Retail sales of medium and heavy trucks were up 10% in August, both in the month-over-month total and compared to August last year, spurred by the mid-year turn around in the Class 8 market, according to figures compiled by WardsAuto.
Dealers sold 64,205 trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings above 10,000 pounds in August, with double-digit gains across the board from July, with the exception of Class 3 (up 1%). Among the big trucks, Class 7 sales improved 27% and Class 8 improved 12% from July and posted gains of 8% and 6%, respectively, over August 2016.
Medium-duty truck sales also posted strong improvement over the previous month: Class 4 sales were up 43%, Class 5 sales were up 15%, and Class 6 sales were up 24%.
For the first eight months of 2017, medium- and heavy-duty truck sales are now up 2% compared with the same period last year. Class 8 still has some catching up to do, down 13% for the year, while Class 7 is now breaking even. The slow heavy-duty market is being made up for by solid gains posted by Class 3 and 4 trucks, up 11% and 24%, respectively, this year.
