Preliminary orders for heavy trucks (class-8) in North America reached 42,700 units in December, up from 19,700 units the previous month and 16 percent higher year-on-year.
This is according to the latest statistics from ACT Research.
"After spending most of 2025 in a slump, with stagnant freight rates and marked by political and regulatory uncertainty, demand for new vehicles came to life in December," said Carter Vieth, analyst at ACT Research, adding:
"A more stable economic foundation, an increasingly aging fleet, and the certainty of higher costs and new technology in 2027 were, in our view, the drivers behind the sudden change. As the fundamentals for trucking remain weak, even if they are improving, we believe the December result for class 8 overstates the improvement."
Among others, Volvo and Traton sell heavy trucks on the North American market.
AB Volvo is the leading European truck maker and No. 3 worldwide. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- sales of trucks (68.4%): 219,377 vehicles sold in 2024 (names Volvo, Renault, Eicher and Mack);
- sales of construction equipment (16.8%): excavators, loaders, backhoes, hydraulic shovels, graders, dump trucks, etc.;
- financial services (5.1%);
- bus and chassis sales (4.7%): world's No. 2 largest manufacturer;
- sales of parts, control systems, and marine and industrial motors (3.8%): for commerce and cruise ships and for industrial applications (irrigation units, lifting trucks, electrical generators, etc.);
- other (1.2%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Europe (41.1%), North America (30.8%), Asia (11.2%), South America (10.7%), Africa and Oceania (6.2%).
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