November Class 8 Sales Up 4.2% As Nation’s Economy Improves
.S. sales of heavy-duty trucks rose 4.2% in November compared with the same month a year earlier, posting a moderate gain from what was a strong month in 2002 when truck makers were still seeing leftover “pre-buy” demand for engines built before new federal emissions rules took effect that October.
Truck sales last month were also 22.65% higher than during the recession period of November 2001, according to data from Ward’s Communications of Southfield, Mich.
But for the first 11 months of 2003, sales were 126,858, or 6.2% below 2002, according to Ward’s.