Equipment

U.S. big truck sales up 8% in February

March 11, 2016

U.S. sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in February rose 8% from year-ago, reaching 33,353 units, a 9-year high for the month, according to WardsAuto data.

Erin Sunde

U.S. sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in February rose 8% from year-ago, reaching 33,353 units, a 9-year high for the month, according to WardsAuto data.WardsAuto reports heavy-duty trucks took a sharp downturn, while every medium-duty class showed a double-digit gain.Class 8 sales totaled 15,876, down 10.9%. The only brands with positive results were Mack (+4.0%) and Western Star (+11.4%), but declines by their sister brands left the parent companies’ totals below prior-year. The greatest loss came from International, falling 21.2%. Year-to-date, the group was down 9.6%.Medium-duty deliveries were 33.9% above year-ago, totaling 17,477. Over the first two months of the year, sales were up 24.2%.Class 7 had the smallest gain with a 13.0% jump to 4,201 trucks. The group leader, Freightliner, recorded a 30.4% spike. Peterbilt’s sales rose 38.2%, dampened by a 2.2% dip from Kenworth, resulting in a 19.7% rise for PACCAR. Ford posted a 53.5% drop to 128 units.Class 6 deliveries reached 5,885 vehicles in February, 40.0% better than like-2015, as all brands surpassed last year’s tally. The biggest growth came from PACCAR’s Kenworth and Peterbilt brands, up 87.8% and 66.7%, respectively, but on relatively small volume. Ford boosted sales 53.3%, increasing share to 28.1%. Top-selling Freightliner showed a 36.7% sales gain.Class 5 hit a best-ever February result of 6,386 units, a 48.8% leap from prior-year. Freightliner (+241.4), FCA (+116.2%) and Hino (+145.6) posted triple-digit gains. Class leader Ford sold 3,817 trucks in this group, up 29.4%.Class 4 sales rose 20.5% to 1,005 units. Ford saw deliveries drop 7.8%, and Mitsubishi Fuso slipped 67.7%. Isuzu recorded a 36.3% gain by its domestic models and a 35.1% rise for imports.Medium-duty inventory sat at 57,791 units at the end of February, equating to a 79-day supply, lower than the 88 days from year-ago. The month ended with 52,200 heavy trucks in stock, also a 79-day supply, but up significantly from the 58 days from like-2015.