US Class 8 Truck Sales End Year With Sequential Boost

The results showed that sales declined 9.6% to 20,225 from the 22,383 units reported a year earlier. (Premier Truck Group of Roberts)

U.S. Class 8 retail truck sales capped off what has been a generally down year with a sequential boost in December, according to data from Omdia Automotive.

The results showed that sales declined 9.6% to 20,225 from the 22,383 units reported a year earlier. Monthly sales have trended below the previous year since June. But the latest sales figures were also up 62.1% from the 12,479 units reported in November. Year-to-date sales are down 13.3% to 208,386 from 240,249.

“As far as the longer-term comparison, year-over-year comparison, that’s very much in line with what our thinking was,” ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said. “Very much in line with expectations. And that all goes back to all the things that we’ve talked about so far this year. We’ve got tariff issues, we’ve got inflation issues. From a trucker profitability perspective, the companies just haven’t had the ability to purchase equipment the way they would like to. They’ve held onto their trucks longer, so they’ve aged their fleets.”

Tam also isn’t surprised by the sequential jump. He noted that capital budgets tend to flow more freely at the end of the year as companies wrap up spending, but he said increases in prior years typically were closer to 20%.

“You’ve always got your Section 179 Depreciation,” Tam said. “Then also favorable tax treatment from the new tax policy, with the current administration allowing people to expense 100% of the capital purchases in the year that they acquire equipment. So, I would imagine, that for the small handful of really financially sophisticated trucking companies, that’s free money.”

Omdia data showed that only two of the seven major truck manufacturers sold more than the prior year. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler Truck North America, claimed the largest market share at 34.5% with 6,971 trucks sold. This marked a 1.8% increase from the 6,845 reported during the year-ago period. Western Star’s sales declined 22.4% to 1,080 units from 1,391.

“December was just a really good month, for orders and sales,” said Eric Starks, the chairman at FTR Transportation Intelligence. “We did not expect that level of activity for sales. But clearly people were trying to take delivery of stuff before the end of the year.”

Starks said a sequential jump that large is not unusual for this time of year, though it has been less common in recent years. He noted that retail results outpaced production, indicating companies are drawing down inventories — something he said had been needed for some time.

“We dropped below three months of inventory, and that has not been the case for a long time,” Starks said. “That’s a big drop because we went from, roughly, over five months of inventory to sales activity, to under three in one month. Now, I don’t think that’ll continue. But it’s a move in the right direction.”

Starks cautioned that it’s too early to know whether these bright spots will develop into something more sustained. He warned the recent results may prove to be a blip, though he remains optimistic based on improving order activity and tightening spot markets.

“December retail sales for Class 8 trucks in the U.S. and Canada reached 22,120 units, marking a solid finish to a challenging year,” said Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy, marketing and brand management at Volvo Trucks North America. “It represents an improvement over the previous five months, but seasonality plays a major role as December is normally the strongest month of the year, as OEMs and dealers want to retail as many units as possible in order to finish the year strong.”

Koeck noted that the total Class 8 market in the U.S. and Canada came in as expected at 232,741 units in 2025. He expects the first quarter to be slow, followed by gradual quarter‑over‑quarter recovery. He said the company is well‑positioned as a U.S. manufacturer with a new range of vehicles.

“December retails, true to historical form, saw its typical increase as many close out the year with dealers moving inventory off the lot and customers taking advantage of tax incentives,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “Overall, the market is still influenced by the ongoing freight recession and now some slowing in the vocational segment.”

Mack Trucks sales increased 4.6% to 2,207 units from the 2,110 reported in 2024. VTNA sales declined 17.8% to 2,213 units from 2,692. Mack and VTNA are both Volvo Group brands. International truck sales declined 15.4% to 2,160 units from 2,552. Peterbilt Motors Co. sales decreased 21% to 2,741 units from 3,469. Kenworth Truck Co. sales declined 14.2% to 2,838 from 3,308. Peterbilt and Kenworth are Paccar Inc. brands.