DTNA Third-Quarter Sales Slump 39% to 30,225 Trucks, Buses
Globally, Daimler Truck Q3 Sales Decline 15%
Key Takeaways:
- Daimler Truck North America sold 30,225 trucks and buses in the third quarter of 2025, down 39% from a year earlier, the company said Oct. 8.
- The decline follows steep order drops and reduced full-year guidance as weak freight rates, tariffs and economic uncertainty dampen demand for new vehicles.
- Daimler Truck plans to cut jobs in North America and Germany and will report full third-quarter earnings Nov. 7 amid broader global sales declines.
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Daimler Truck North America sold 30,225 trucks and buses in the third quarter of 2025, a 39% slump compared with 49,346 in the same period last year, parent company Daimler Truck said Oct. 8.
As is typical with Daimler Truck’s pre-earnings sales announcements, no color was provided on the statistics. Daimler Truck will report its full third-quarter earnings Nov. 7.
However, the decrease was not particularly unexpected.
DTNA’s orders in the second quarter tumbled 53% year over year to 13,842 trucks and buses from 29,604 vehicles, the parent company said July 31.
And North American Class 8 truck orders fell year over year for an eighth consecutive month in August.
Daimler Truck cut its full-year guidance for the North American Class 8 market the same day to a range of 250,000 to 280,000 trucks, from 260,000 to 290,000 vehicles previously.
DTNA’s overall truck and bus sales in 2025 are now expected to be between 135,000 and 155,000 vehicles, compared with prior expectations in a 155,000 to 175,000 truck-and-bus range.
Predictions for the individual Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses units were not offered.
A line of Freightliner trucks on display in Indianapolis. (Jonathan Weiss/Dreamstime/TNS)
Sales of heavy-duty trucks continue to take a hammering from the elongated freight rate weakness, with carriers expecting little relief in the coming months.
Economic uncertainty hampered the recovery expected at the end of 2024, with the Trump administration’s introduction of myriad tariffs a key factor in the apprehension among shippers and investors.
In the latest twist, President Trump on Oct. 6 bumped the launch date for 25% Section 232 tariffs on heavy- and medium-duty trucks and parts imports by a month to Nov. 1, thickening the fog obscuring any path to a rebound in sales.
Clarity on which trucks and parts will be penalized by the tariffs — originally due to become effective Oct. 1 — remains elusive for manufacturers and carriers alike.
The only certainty is that truck prices will increase, observers say, which will hurt demand for new rolling stock even more.
“Trucks will be more expensive at a time when we can least afford it,” Werner Enterprises CEO Derek Leathers told the Wex OTR Summit in San Antonio on Oct. 2. Werner ranks No. 18 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
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World Trade Organization economists said in a report released Oct. 7 that , slashing expectations for global trade growth to 0.5% from 1.8% due to the tariffs.
DTNA prepared for the decline in over-the-road tractor orders and expectations of a bumpy 2026 by laying off 2,000 production plant staff and sharpening its focus on the vocational sector.
Parent company Daimler Truck is set to cut 5,000 jobs in Germany too, aiming to boost its competitiveness.
Globally, Daimler Truck sold 98,009 trucks and buses in the most recent quarter, a 15% decline compared with 114,917 vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks increased its unit sales by 8% to 39,290 vehicles from 36,415 a year earlier.
In Asia, the company sold 25,515 trucks, a fall of 8% compared with 27,721 in Q3 2024.
Daimler Buses sold 6,443 vehicles in Q3, a 4% year-on-year decrease from 6,698.
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