October, at depressed levels this year

* Indiana - The dropped orders in October hit two-decade high


--- Cancellations of heavy-duty truck orders soared to the highest rate in more than 20 years last month, according to ACT Research, adding to the woes of manufacturers that have seen new orders for big rigs plummet this year... Fleet owners in October canceled orders for 8,610 Class 8 truck tractors, the biggest vehicles that carry much of the country’s supply of retail goods, said Jim Meil, principal at ACT Research. That amounted to 10.5% of the backlog of the heavy-duty trucks that have been ordered but not yet built... The cancellations follow a steep decline since late 2015 in the trucking industry as carriers have pulled back fleet expansion and replacement plans amid lackluster shipping demand and slipping freight rates... Overall orders for heavy-duty trucks fell 46% year-over-year in October, extending a year-long decline in orders that has hit factory operations at companies such as truck maker Navistar International Corp. and engine manufacturer Cummins Inc... 
(PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS - Truck manufacturers have laid off hundreds of workers as orders have receded since 2015 after reaching high levels in 2013 and 2014)   --  Columbus, IND, USA - The WSJ, by LORETTA CHAO - Nov. 18, 2016

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Nov 11, 2016

PICKUP TRUCK SALES * USA: 63% of all vehicles sales

* NY - Light truck sales to Top 10 Million in 2016

--- Sales of light trucks in October accounted for 63% of all vehicle sales in the United States for the month...  Car sales fell nearly 10% year over year in October, while light truck sales rose 7.1% in the month. At the current sales rate, light truck sales are expected to hit about 10.6 million in 2016, the highest total ever... This is particularly good news for the Detroit Three: Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.- Light trucks are not only the best-selling vehicles for these three carmakers, the vehicles are also the most profitable... Where consumers might think full-size and compact pickup trucks are the sole inhabitants of the light truck category, the industry tosses in any vehicle that carries a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds... At least some industry players see more of the same in 2017. AutoNation Inc.’s Mike Jackson said as much on the company’s third-quarter conference call: "I think [2017] looks a lot like ’16 with more movement towards trucks. The only restriction has been installed productive capacity. … And that is certainly good for the industry overall to have. It’s more profitable for the manufacturers on the truck side than on the car side" ... 
New York, NY, USA - 247 Wall Street, by Paul Ausic - November 7, 2016

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Aug 8, 2016

EXPORTING TRUCKS * China

* Beijing - Truck manufacturers face overcapacity

---  China's truck manufacturers are keeping their eyes on international markets and on production upgrading as ways to deal with the industry's severe overcapacity... "The level of globalization will decide the future of our company", said Ma Chunji, chairman of China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co Ltd, also known as Sinotruk, the top exporter of heavy trucks. According to him, Sinotruk will export half of its total sales in the future... Zhang Yu, managing director of Automotive Foresight (Shanghai) Co, said both overseas expansion and product upgrading fit the country's current supply-side reform program. He said the truck industry in China will experience dramatic structural changes and product upgrading in the next five years, anticipating the implementation in 2020 of the Nationwide VI emission standard for heavy-duty truck and bus engines... 
(Photo from CHINA DAILY - A production line of truck manufacturing factory in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province)    --   Beijing, China - China Daily - August 3, 2016

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Jul 6, 2016

TRUCKS MARKET * Canada: June deliveries

* Ontario - Light trucks lead June sales toward record year for Canadian auto makers

--- The new vehicle market in Canada bounced back last month from the slight dip it took in May, as auto makers reported the highest June deliveries on record... Vehicle manufacturers delivered 191,129 vehicles last month, 7 per cent more than a year earlier, spurred by growing consumer demand for pickup trucks, crossover utility vehicles, sport utilities and minivans... Sales of those four types of vehicles, which appear on the truck side of the sales ledger, have been surpassing sales of passenger cars – prompting the Detroit-based manufacturers to keep some of their plants running in July, instead of taking the traditional two-week summer shutdown... 
(Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg: Frames of Chrysler Group LLC minivan vehicles move down the production line at Chrysler's assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario)   --  Toronto, ONT, CAN - The Globe and Mail, by GREG KEENAN - Jul. 04, 2016

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TRUCKS MARKET * India: A temporary blip?

