Truck sales continue gains in April

Fleets are continuing to loosen their pocketbooks as replacement of older equipment gathers momentum. For the eight consecutive month, U.S. Class 4 to 8 truck sales showed strong year-over-year growth in April, according to WardsAuto.com.  For all weight classes but Class 7 it was the best April sales showing since 2006, the automotive data specialist reported.

Medium- and heavy-duty sales rose 11.4% for the month and 13.1% over the first four months of the year.  Sales in that period totaled 119,768 units, well above the 105,873 units reports in the first four months of 2013.  Class 8 sales rose 14.5% compared to the same four months last year, while medium-duty sales were up 13.6%.

As for inventories, WardsAuto.com  reports:

Class 8 had a 53 days’ supply at the end of April, compared with 55 year-ago. However, inventory rose slightly to 35,980 units from 34,420. There was 70 days’ supply of medium-duty trucks, up from 63 prior-year as the month’s unit inventory rose to 47,077 from 37,394.