Medium and heavy truck sales up 4%

May 11, 2006
Medium and heavy trucks continued selling at a brisk pace in April, according to figures compiled by Wards Communications.

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

Dealers sold 59,177 trucks with GVW ratings above 10,000 pounds during the month, up 4% from April 2005.

Class 8 trucks led the way with an increase of 19% when compared with February 2005 sales. Class 5 (6%) and Class 6 (1%) trucks were the only others to experience a gain in sales.

Through the first four months of 2006, truck dealers sold 224,796 trucks with GVW ratings above 10,000 pounds, up 8% 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 11% from April 2005. For the year, Class 2 sales were down 6% from a year earlier.