LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mack Trucks continues to show confidence in North America’s truck market, identifying upward pressure on its current projections for 280,000 Class 8 truck sales this year alone.

“There’s significant upward pressure on that retail market — and really what’s driving that are fleets in long-haul,” said senior vice-president of sales and marketing Jonathan Randall, during an interview at the Mid-America Truck Show. “There’s also a surge in day cab orders, where day cabs have now overtaken straight trucks as a percentage of the total order board.”

Last year, long-haul trucks accounted for 41-42% of retail sales, but in the last five months that share has grown to 48%, he observed.

And the company hopes to secure a larger share of that business with its new Anthem tractor.

Mack’s market share admittedly dipped in the first quarter of the year as it prepares manufacturing lines for the new trucks. But it’s now ramping up for more business.

“We’re not building to full capacity yet,” Randall stressed. “We expect that we’ll see growth [in market share] by the end of the year, driven by continued strong performance in straight truck, continued strong performance in L-CoE, and growth in day cab, and growth in sleeper business with the Anthem.”