Isuzu’s N-Series Diesel. Isuzu led Class 4 with 740 sales in May. (Isuzu)
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U.S. medium-duty truck sales fell below prior-year levels again in May, marking the ninth time in 12 months that sales have declined year over year, according to data from Wards Intelligence.
Classes 4-7 retail truck sales for the month decreased 9% to 18,532 units from 20,359 a year earlier.
They also decreased 1.2% sequentially from the 18,754 units reported in April. The medium-duty market has been trending below the prior year, with few exceptions, since May 2024.
ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said the medium-duty market tends to be more “consumer centric, or even consumer facing, so both sides of the equation market relative to the Class 8 side.
“That’s one of the things that’s challenging this space,” Tam said. “The other thing is just prices. I think that the buyers in the medium-duty space tend to be less financially sophisticated. And so, they’re not seeing on a recurring basis what’s going on.”
Tam added that these buyers are more likely to be surprised by just how much used truck prices have increased since their last purchase. The concern here, he pointed out, is that this may cause some potential buyers to be discouraged and second guess their decision.
“We have the luxury of seeing the order board and knowing ahead of time what the direction of the market is going to be, and we’re seeing some meaningful slowing in demand,” Tam said. “It’s not just from the consumer side, but it’s also from the manufacturer side. If I’m accepting an order for a truck that I’m going to deliver six months from today, how do I know how to price it? I’m not even sure if the Section 232 tariff investigation is going to be done.”
Class 7 truck sales decreased 30.2% to 4,445 units from 4,494. Class 6 sales increased 4.4% to 5,933 units from 5,682. Classes 4 and 5 sales collectively decreased 19.9% to 8,154 units from 10,183. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, reported the most Class 7 sales at 1,855 units. Ford sold the most Class 6 vehicles at 2,318 units and the most Class 5 vehicles at 3,641 units. Isuzu led Class 4 with 740 trucks.
“I don’t think the manufacturers are pushing as hard on the selling side, if you will, trying to convince customers that they need to get into the marketplace and do it now,” Tam said. “And so, I think, that is leading to some of the slowing that we’re seeing as well.”
