April Truck Sales Rise 33%

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.S. retail sales of Class 8 trucks in April climbed 33.3% from a year earlier to 16,416 units. At the same time, buyers reportedly placed orders for new trucks at the fastest pace in more than six years and the second-highest total on record.

The latest sales numbers from Ward’s Communications continued a pattern of double-digit gains that began in December, while industry reports of surging orders suggested that sales could continue strong for months to come.

That prompted Eric Ballantine, heavy-duty truck analyst with credit-ratings organization Standard & Poor’s, to move away from what had been a conservative 2004 sales forecast.

“It now looks like [2004 U.S. Class 8 retail sales will see] a 25% improvement” over 2003, when sales reached 144,000 units, Ballantine told Transport Topics May 18.

For the full story, see the the May 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.