October truck sales surge nearly 63%

WardsAuto said that sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. jumped 62.8% in October, representing the largest single month gain this year. Class 8 deliveries alone jumped 107.6%, WardsAuto reported

Nov. 14, 2011

2 min read

Nearly every manufacturer in Class 8 posted huge gains, led by International’s 184.8% increase. Daimler and Paccar posted 87.1% and 109.9% increases. The lowest Class 8 sales increase belonged to Western Star, but even that OEM posted a 42.4% increase.

(See WardsAuto data on U.S. sales by weight and class)

Medium-duty truck sales also posted strong gains, increasing 23% in the month. UD Trucks led a rise in imported units with a 33.5% jump in Class 7. Overall, imports increased 25.5%, WardsAuto reported.

Peterbilt saw a 101% year-over-year increase in Class 7.

In Class 6, sales jumped 59.7%, led by Freightliner, Hino and International, all of which posted triple-digit increases. Hino’s sales climbed 138%.

Mitsubishi Fuso posted a 140.1% increase, leading a 28.4% overall jump in Class 5 sales.

In Class 4, Freightliner’s deliveries jumped 580%. The segment, overall, rose 32.4% across all brands.

Canadian truck sales also increased in October, rising for the 20th straight month, WardsAuto said. Sales increased 38.5% in Classes 4-8, with Class 8 up 37% and Class 7 increasing 54.7%.

(For a closer look at the Canadian numbers, click here)

Sales in Class 6 increased 32% and Class 5 posted a 53.4% increase. Class 4 showed the weakest increase, rising just 2.2%, WardsAuto reported.