A Mack Trucks dealership in Houston. Mack reported sales increased 1.5% to 1,637 units in May from 1,613 in May 2024. (Volvo Group)
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U.S. Class 8 retail sales experienced a sequential increase in May despite continuing to trend below the prior year, according to data from Wards Intelligence.
Sales decreased 5% to 18,778 from the 19,764 units reported during May 2024 but increased 3.9% sequentially from the 18,078 units reported in April. Year-to-date sales are down 8.3% to 87,447 units from 95,401.
“They’re playing out as if according to script,” ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said. “Looking at seasonality, it would’ve suggested that we would’ve seen about a 3% increase in sales from April to May, and we saw it a little bit better than that. Thinking about our forecast, our U.S. Class 8 forecast right now is about [222,000 trucks for all of 2025] and the May data seasonally adjusts at an annual rate to about [225,000] or [226,000]. So very much in line with expectations.”
Tam also pointed out that the year-over-year decline in sales was close to the expected 8.5% decrease in his forecast. The Class 8 market, he noted, is doing what it should be doing in light of the craziness that the economy is experiencing.
“Our forecast certainly is trying to think about what the most likely path is for the economy and for freight and for those vocational trucks,” Tam said. “The resilience, I think, is somewhat surprising in light of all of the fluidity of the situation. But the reality is trucks are just indispensable. There’s no substitute for them and for the work that they do.”
The reality is trucks are just indispensable. There’s no substitute for them and for the work that they do.
Steve Tam, ACT Research vice president
Wards found that four of the seven major truck makers experienced year-over-year sales increases. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, claimed the largest market share at 32.4% with 6,076 trucks sold. But this marked a 10.6% decrease from 6,800 the prior year. Western Star, another DTNA brand, saw sales increase 6% to 991 units from 935.
Mack Trucks reported sales increased 1.5% to 1,637 units from 1,613 last year. Volvo Trucks North America saw sales fall 28.2% to 1,675 units from 2,334 last year. Mack and VTNA are brands of Volvo Group.
“While May retail sales showed improvement from April, they continue to track below last year’s levels as freight market weakness and trade uncertainty weigh on customer demand,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “This environment is leading many fleet operators to adopt a cautious approach to equipment purchases as they navigate market volatility. Mack remains committed to working closely with our customers to meet their needs as conditions stabilize.”
International Motors sales increased 10.8% to 2,024 units from 1,911.
“In May, the industry continued to demonstrate caution in committing to capital expenditures,” said John Crum, commercial banking head of specialty equipment finance and leasing at Wells Fargo. “While there were some marginal per-mile rate improvements from April in certain sectors, on a year-to-year basis, rates have declined in most.”
Kenworth Truck Co. experienced the largest year-over-year percentage increase at 13.6% to 3,267 units from 2,876. Peterbilt Motors Co. sales declined 4.9% to 3,105 units from 3,266. Peterbilt and Kenworth are both Paccar Inc. brands.
“Companies are managing their bottom lines by minimizing those expenses they can, such as new truck and trailer acquisitions,” Crum said. “Low rates combined with adequate capacity in existing fleets creates a scenario where fleets are holding assets longer and expanding less.”
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