July Medium-Duty Sales Clear 19,000
[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Medium-duty sales in July rose 6.5% to just above 19,000, with the Class 7 segment hitting its peak for the year so far, WardsAuto.com reported.
Total sales in Classes 4-7 reached 19,082 compared with 17,911 a year earlier, according to Wards. Class 7 volume hit 4,490, which was the most in that segment this year.
Class 6 sales of 4,385 were the second-lowest so far in 2021, and only slightly higher than April’s 4,286.
What's next for data gathering and analytics programs in trucking? Host Seth Clevenger speaks with Andrew Johnson of PrePass Safety Alliance and Chris Orban of Trimble Transportation.Hear a snippet above, and get the full program by going to.
Classes 4-5 sales of 10,207 were that segment’s third-lowest of the year, ahead only of January’s 8,523 and February’s 8,316.
Across all medium-duty classes, year-to-date sales climbed 18.9% to 139,343 compared with the 2020 period. Class 8 year-to-date sales are at 128,376 for 2021.
“We tend to be doing a little bit better on the medium-duty side [compared with Class 8 sales],” ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam told Transport Topics. “It’s the heavy truck-centric manufacturers versus the auto-centric truck manufacturers. But the same dynamic is happening in both of those markets.”
For example, Freightliner, which produces both medium- and heavy-duty trucks, may be shifting available pieces and parts to the bigger trucks —where it is the market leader — and away from the medium-duty trucks where it is able and can, he suggested.
Nonetheless, Freightliner, a unit of Daimler Trucks North America, had the second-highest sales in Classes 6 and 7.
Tam
“Ford, who makes a broad range of trucks is doing the same thing, [shifting from light- to medium-duty trucks],” Tam continued. “So I think the medium-duty market is benefiting from the auto-centric truck OEMs in that perspective, making the medium-duty market a little more stable. It doesn’t seem to be struggling quite as much as Class 8.”
Ford Motor Co. led in Class 6 with 1,567 sales, good for a 35.7% share, and it continued to dominate in Class 5, where it sold 4,161 trucks, or 56.8% of the total.
In Class 4, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America had the largest market share, 36.3%, on sales of 1,049.
International, a brand of Navistar Inc., led in Class 7 with 1,714, good for a 38.1% share.
Meanwhile, Kenworth Truck Co. announced its TruckTech+ remote diagnostics system is now available as an option for its new medium-duty conventional models.
Kenworth, a unit of Paccar Inc., sold 354 trucks in Class 7 and 281 in Class 6 in July.
Fleets and truck operators may specify and buy a 24-month Kenworth TruckTech+ remote diagnostics subscription when purchasing new Kenworth T180, T280, T380 and T480 models equipped with the Paccar PX-7 and Paccar PX-9 engine. The T280, T380 and T480 also offer the system when specified with a Cummins Westport L9N natural gas engine. according to the Kirkland, Wash.-based company.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing belowor go here for more info:
