Medium- and heavy-duty truck deliveries slid 3.7% in November, compared with like-2011, to 25,690 units, according to WardsAuto data.
The majority of classes saw gains for the month, but that wasn’t enough to offset losses in two groups, Class 4 and Class 8.
Nearly every major Class 8 player posted a decline, driving the sector to a 15.6% slump on 14,370 units.
International and PACCAR's Kenworth brand fell 39.0% and 5.7%, respectively, while the latter's Peterbilt unit posted a 23.6% decline. Volvo Truck saw sales plummet 29.2% to 2,695.
Daimler’s Freightliner and Western Star were the only heavy-duty brands to enjoy increased demand, with deliveries rising 9.1% and 14.6%, respectively.
Class 4’s November drop was a more modest 8.7%, with volume totaling just 516 units. Sector leader Isuzu slipped 3.2% to 241, while Daimler’s stable of brands suffered a 35.2% sales decline to 107.
International posted the largest Class 4 gain, up 533.3% on just 19 units.
Class 5 deliveries rose 29.5% to 4,570 units, with top-seller Ford posting a 32.6% hike to 3,253. Chrysler sales took a 4.0% jump to 679, while Isuzu and Daimler deliveries increased 48.3% and 143.1%, respectively.
Freightliner’s 25.4% gain vs. year-ago to 1,081 units fueled a 14.5% hike in Class 6 demand to 2,710. Ford deliveries soared 63.9% to 295 units, while International sales were flat at 841 units. Hino inched up 1.5% to 279, while UD Trucks posted a 20.5% increase to 94.
Class 7 sales rose 10.3% to 3,524 trucks. Freightliner paced the group with a 14.8% increase to 1,399 units, while UD Trucks suffered a 19.6% drop to 45 and International slipped 5.0% to 987. Hino and Ford recorded gains of 55.9% and 26.1%, respectively.
Despite the November sales slide, medium- and heavy-duty truck deliveries were up 15.1% year-to-date to 313,955.
Medium-duty inventory closed November at 40,421 units, or 89 days’ supply. Class 8 stock levels stood at 38,362 for a 67 days’ supply.
In other big-truck news, Renault sells its remaining 6.5% stake in Volvo for $1.92 billion in an effort to cut debt and raise capital for future investments. Renault sold a 14.9% share of Volvo in 2010. The French auto maker has been the largest stakeholder in the Swedish truck maker for 11 years.
Renault did not disclose who purchased the stake, and Industrivaerden, Volvo’s second-largest stakeholder before the sale, also remains mum.
“It’s important for Volvo to have a strong and stable owner structure, and we believe that after this sale it will continue to have such a structure,” Carl-Olof By, Industrivaerden’s deputy chief executive officer, tells Bloomberg. “We believe in the company and see big potential and will continue to be a long-term owner.”
