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International eyes second San Antonio plant shift
Upcoming cab revamp, market share push, demand upturn all factors
Key Takeaways:
- International is considering a second production shift at its San Antonio assembly plant as demand and product initiatives support potential expansion.
- International’s truck orders rose 209% year over year in the second quarter to 22,924 vehicles.
- The company reported its first quarterly operating profit in a year, aided by tariff refunds and recoveries.
International Motors is investigating establishing a second production shift at the truck maker’s San Antonio assembly plant, a senior executive at parent company Traton Group said.
Increasing the size of the workforce at Lisle, Ill.-based International’s only assembly plant in the United States is a possibility due to a number of factors, Chief Financial Officer Michael Jackstein said during Traton’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call July 23.
International is planning an overhaul of its on-highway truck portfolio’s cabs, the truck maker is looking to increase its share of North American Class 8 truck sales and market demand is at the start of an upcycle, Jackstein and Traton CEO Christian Levin noted during the call.
In addition, International cut a second shift at the company’s largest assembly plant in North America — the Escobedo facility in Mexico — in April 2025; the Springfield, Ohio, assembly plant was sold in April; and tariffs on imported components continue to be a volatile factor in earnings at the Traton division.
The San Antonio plant builds Classes 6-8 diesel and electric vehicles. A 900,000-square-foot facility that began operations in 2022, the site includes a general assembly line, body shop, paint shop and logistics center. There is also a center for onsite aftermarket modifications.
Escobedo produces subassemblies for International trucks alongside assembling a full range of the company’s Class 8 vehicles. It is an internal supplier for the plant’s own production lines and International and IC Bus manufacturing plants in the U.S.
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A cab is welded at International Motors' facility in Escobedo, Mexico. (International)
The Huntsville Powertrain Manufacturing Plant produces engines and transmissions, including the S13 powertrain that Jackstein told analysts provided optimism for the increase in market share alongside the upcoming cab overhaul.
International sold 22,898 Class 8 trucks in 2025, a 13.8% year-over-year decrease and equating to an 11% share of the market. In 2024, the company won an 11.1% share of Class 8 retail sales, according to Omdia Automotive data.
Overall, sales of trucks at International fell 10% year over year in the second quarter to 13,130 vehicles from 14,628 but rose 26% compared with 10,413 trucks in the first three months of 2026.
Truck orders surge in Q2
International’s truck orders soared 209% in the most recent quarter to 22,924 from 7,416 and rose 22% compared with Q1’s 18,859 vehicles.
And International posted its first quarterly profit in a year in the most recent three-month period, bringing home a $151.29 million operating profit in Q2, almost triple Q2 2025’s $53.46 million operating profit. Traton reports earnings in euros, and all conversion rates were correct as of July 23.
The biggest factor in the return to the black was International’s ability to book $136.5 million in Section 232 tariff refunds and recoveries for U.S. content under International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, Traton said.
Section 232 tariffs on medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts as well as imported steel and aluminum bit hard in the final quarter of 2025, Traton said, particularly the truck and parts levies.
