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
Nov 15, 2024 - Manufacturing Activity Falls, Labor Costs Up
- US manufacturing activity contracted in October 2024, marking the lowest Manufacturing PMI registered in 2024, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 46.5% in October, down 0.7 percentage points from the 47.2% recorded in September. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. Labor costs are also on the rise. Average wages for nonsupervisory employees at motor vehicle manufacturers, including heavy duty truck manufacturers, rose 14% in September 2024 compared to a year ago. Employment by motor vehicle manufacturers grew nearly 4% in September 2024 year over year. Producer prices for heavy duty truck manufacturers grew 1.8% in September 2024 compared to a year ago, per the BLS.
- 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.”
- US Class 8 retail sales fell nearly 2.6% in October 2024 to 20,859 units compared to a year ago and declined 4.4% from the previous month, according to Wards Intelligence data reported in Transport Topics News. Year to date, sales were down 11.4% compared to the same period in the previous year. The year has been challenging for sales, with year over year sales growth occurring only once in July 2024 with a 1.8% increase. Freightliner held the largest market share of truck sales in September 2024 with 37.7% of all sales for the month.
- Truck freight shipments, an indicator of demand for heavy duty trucks, fell 21.2% in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023, according to the latest US Bank Freight Payment Index (FPI). The decline in truck freight volume in Q3 2024 was the most acute in the Southeast, according to the report, which also revealed that spending by shippers declined in the third quarter. Commenting on the downturn, Bobby Holland, director of analytics at US Bank, said, “Over the last two quarters, volume and spend contractions have lessened, but we’re waiting for clear evidence that the market has reached the bottom.”
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