U.S., Canada big truck sales down in October

U.S. big-truck sales totaled 29,925 units in October, 17.2% below like-2015’s 38,910, according to WardsAuto data. In Canada, medium- and heavy-duty deliveries declined again in October, falling 17.4% from year-ago.

According to Wards, Class 8 in the U.S. had the largest decline of all gross-vehicle-weight classes, dropping 23.8% from year-ago. Daimler’s Freightliner (-41.4%) and Western Star (-11.3%) brought the company down 40% from last October. International was up 9.3%, but year-to-date sales through October were down 26%. PACCAR and Volvo had double-digit drops of 12.4% and 22.2%, respectively.

Class 7 was the only group to see a gain in October, 2.9% above year-ago with 5,047 units. Hino dropped 30.8%, while International fell 3.2%. Kenworth (20.2%) and Peterbilt (15.1%) drove PACCAR’s results up 17.5%, according to Wards. Ford rose 12.7% with 135 units.

With 2,867 units delivered in October, Canada’s medium- and heavy-duty deliveries also declined from the previous year. Class 8 sales were off 18.9% from year-ago on 1,979 deliveries. PACCAR was the only truck maker up, with a 12.2% increase from prior-year. Daimler (-33.9%) and Volvo (-28.9%) had double-digit losses. International fell 6.4%.

Class 7 totaled 307 deliveries, a 9.2% drop. PACCAR’s Kenworth was up 8% from year-ago but Peterbilt undersold like-2015 with only 11 deliveries, dropping 54.3%. Ford (29.6%) and Hino (36.2%) outsold prior-year, but Freightliner came in low with only 41 deliveries, a 47.9% drop.

WardsAuto has more.