Class 8 Truck Sales Climb From February, Still Lag 2024
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U.S. Class 8 sales continued to trend below year-ago levels but posted a sequential gain in March, according to data from .
Sales decreased 5% to 18,682 units from 19,658 during the same time last year but jumped 18.8% sequentially from the 15,725 units reported in February.
Year to date, Class 8 sales are down 9.4% to 50,627 units from 55,862. The trucking sales market has been experiencing year-over-year losses for more than a year with few exceptions.
“The sequential increase is largely seasonal,” ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said. “We normally see about a 17% increase going from February to March. The fact that we saw a little bit more growth than that is potentially encouraging.”
Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, claimed the largest market share for the month with 7,286 trucks sold, accounting for 39% of all sales. This marked a 1% increase from the 7,214 sold during the prior year. Western Star, another DTNA brand, experienced the largest year-over-year percentage increase at 30.9%. It sold 1,055 units, up from 806.
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“We’re kind of bearish right now,” Tam said. “If I looked at how those numbers translate into what we could expect for the year, it would imply about a 220,000 annual market, and our forecast is 210,000 or 215,000 for the U.S. market right now. So a little bit better than where we’re seeing things. Again, a sign of encouragement, but it’s also one data point.”
Tam pointed to a couple of factors that may explain the sequential increase being slightly above season expectations. It shows that manufacturers were able to build and sell enough trucks to reach that demand at the very least. But it may also show manufacturers are trying to fulfill orders ahead of tariffs with the trade penalty being a major focus of the current administration.
“The sales numbers actually are pretty decent relative to what they could have been, because they easily could have come in lower than what they did,” FTR Transportation Intelligence Chairman Eric Starks said.
“Now we always see a seasonal spike as we move through the spring on sales because people want to take delivery of stuff as they get ready to start moving stuff," he added. "But the big thing that keeps overhanging everybody right now is the purchase price of a vehicle going forward based upon the tariffs.”
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Starks pointed to the steel and aluminum tariffs already impacting materials important to vehicle production. But the bigger concern he sees is the lack of clarity on key points, such as whether exemptions for trucks and trailers will remain, the downstream economic impact, and what goods exactly are considered compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“We’ve seen orders softened noticeably in March,” Starks said. “So I fully expect as we start looking into April and May, that sales will start to tail off even further than what we’ve seen up to this point. Not overly optimistic about the direction of where it’s going, but I am at least pleased to see the numbers that we saw for March.”
Starks noted that understanding where the sales market is going depends on how conditions unfold in the short term. He suspects conditions will stabilize and people will become more confident about making truck purchases if the market is able to get clarity in the near term over what the operating environment will look like as it relates to tariffs and pricing. He also warned that a lack of clarity will mean buyers will continue to hold off on purchasing.
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“Industry leaders rolled into year-end with a ton of optimism that the new administration would bring relief and new sense of opportunity,” said David Kriete, president of Kriete Truck Centers. “Since inauguration, however, we’ve experienced more uncertainty week to week than expected. As such, there hasn’t been a huge resurgence in purchasing that we anticipated. Couple this sentiment with the fact that all OEMs are in the midst of bringing new EPA ’27-compliant product platforms to market, and it's making for a more expensive and more risky purchasing atmosphere than we had a year ago. But I maintain that the near future is very bright.”
Mack Trucks reported sales increased 9.4% to 1,518 units from 1,388. Volvo Trucks North America saw sales decrease 21.8% to 1,577 units from 2,016 last year. Mack and VTNA are brands of Volvo Group.
“March Class 8 sales reflect ongoing market softness in the on-highway segment, and we’re beginning to see softening in the regional haul and vocational segments as well,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “Regardless, Mack remains focused on delivering long-term value to our customers as evidenced by the launch of our all-new Mack Pioneer just last week.”
International Motors sales fell 20.4% to 1,549 from 1,945. Peterbilt Motors Co. sales declined 8.4% to 2,877 units from 3,140, and Kenworth Truck Co. sales dropped 10.7% to 2,807 from 3,142. Peterbilt and Kenworth are Paccar Inc. brands.
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