Class 8 Truck Sales in June Increase for First Time in 2025
[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
U.S. Class 8 retail sales in June experienced their first year-over-year increase of 2025, according to Wards Intelligence data.
Sales increased 12.5% to 20,392 from 18,134 in June 2024. They also increased 8.6% sequentially from the 18,778 in May. Year-to-date sales are down 5% to 107,827 units from 113,529. Truck sales have been trending below the prior year since July 2023, with the exception of July and November 2024.
“One of the themes that’s resonated throughout this cycle, maybe more so earlier, but also a little bit as of late, is just the challenge the manufacturers have had in producing units,” said. “I’ve said it before; if you don’t build it, you can’t sell it. And so, my guess is, when we see the June production numbers, there’s probably going to be a corresponding increase.”
Tam cautions that one data point is not indicative of a trend. Instead, he suspects that some of the truck manufacturers might have been trying to push out units before they lay off more workers. He also hasn’t yet seen corresponding cutbacks on the production side, though that is something he expects to see this month or next.
ղ
“The expectation that this might be a high-water mark, or at least temporarily, in the cycle that we’re in, is certainly something that we’re keeping an eye out for,” Tam said. “We’re a little bit, I don’t want to call us more pessimistic than the manufacturers, but our forecast is below where most of the manufacturers are forecasting at this point. Our U.S. forecast call, right now, is for about 221,400 U.S. Class 8 sales this year. If that’s right, it would be a decline of about 10.5%.”
Tam added that this is being primarily driven by the freight market and the impact of inflation.
The problem is, he pointed out, companies have fixed capital budgets, so they might not be able to buy as much equipment as they could before, contributing to the decline in demand.
鲹Ի岹
“June’s Class 8 sales results reflect the resilience of customer demand despite ongoing uncertainty,” Mack Trucks North America President Jonathan Randall said. “The freight market remains soft, and we’re now seeing some moderation in vocational demand linked to construction spending.
“That said, June’s sales performance underscores our customers’ confidence in their fleet operations and Mack’s proven reliability despite market conditions.”
Wards found that five of the seven major truck makers saw year-over-year sales increases. Freightliner, a brand of , claimed the largest market share at 39% with 7,944 trucks sold. This also marked a 30.8% increase from 6,074 units the prior year. Western Star, another DTNA brand, saw sales rise 36.7% to 1,136 units from 831.
DZ
“Retails for the month of June were the highest this year so far, but as it was the end of a quarter it was expected,” said Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy, marketing and brand management for Volvo Trucks North America. “However, if we instead look at the order pace the last three months, it’s close to record-low volumes, indicating that fleets are still hesitant to invest in new trucks due to the present uncertainties with tariffs as well as macroeconomic factors and low probability for the carriers.”
Mack Trucks reported sales increased 14.2% to 1,556 units from 1,362 in 2024. VTNA saw sales decrease 16.8% to 1,656 units from 1,991. Mack and VTNA are brands of Volvo Group.
sales increased 22.3% to 2,110 units from 1,725.
“One reason the retails still did hold up well in June was due to quite substantial inventory levels at the dealers, which naturally leads to price pressure in the market, especially in the tractor sleeper segment,” Koeck said. “We are in conversations daily with our customers as we navigate this complex environment together.”
. reported sales increased 4.9% to 2,970 units from 2,830. sales declined 8.5% to 3,014 units from 3,294. Peterbilt and Kenworth are Paccar Inc. brands.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing belowor go here for more info:
