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.
Sensitivity to Freight Volume and Economic Conditions
The heavy duty truck market is cyclical and highly sensitive to global and national economic conditions.
Government Regulation
Environmental and safety regulations have forced heavy duty truck manufacturers to make substantial changes to their vehicles.
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 2022, Freightliner had a 38% market share of Class 8 trucks, Kenworth had a 14%, Peterbilt 15%, International 13%, Volvo 11%, 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
Sep 24, 2024 - Shipments, Inventories Rise
- Heavy duty truck shipments were up 1.7% in June 2024 compared to a year ago and were almost 5% higher from the previous month, according to the US Census Bureau. Heavy duty trucks inventories rose 4.3% in June 2024 compared to a year ago and were down almost 3% from the previous month. Heavy duty truck sales were down 17.7% in June 2024 compared to a year ago and were down 5% from the previous month. Labor costs are also on the rise. Average wages for nonsupervisory employees at motor vehicle manufacturers, including heavy duty truck manufacturers, rose 18.4% in July 2024 compared to a year ago.
- US manufacturing activity contracted in August 2024 for the fifth consecutive month after a brief expansion in March, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 47.2% in August, up 0.4 percentage points from the 46.8% recorded in July. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. Prior to the uptick in March, US manufacturing activity had fallen below the baseline for growth for 16 consecutive months. August’s New Orders Index was in the contraction zone at 44.6%. The August Production Index was 44.8%, a decrease from July’s 45.9%. Five manufacturing industries tracked by the ISM reported growth in August: Primary Metals; Petroleum & Coal Products; Furniture & Related Products; Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Products; and Computer & Electronic Products. The industries reporting contraction in August were Textile Mills; Printing & Related Support Activities; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Fabricated Metal Products; Transportation Equipment; Wood Products; Machinery; Paper Products; Chemical Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing.
- US Class 8 retail sales fell nearly 25% in June 2024 to 18,134 units compared to a year ago and declined 8.2% over the previous month, according to Wards Intelligence data reported in Transport Topics News. June’s results marked the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year US Class 8 retail sales declines. Year to date, sales were down 16.4% compared to the same period in the previous year. A shortage of truck mirrors is limiting the number of trucks that manufacturers can sell, per the report. Freightliner held the largest market share of truck sales in June 2024 with 33.5% of all sales for the month.
- Truck freight volume, an indicator of demand for heavy duty trucks, fell 21% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023, according to the latest US Bank Freight Payment Index (FPI). The decline in truck freight volume in Q1 2024 was the most acute in the Northeast and Southeast, according to the report, which also revealed that spending by shippers declined in the first quarter. Commenting on the downturn, Bob Costello, senior vice president and chief economist at the American Trucking Associations, said, “Spending fell disproportionately to the drop in volume, which suggests downward rates pressure to start the year. Truck capacity remained above the amount of freight available. The degree to which this mismatch shrinks or expands will be important to watch throughout the year.”
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