* Mumbai - Truck sales hit a roadblock; a temporary blip?
--- Post-monsoon trends in sales and freight rates would be key to chart out the earnings trajectory for truck makers such as Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors... Amid these worrying signs, light commercial vehicles sales growth has been more stable, perhaps because the recovery in that segment was delayed when compared with trucks... Stock prices of Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors have been wobbly in the last couple of months, although they had outperformed the other auto segments through the recovery...
(Photo: Mint - Stock prices of Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors have been wobbly in the last couple of months, although they had outperformed the other auto segments through the recovery) -- Mumbai, India - Live Mint, by Vatsala Kamat - Jul 04 2016

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May 5, 2016

TRUCK ORDERS * USA: Fall in April

* New York - Orders for Class 8 trucks plunged 39% from a year earlier

-- Orders for large trucks fell for the fourth consecutive month in April, and are likely to stay low through the summer as trucking demand continues to be weak, according to research group FTR... Last month, trucking fleets ordered just 13,500 Class 8 trucks, the big rigs used on long-haul routes, down 16% from March and 39% from a year earlier. It was the fewest net orders in any April since 2009, FTR said... DAT Solutions, an Oregon-based transportation data firm, reported that loads available for dry vans, the most common type of tractor-trailers used for shipping consumer goods, fell 28% in April while capacity on the market was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. There are signs operators are pulling back trucks, however, with capacity measured by DAT slipping back 3.6% from March to April... 
(PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS - Orders for new trucks fell in APril for a fourth consecutive month) -- NY, USA - The WSJ, by BOB TITA and LORETTA CHAO - May 4, 2016

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Jan 22, 2016

TRUCKS' MARKET * UK

* UK - Truck manufacturers bullish on 2016

-- UK truck makers are gaining confidence for 2016 after registrations increased 27% in 2015 to 44,063 units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)... Senior industry executives remain confident that demand is now at a healthy and sustainable level after a disappointing 2014 in which registrations were depressed by the impacts of Euro-VI introduction and European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval... Manufacturers are also concerned that a lack of drivers will limit sales, as operators won’t buy trucks if they have nobody to drive them...
(Photo: A Hewicks Haulage truck fleet) -- London, EN, UK - Trailer Body Builders - Jan 22, 2016

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Dec 4, 2015

TRUCKS MARKET NEWS * Sweden - North American heavy truck orders drop nearly 60 pct in Nov yr/yr

* Stockholm - 16,600 units in November, the lowest order level in more than three years

-- North American heavy truck orders (Class 8) preliminary fell by almost 60 percent year-on-year to 16,600 units in November, the lowest order level in more than three years, ACT Research said in a statement dated on Wednesday... "November was the weakest Class 8 net order month since August 2010 on a seasonally adjusted basis and September 2012 on an actual basis," said Steve Tam, Vice President, Commercial Vehicle Sector at ACT... Truck maker Volvo recently announced it would cut production in North America to adjust to high inventory levels and lower demand, including stop weeks in January and December and planned layoffs at its plant in Virginia... "A glut of inventory in the broader economy has led to slowing freight and lower freight rates. This, in turn, has caused truckers to hit the pause button on truck orders," ACT's Tam added... Volvo is currently forecasting a drop of about 10 percent in the North American truck market next year... 
(Photo: Volvo USA, trucks factory) -- Stockholm, Sweden - Reuters, by Johannes Hellstrom - Dec 3, 2015

