Medium and heavy truck sales were down 27% in December over the same period a year ago and down 19% for the year, according to figures compiled by Wards Communications.
Dealers sold 35,523 trucks with GVW ratings above 10,000 pounds during the month, down from December 2007 (48,665) but up 23% over November 2008 (28,921).
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Compared with December 2007, Class 8 trucks were up 6%—the only class to show a gain. Class 7 experienced a 32% decline.
For the year, truck dealers sold 433,263 trucks with GVW ratings above 10,000 pounds, down from 536,989 in 2007. Sales of all classes were down 24%, from 8,841,902 to 6,679,796.
Every class experienced a drop, with Class 5 experiencing the smallest (10%), followed by Class 8 (12%). The biggest decline came in Class 7 (31%).
Sales of light-duty trucks (GVW ratings of 10,000 pounds or less) were even weaker in December versus a year ago, with Class 4 down 46% and Class 3 down 43%.