July Medium-Duty Truck Sales Rise 15.8%

Classes 4-7 sales — as tracked by Ward’s, Southfield, Mich. — have been increasing since December 2009 but at a slower pace than heavy-duty commercial trucks.

“We were flat in July, hitting a soft patch, but we did much better in the first half through June,� said David Yglesias, whose Palmetto Truck Center sells Fords and specialty commercial vehicles.

For the first seven months of the year, medium-duty volume was 86,960 vehicles, a 12.6% increase over the year-ago period.

“After the big growth in 2011, medium-duty has been in a steady state of growth on autopilot. It’s been a very moderate, measured growth,� said Steve Tam, a vice president of ACT Research Co., Columbus, Ind.

Tam also said orders for medium-duty trucks have been steady in recent months and property values have recovered enough that property tax revenues for local governments are on the rise, allowing them to purchase more vehicles.

Class 7 sales rose by 19.5% to 4,101 trucks from 3,431 in July 2011. The cumulative volume grew 17.7% to 28,076 units.

Class 6 sales returned to growth after three months in decline. The monthly volume was 3,242 trucks, a 23.8% leap over 2,618 a year ago. The robust July meant year-to-date sales are down only 0.7% to 23,298 vehicles.

Class 6 is the only group that has contracted thus far in 2012. It is the heaviest category where a driver does not need a commercial driver license.

1 2 Next