North America will lead the world in truck sales growth this year, according to Zita Zigan, head of global commercial vehicle forecasting for LMC Automotive.
Speaking at the recent ACT Research seminar in Columbus, Indiana, Zigan predicted that the market for truck rated at six tons or more will be 447,000, 17% more than last year. The growth will be on top of a 40% increase that the North American truck industry experienced in 2011.
Sales in 2013 should increase an additional 14%, reaching 512,000 trucks. That increase will be comparable to growth in Europe, which should range between 12% and 16%.
The Asian market, which at 1,486,000 trucks now dwarfs that of North America, is expected to slip 6% this year, according to figures that Zigan presented. She is predicting sales will be flat in Asia in 2013, an estimated 1,469,000 trucks.
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