Medium-Duty Update: Growing Sales, Diesel Developments, Vertical Integration
As the economy goes, so goes the medium-duty truck business. Sales numbers show continuing healthy growth of Class 3 through 7 commercial trucks, if you know how to read the data.
On their face, sales took a downturn in July and could finish the year 1.8% under 2015’s pace. But they should pick up again in 2017’s second quarter, according to an IHS forecast cited by Steve Latin-Kasper of the National Truck Equipment Association.
However, Latin-Kasper, NTEA’s director of market data and research, notes that the IHS figures are taken from Ward’s Automotive data, which includes Class 3 pickup trucks and vans, and pickup sales are expected to decline in this year’s second half — which would account for the downturn. Take out Class 3, as NTEA does, and the prognosis is more rosy — up 3.6% in 2016 and another 5.4% next year for Class 4-7 sales in the United States. Canada’s projections are similar and Mexico is in a boom, up an estimated 32.1% this year and 21.1% next year.
“The medium duty market has been stable and healthy, and we anticipate a consistent growth rate in all segments,” says Mary Aufdemberg, director of product marketing for Freightliner Trucks. Others we talked with agree.
Diesel developments
Medium-duty diesels have been updated to deliver more fuel efficiency that will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which must be reduced by direction of Phase 2 emissions regulations.
Daimler Trucks North America moved further down the path of vertical integration by introducing a new Detroit DD5, a 4-cylinder midrange diesel available for order now for its M2-106 trucks. It will first come from Daimler’s plant in Mannheim, Germany, then production will move to Detroit’s Milford, Mich., plant in 2018. At that time, engine ratings and options will be introduced for other applications beyond the pickup and delivery specs …Read the rest of this story
