International sold 14,628 trucks in the most recent quarter, compared with 13,143 trucks a year earlier. (International Motors)
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International Motors posted an 11.3% gain in truck sales during the second quarter of 2025, helping to lift operating profit and margins for the North American division of Traton Group.
Lisle, Ill.-based International sold 14,628 trucks in the most recent quarter, compared with 13,143 trucks a year earlier. When its bus division is added to the mix, sales rose 9.9% to 17,621 units compared with 16,032 vehicles in the year-ago period.
However, these sales gains were weighed against weak year-ago levels, and arrived as order activity for new trucks slowed compared with Q2 2024 levels, the company said in a July 24 earnings release.
That weakness — which is being felt across the industry — compelled Traton to cut its full-year outlook for North American Classes 6-8 truck sales, inclusive of sales across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The company now forecasts a drop of between 7.5% and 17.5% year over year for its North American Classes 6-8 truck sales, with Class 8 sales expected to come in at 275,000. The company’s previous 2025 estimate was for Classes 6-8 North American sales to remain flat or at worst fall 10%. .
“We’re facing both a tough and uncertain environment,” Traton CEO Christian Levin told analysts during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “In North America, ongoing customer hesitancy is significantly affecting International, although direct impacts from the U.S. tariffs have so far been manageable.”
The Trump administration introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum in March and raised the levies in June.
Levin told analysts that while International raised its prices in response to tariffs on the two primary raw materials for truck production, uncertainty over tariffs and the general economic outlook has kept many customers on the sidelines, preferring to keep their capital expenditure powder dry.
International posted an operating profit of $84.5 million in Q2, up 20% compared with $70.4 million in the year-ago period. Traton reports all earnings figures in euros and conversions were correct as of July 25.
For Q2, International saw revenue fall 1.8% to $2.59 billion from $2.63 billion a year earlier.
The company’s return on sales margin was 3.3% in Q2, compared with 2.7% in the year-ago period and 2.3% in the first three months of 2025. International in 2024 had an overall margin of 7.1%.
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Sales revenue through the first six months of 2025 totaled $5.14 billion, a 6% decrease compared with $5.48 billion in the year-ago period. Truck sales fell 11% year over year in the first half of the year to 28,330 compared with 31,817 a year ago.
A fire at the mirror supplier’s plant meant International could not complete and deliver some of its trucks as planned in Q2 2024.
International’s order activity during Q2 slid 9.3% to 8,952 compared with 9,866 orders for trucks and buses in the same quarter 12 months earlier. Individual figures for trucks and buses were not available.
Traton in the report said orders were “severely suffering” from reduced freight activity and the broader U.S. economy, as well as upcoming Environmental Protection Agency emissions regulations and the aforementioned customer uncertainty about import tariffs.
International cut the second shift at its Escobedo production plant in Mexico, resulting in a loss of 900 jobs. None of the company’s U.S. manufacturing sites have seen job losses.
Daimler Truck North America and Volvo Group also reduced head count as a result of the market weakness and uncertainty.
“According to our market intelligence, as of June, both Class 6, 7 and Class 8 in the U.S. and Canada truck markets were so far down 5%. [If Mexico is included], the development looks even worse. And on top of that, poor order intake numbers we have recently seen suggest an even stronger market decline through year-end despite elevated inventory levels that are expected to meet the demand from retail [customers],” Traton’s top executive told analysts.
“On a more optimistic side, an improved U.S. industrial output and pro-business policies, such as deregulation, tax relief could also support the market toward the end of the year,” Levin said.
The reintroduction of the tax bonus depreciation benefit by the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 is spurring optimism across the industry, with Ryder System CEO Robert Sanchez noting the benefits July 24 during the Miami-based company’s own quarterly earnings call Ryder ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
On a global basis, Traton profit in Q2 totaled $850.3 million, a 28.6% decrease compared with $1.19 billion in the year-ago period. Sales revenue in the most recent quarter fell 2.5% to $12.9 billion from $13.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.