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Jul 7, 2015

TRUCKS MARKET * USA: Decline in truck orders

* Indiana - Not surprising
-- Orders for both medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks in North America posted declines, according to two newly released preliminary reports, but the markets remain healthy... For the month of June, 34,600 Classes 5-8 vehicle orders were booked, down 14% from May and 17% less compared to June 2014, according to ACT Research... The commercial vehicle industry data provider said it believes the recent order decline is a reflection of meaningfully larger backlogs rather than any structural change in demand... It noted during May, Classes 5-8 backlogs were at 56,000 units, or 33% above their year-ago levels... Meantime, medium-duty orders reduced the monthly net order volume to 14,700 units, well below the 19,300 units per month net order average experienced since last July, according to Vieth... A separate report from the freight forecasting firm FTR shows North American Class 8 truck net orders fell for the fourth straight month to 19,624 units, 25% below a year ago... Class 8 orders, while fairly predictable for the period, were somewhat above the current seasonal trend showing just a 2% month over-month-decline from May, according to the firm... It believes the market remains robust, reflected in the orders received in what is typically a weak order month... FTR said its research shows there are few build slots available for the balance of the year due to the solid backlogs as Class 8 orders over the last six months, equaling an annual rate of 305,000 units... 
Columbus and Bloomington, IND, USA – Today's Trucking - Jul 6, 2015

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Jun 20, 2015

TRUCKS MARKET * Colombia: USA legislators concerned about trade practices

* DC - Senators say trade violations may hurt truck makers

-- Ohio’s U.S. senators, along with legislators from five other states, are expressing concern over Colombian trade practices that could be hurting commercial truck manufacturers like Kenworth Truck Co. ... They're sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative. Michael Froman. encouraging the administration to press the Republic of Colombia to live up to its international trade commitments... At issue is a 2013 change by the Colombian government in the rules for how new commercial trucks can be registered in that country... “The buyers of new trucks must first purchase a second, old truck, and scrap it before they can register and use their new capital purchase,” the letter reads. “In response to this counterproductive policy, the truck market in Colombia has shrunk by nearly 70 percent. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of truck exports have fallen victim to Colombia’s scrapping rule” ... In 2012, American truck brands sold nearly 12,000 heavy-duty trucks in Colombia, dominating the truck market in that nation... Several manufacturers could be impacted if nothing changes, including Ohio's: Chillicothe’s Kenworth Truck Co., Detroit PDC in Canton, Navistar in Springfield and Etna and Volvo Group across Ohio... The letter states that the U.S.A. cannot continue to allow violations of trade agreements without consequence... 
(Photo from Flickr: Old trucks that roll on roads Colombia)  --  Washington,DC, USA – The Chillicothe Gazette - June 17, 2015

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May 1, 2015

PICKUP TRUCK MARKET * USA: U.S. drivers snapped up trucks in April

* NY - Americans went big in April, snapping up jumbo SUVs and pickups

-- American consumers have become convinced lower fuel prices are here to stay and they are reverting to the vehicle equivalent of comfort food: roomy SUVs and pickups... Speeding the move back to big is a new crop of SUVs that don’t guzzle like they used to and now ride on more comfortable car frames. These SUVs, known as crossovers because they combine attributes of cars and trucks, have become the perfect package to appeal to Americans’ desire to live large without feeling guilty... Mid-sized SUVs are the most shopped vehicle type on AutoTrader.com and compact SUVs are No. 2, Krebs said. American drivers like to ride high and have space for people and cargo, Wolkonowicz said. And they feel safer in larger vehicles... Unit sales of cars and light trucks in April probably rose 5.9 percent to about 1.47 million vehicles, according to the average estimate from 12 analysts. There were 26 selling days this month, the same as last year... Nissan Motor Co. may report the biggest year-on-year gain among the top automakers with a 9 percent increase, the average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV may come in second at a 7.6 percent jump, according to estimates. GM and Ford may report a 5.3 percent and 6.1 percent gain, respectively... 
 (Photo by Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)   --  New York, USA - Bloomberg - 29 April 2015

