Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 72 heavy duty truck manufacturers in the US produce heavy-duty trucks; heavy duty truck, tractor, and bus chassis; buses; and firefighting vehicles. Additional product categories include replacement parts and other types of trucks. Firms may also offer financing and leasing programs to support purchases.
Government Regulation
Environmental and safety regulations have forced heavy duty truck manufacturers to make substantial changes to their vehicles.
Sensitivity to Freight Volume and Economic Conditions
The heavy duty truck market is cyclical and highly sensitive to global and national economic conditions.
Industry size & Structure
The average heavy duty truck manufacturer employs less than 20 workers and generates about $333 million annually.
- The heavy duty truck manufacturing industry consists of 72 firms that employ 34,000 workers and generate $24 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated; the top 4 companies account for more than 70% of industry revenue.
- Large firms, including Navistar (TRATON Group) and PACCAR, may have operations and sell products in foreign countries.
- In 2023, Freightliner had a 37% market share of Class 8 trucks; Kenworth had a 15% share, Peterbilt 15%, International 14%, Volvo 10%, and Mack 7%, according to Wards Intelligence.
- Firms that generate $100 million annually account for 23% of firms and 97% of industry revenue.
- In 2022, there were 4.06 million Class 8 trucks in operation, up 2.3% from 2021, according to the American Trucking Association (ATA).
Industry Forecast
Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jan 20, 2025 - Decline in Industry Shipments, Inventory
- Inventories and shipments of heavy duty trucks were down 9% and 5.6% in November, respectively, year over year, per the Census Bureau. Heavy duty truck sales rose slightly in November 2024 year over year but fell 6.8% from the previous month, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation. Quarterly sales for motor vehicles and parts companies, including heavy duty truck manufacturers, decreased in Q3 2024, down 7.1% from Q3 2023 and 5.9% from the previous quarter, according to the Census Bureau. Producer prices for heavy duty truck manufacturers industry rose 1.8% in November 2024 compared to a year ago, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment by motor vehicle manufacturers increased 11.7% in October 2024 year over year while wages for nonsupervisory employees climbed 15.6%, reaching $37.67 per hour, per the BLS.
- US Class 8 retail sales fell 4.3% in December 2024 to 22,383 units compared to a year ago but rose 13.9% from the previous month, according to Wards Intelligence data reported in Transport Topics News. For the full year, sales were down 9.9% compared to 2023. The year presented a challenge for sales, with year-over-year sales growth occurring only in July and November. According to ACT Research VP Steve Tam, “The year sort of petered out. We usually see about a 20% increase month to month, and we only saw about 14% going from November to December. It did not finish on as strong a note as is typical for the industry.” Freightliner held the largest market share of truck sales in Deccember 2024 with 30.6% of all sales for the month.
- US manufacturing activity contracted in December 2024, marking the ninth consecutive month of contraction for the Manufacturing PMI, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 49.5% in December, up 0.9 percentage points from the 48.4% recorded in November. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. Transportation equipment was one of the seven industries that reported contraction in December, along with Textile Mills; Fabricated Metal Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Machinery; Chemical Products; and Nonmetallic Mineral Products. Seven manufacturing industries reported growth in December, including Primary Metals; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Wood Products; Furniture & Related Products; Paper Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Plastics & Rubber Products.
- According to FleetOwner, company officials say Daimler Truck North America is prepared to absorb any potential impacts related to new tariffs targeting Mexico under president-elect Donald Trump. Chairwoman and CEO Karin Radstrom said the company would not speculate on what the new administration would do in terms of tariffs but said the company is well positioned to make adjustments as needed. Radstrom noted that the company’s Freightliner, Western Star, and Thomas Built Buses can be made at either its US or Mexican plants. Per Radstrom, “We have a lot of flexibility when it comes to our production footprint. There’s no single dependency on a particular product in Mexico.”
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