Commercial truck sales slide in July, but still ahead of 2017

Retail sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks sales slipped in July from the month before, but continued to post double-digit gains compared to a year ago, according to figures compiled by Wards Intelligence.

Dealers sold 63,421 trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings above 10,000 pounds last month, down 9% from the previous month. By weight, the totals were 23,186 in Class 3 (-13%); 1,437 in Class 4 (-32%), 6,120 in Class 5 (-23%); 5,898 in Class 6 (-1%); and 20,649 in Class 8 (-3%). The bright spot for month came from Class 7, with 6,131 truck sales for an 11% increase.

Still, compared to sales in July 2017 the totals were up 9%, with Class 8 running 35% ahead of last year. Class 3 posted the group's only decrease from a year ago, down 10%.

For the first seven months of the year, medium- and heavy-duty truck sales were up 9% compared with 2017, again led by Class 8’s 31% improvement. And, again, only Class 3 (-5%) has posted a decline in the YTD total.

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