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Apr 26, 2015

TRUCKS MARKET * USA: Medium-Duty trucks in strong demand

* Indiana - North American drivers prefer Class 5-7 model trucks

-- North American truckers ordered just over 24,600 Class 8 trucks in March 2015, down from the same time last year, according to industry analysts at ACT research. The drop in Class 8 trucks is due to a seven-month backlog of unbuilt orders from last year, ACT claims... But Class 5-7 orders were up, posting the sixth year-over-year gain in the past seven months with 20,800 orders. While Class 8 orders have been down to start 2015, the seasonally adjusted numbers are still predicting a 300,000 unit rate for the year... “A 300,000 unit annualized rate of order placement represents solid support for an industry already sitting on nearly seven months of unbuilt orders,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research...
 (Photo: Toyota's HINO light and medium trucks) --  Columbus, IND, USA - Todays Trucking - Apr 22, 2015

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Feb 8, 2015

TRUCKS MARKETS * Australia: TIC CEO Tony McMullan wants government incentives in place to encourage operators to update their fleets

* Truck Industry Council laments poor start for truck sales

-- Manufacturers disappointed with January sales figures, as the average age of trucks heads toward 14 years... Sales of new trucks in January only just reached 1,600 units, down 7 per cent on January 2014... Compared with the record pre-GFC January of 2008 when well over 2,200 trucks were sold, this January’s result is down almost 30 per cent... A total of 518 heavy trucks were sold for the month, down 13 per cent on the start of 2014... Light Duty trucks also took "quite a hit" with only 448 sales, down by 16 per cent, "and one of the worst starts to a year for this segment in the last decade"... However, the Medium Duty segment was "something of a surprise" with sales up slightly to 336 trucks... TIC says heavy commercial vans continued to go against the general trend, as they did in 2014. In January total sales were 312, up 15 per cent – the best ever start to a year for the van segment... CEO Tony McMullan says TIC expects the average age of trucks to exceed 14 years in the next year or two, and he believes government needs to do more to entice operators to update their rigs... Sydney, NSW, Australia -ATN -6 Feb 2015

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Feb 6, 2015

TRUCKS MARKET * USA & Canada: Blame millennials for not buying cars

* Ontario / Canada - Too many trucks and SUV's on the road?

(Photo: Ford's pickup trucks on Kansas City factory) 
-- Auto sales put the pedal to the metal in January... Parking lots across the U.S.A. are getting tighter as Americans increasingly pick large SUV’s, crossovers, and pickups over hatchbacks and sedans...  While improving unemployment and cheap gas prices help explain the trend towards trucks, it’s also got something to do with who is not showing up at dealerships... It’s no secret that the percentage of vehicle sales to 18-to-34-year-olds has dropped significantly over the past several years... While auto makers scratch their heads as to why millennials are not getting behind the wheel, the near term impact may work in their favour as older customers opt for larger, higher margin vehicles loaded with optional features... Toronto, Ontario, Canada -BNN -January 6, 2015

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Nov 25, 2014

TRUCKS MARKET * Viet Nam: Truck sales

* Chinese trucks dominate Vietnam market thanks to cheap prices, domestic supply deficit
(Photo: Chinese trucks are on display at a car dealership in Ho Chi Minh City)
Ho Chi Minh City,Viet Nam -TUOI TRE NEWS -22 Nov 2014: -- Low prices combined with a failure by Vietnam’s domestic automobile industry to meet demand have enabled Chinese-made vehicles, mostly trucks, to flood the Southeast Asian country’s market... Vietnam’s imports of automobiles posted strong growth in both volume and value in the January-October period, according to newly released data from the Vietnam Customs... The Southeast Asian country imported 51,600 complete automobiles from all markets in the year to October, a steep increase of 79 percent year on year, whereas the import value rose 96 percent from the same period last year to US$1.14 billion...

