Copyright Notice:
Transport Topics content is protected by U.S. copyright law and may not be used
without prior written
Permission.
Updated:
Truck Sales to Recover Slowly, ACT Says
Sales of medium-duty commercial trucks may begin to increase again in the second quarter of 2010 but the growth rate will be slow, according to a recent release from marketing analysis firm ACT Research Co.
“While the medium and heavy duty commercial vehicle markets are beginning a slow recovery off the lowest level of production since 1991, significant headwinds remain for the sector to return to normal replacement level demand,” the company said in a release Wednesday.
Sales of heavy-duty vehicles will recover first and are expected to grow 20% in each quarter of 2010 compared with the same periods in 2009, the release said.
Growth in medium-duty truck sales will be slower since those vehicles are more closely tied in with the health of the construction sector, ACT said, which still has much excess capacity.
“While the economy emerged from recession in the third quarter, we expect a slow recovery rather than a break-out,” said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research.
However, when businesses and fleets begin to see more profitability, “there will be significant pent up demand to replace older than normal fleets,” Vieth said.