truck sales
Freightliner led January sales
TORONTO, Ont. -- Freightliner was the clear truck sales leader this January, moving 676 Class 8 trucks in Canada, figures supplied by WardsAuto show. The brand also held the top market share in Class 7, selling 212 units. Even in Class 6, it led the way with 80 Canadian sales. Dip down to Class 5, though, and Ford held the top spot with 156 trucks.
Mack VP: Will construction labor shortage harm growth?
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- With truck order intake expected to hit near-record levels in 2018, Mack's senior vice-president for North American sales, Jonathan Randall, is worried about who will drive all the trucks the company is building. Speaking on the opening day of the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show, Randall said the construction sector is seeing record spending, lots of job growth, and correspondingly strong order intake from the sector, but he says there are a couple of potentially dampening factors on the horizon. "There's a shortage of labor in that sector today, or more specifically, a shortage of construction workers," he said. "Who is going to drive all the trucks that we're selling?" Randall says U.S. GDP is expected to grow by 2.8% this year, and the strong economy is reflected in the strong order intake the industry is seeing this year. To says the economy is robust would probably be an understatement based on what Mack is seeing in truck orders
Truck sales projections face ‘upward pressure’: Randall
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mack Trucks continues to show confidence in North America’s truck market, identifying upward pressure on current projections for 280,000 Class 8 truck sales this year. “There’s significant upward pressure,” says senior vice-president of sales and marketing Jonathan Randall.
Trucking is growing, but watch NAFTA and driver shortage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trucking activity is surging thanks to an array of economic factors in the U.S., but there would be a steep price to pay if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on threats to pull out of NAFTA. “NAFTA trade via truck supports over 46,000 jobs in our industry, including nearly 31,000 truck driver jobs,” the ATA's Bob Costello observed during Omnitracs’ fourth-annual Outlook conference.
Tight equipment supply at Edmonton auction
EDMONTON, AB - Ritchie Bros.' Edmonton auction house sold $553 million in equipment this year, dropping the hammer last week on the sixth and final sale of 2017. "Online and onsite bidders were eager to snatch up equipment for winter work, resulting in strong pricing both days of the auction last week," said Trent Vandenberghe, sales director. "We continue to see relatively tight equipment supply as many companies are hanging on to surplus equipment in anticipation of upcoming projects. This continues to result in higher demand at our auctions and an uptick in pricing across many equipment categories." More than 4,500 pieces of equipment and trucks were sold for $66 million at the most recent auction, which attracted more than 7,850 bidders. About 5,850 of the bidders were online, and secured 71% of the available equipment.
Volvo expands in Mexico, predicts growing Nam market
GUADALAJARA, MX - Volvo's "shape of trucks to come" has come to Mexico, with the official unveiling of the VNL long-haul tractor, VNR regional hauler, and an expanded VAH auto hauler lineup. It's a significant expansion of Volvo offerings available in the country, which had previously been limited to the VNL long-haul trucks. "Mexico is a very important market for us globally," said Magnus Koeck, vice president - marketing and brand management, comparing the market's size to that of Canada, with 25,000 to 27,000 in annual sales placing Mexico among the largest truck markets in the world. Volvo now has a presence in 140 countries overall, with manufacturing capabilities on every continent. The North American models will be built in Dublin, Virginia. There will be more trucks to manufacture, too. Volvo now projects North America's Class 8 market to reach 260,000 units next year, compared to 235,000 in 2017. That could even be a conservative number, Koeck added, noting that some analysts are predicting as many as 309,000 units. "We will see if that will hold." Buyers around Mexico City will also have easier access to the trucks, through Grupo Alden's addition to the dealership network following a US $6 million investment. Volvo now has 43 dealer locations in Mexico overall.
