Truck Sales Headwinds Don’t Daunt Daimler Trucks North America
DTNA CEO Martin Daum talks to trucking journalists. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
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DTNA CEO Martin Daum talks to trucking journalists. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
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LAS VEGAS — Despite a challenging truck sales environment and not hitting a few goals laid out last year, Daimler Trucks North America is still confident it can remain the industry leader in this “new normal” environment, President and CEO Martin Daum told reporters at the American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition Monday.
In DTNA’s annual roundtable, Daum said the company’s projections a year ago for growth in 2016 “were much more optimistic” than reality, but the company, which sells Freightliner and Western Star trucks, is looking for a turnaround in truck sales in mid-2017.
“We are facing some headwind,” Daum said in a bit of understatement, noting that the company is now projecting that 2016 Class 8 sales in the U.S. will be around 184,000, down 26% from 2015’s 249,000. Looking at Class 6-8, that number is projected to be down 16% to 304,000, reflecting a stronger Class 6 and 7 market.
“The big question is, how will it go into next year,” Daum noted. “We think by mid year (next year) the speed will pick up again but not enough to compensate what we lose in the first half. We see next year at the same level or a little lower but with a positive outlook into 2018.”
Nevertheless, Daum said, DTNA continues to hold the lion’s share of the market, with 42% of the U.S. Class 8 sales as of August, up 1.7% from last year.
One of the reasons for Daum’s optimism is the next-generation Freightliner Cascadia unveiled last month.
“A lot of times you announce something as a new truck and it’s just a facelift. But here we really, from the ride to the electronics to the cab, we really really changed a lot. The truck …Read the rest of this story