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Oct 8, 2014

TRUCK MARKETS * Australia: September trucks sales

* Australian Capitol Territory - Good third quarter sales of new trucks 

(Photo: Roadtrains are the main form of importation within Australia, without trucks Australia stops) Kingston,ACT,Australia -ATN, by Steve Skinner -7 Oct 2014: -- Best third quarter since the GFC, but the market still lags 2013 sales, and heavy duty trucks down... There is some good news emerging on the new truck sales front, with the July to September quarter seeing the strongest growth in heavy vehicle sales all year... The Truck Industry Council (TIC) says July to September 2014 is the strongest third quarter since the global financial crisis. Sales are up almost 200 units on the same period last year... However, total truck and heavy van sales for the first nine months of 2014 are down 2 per cent on the same period in 2013, at 22,311 units...

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Oct 6, 2014

TRUCK MARKETS * USA: Abnormally strong orders

* North Caroline - Orders continue strong for Class 8 trucks

Winston-Salem,NC,USA -JOC, by Corianne Egan -Oct 04, 2014: -- This year is showing “abnormally strong” growth in Class 8 truck orders, BB and T Capital Market says... September Class 8 truck orders totaled 24,900 units, exceeding analyst expectations, which ranged from 20,000 to 23,000. The higher-than-average numbers are a good sign for orders heading into the busy season, which typically takes place from October through December. October is typically 20 percent higher than September, BB and T said... Final September data should be available by Oct. 15. The preliminary Class 8 orders in September were 32 percent higher than September 2013. Most years, May through September are slow months for the industry... Assuming normal seasonality, BB and T said it believes ACT Research's preliminary forecasts — which show October orders in the range of 25,000 to 28,000, November orders from 26,000 to 29,000, and up to 32,000 orders in December — to be fairly accurate... ACT Research also has forecast 2015 growth to outperform 2014, with orders topping 312,000 for the year. Those numbers may have to be adjusted, however, as 2014 total orders are booking at a 332,409 annualized rate...

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Jul 29, 2014

TRUCKS MARKET * USA: Uneven recovery

* DC - How truck sales track the economy

(Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington PostSunset Ford of Waterloo is shown on Sunday, July 13, 2014) 
Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Jeff Guo -July 28, 2014: ... Sales of light trucks like pickups or SUVs are a favorite measure because they reflect both business optimism and a particularly potent kind of consumer exuberance... The traditional type of light truck buyer is a company that needs pickups or cargo vans to haul materials or crew... Many buyers are contractors, landscapers, plumbers, electricians, or in some other way linked to the construction industry. For this reason, light truck sales often rise and fall with the number of new homes constructed, and the auto industry watches the housing market closely to predict demand for trucks... The other type of light truck buyer is a suburban warrior making a passion purchase... The uptick in truck sales not only means increased consumer confidence, but also a fat bonus for automakers. Pickup trucks in particular are massively lucrative for Detroit, generating as much as 10 times the profit of a small car...


* Ohio - Ford raises F-150 prices, dealers begin ordering 2015 models
(Photo from REUTERS, by Aaron Josefczyk: The new 2015 Ford F150 truck sits at the Ford Lima Engine Plant during a media event in Lima, Ohio, March 28, 2014)
Lima,Allen County,OH,USA -Reuters -Jul 28, 2014: -- U.S. and Canadian dealers on Monday began ordering 2015 Ford Motor Co F-150 pickup trucks, which are lighter than earlier models, priced higher and include additional standard features, the company said. The launch of the new trucks with aluminum bodies is key for Ford as the F-150 pickups have been the best-selling vehicles in North America for 36 years and are profit centers for the No. 2 U.S. automaker... The base, or non-luxury, models - the XL work truck and the most popular version the XLT - will see prices rise $395 over F-150 pickups currently on sale. The XL base price will be $26,615 including destination charges, and the XLT will begin at $31,890. Together, these two versions will account for up to 70 percent of F-150 sales, said company spokesman Mike Levine. He added, the higher prices were due to additional standard features in all five trim levels of the F-150, and not because of the greater cost of aluminum over steel...

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