Volvo’s Voorhoeve Sees Strong 2019 Truck Market
WASHINGTON — The new president of Volvo Trucks North America predicted another banner year for the truck market in 2019 and voiced a desire to promote more respect for the truck driving profession.
Peter Voorhoeve, who stepped into that role Sept. 1, addressed those and many other topics and shared his initial impressions of the North American market during a Dec. 11 roundtable discussion here with industry press.
Voorhoeve, a native of the Netherlands, previously led Volvo Group Australia.
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As 2018 draws to a close, Volvo expects strong demand for new equipment to continue into next year. The company projects that the total heavy-truck market in North America will rise to 310,000 units in 2019, even higher than this year’s level of about 300,000.
“We’re riding a very, very good wave,” Voorhoeve said. “We’re doing whatever we can not to fall off the wave, but that puts the whole supply chain under pressure.”
Volvo has encountered its share of supply chain challenges as demand has surged, but the company is working hard to ensure new trucks roll out of the factory on schedule, he said.
The driving profession deserves a better image and deserves more respect.
Peter Voorhoeve
Through September, Volvo’s 2018 market share in North America stood at 10.5%, up from 8.6% in the same time frame a year ago, Voorhoeve said. Those figures compare with full-year market shares of 8.3% in 2017 and 9.9% in 2016.
“We’re growing market share in a growing market,” he said.
Other markets around the world also have been booming, Voorhoeve said. Volvo’s global order intake in the third quarter jumped 44% from the same period last year, while new trucks delivered increased 17% and net sales rose 25%.
In North America, Volvo Trucks has booked a total of 63,400 orders for its new VNL longhaul and VNR regional-haul models, which the company unveiled in 2017.
However, as fleets take delivery of all of these new trucks, they will need workers to operate them.
Voorhoeve said the industry as a whole must heighten its focus on the truck driver, particularly as it faces a shortage of about 500,000 drivers while freight demand continues to rise.
In our third episode of RoadSigns, we ask: Will your next truck be a plug-in? Hear a snippet from Mike Roeth, executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, above, and get the full program by going to RoadSigns.TTNews.com.
“Without truck drivers, this economy stops,” Voorhoeve said. “We really need to look at what we can do to make the driving profession more attractive.”
Part of that effort involves improving the public’s perception of truck drivers.
“The driving profession deserves a better image and deserves more respect,” he said.
Voorhoeve also discussed Volvo’s investments in alternative fuels and next-level technologies.
The truck maker continues to see natural gas as an opportunity for regional haul, in part to help shippers meet their corporate sustainability goals, he said.
And looking toward the future, the major technology trends of connectivity, electromobility and automation will converge, Voorhoeve said.
As an example, he pointed to the Vera concept that Volvo exhibited earlier this year at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover, Germany.
The concept incorporates electric-powered, autonomous tractors that are wirelessly connected to a control center and designed for specific applications with relatively short, dedicated routes and low speeds.
“This is not even a truck anymore,” Voorhoeve said. “This is a transport solution.”
