Medium and heavy truck sales up 15%

April 12, 2006
Medium and heavy trucks continued selling at a brisk pace in March, according to figures compiled by Wards Communications.

Medium and heavy trucks continued selling at a brisk pace in March, according to figures compiled by Wards Communications.

Dealers sold 67,798 trucks with GVW ratings above 10,000 pounds during the month, up 15% from March 2005.

Class 8 and Class 6 trucks led the way with increases of 26% and 23% respectively when compared with March 2005 sales. Class 4 trucks also had a strong month, up 18% from a year earlier.

Through the first three months of 2006, truck dealers sold 165,619 trucks with GVW ratings above 10,000 pounds, up 10% from the corresponding period of 2005.

Slow sales of light-duty trucks (GVW ratings of 10,000 pounds or less) pulled the overall market down. Retail sales of Class 2 trucks were down 6% from March 2005. For the year, Class 2 sales were down 4% from a year earlier.