Commercial truck sales strong in first quarter

April 15, 2005
Retail sales of Class 3-8 trucks were up sharply during the first quarter of 2005, according to figures compiled by Wards Communications.

Retail sales of Class 3-8 trucks were up sharply during the first quarter of 2005, according to figures compiled by Wards Communications.

Led by a 73% increase in the sales of Class 3 trucks, the combined sales of medium and heavy trucks were up 26% in March (compared with March 2004). For the first three months of 2005, medium and heavy trucks were 30% higher than the corresponding period of 2004.

Light duty trucks (Classes 1 and 2) were relatively flat during the same period. Dealers sold 1% more Class 1 trucks during the first quarter than they did during the first three months of 2004, but sales of Class 2 trucks were down 9% during the same period.