2018 sees record first quarter sales

The Truck Industry Council reports that the first three months of 2018 saw record, or near record, new truck sales that have come together to produce a new first quarter heavy vehicle mark in Australia.

Year-to-date a total of 8675 trucks and vans have been delivered in Australia, this is a massive increase of 1517 units over this time last year, up 21.2 per cent. It also eclipses by 408 vehicles or 4.9 per cent the all-time sales record set in the first quarter of 2008 where 8267 trucks were sold.

Looking just at the month of March 2018 in isolation, 3447 heavy vehicles were delivered to customers, an increase of 485 trucks (16.4 per cent) over March 2017.

As we saw last year, the leader of this growth has been at the Heavy end of the market, with both Heavy and Medium Duty sectors showing strong growth, up 37.1 per cent and 28.3 per cent respectively, at the end of the first quarter.

As detailed above, the Heavy Duty Truck segment was up again in March with a total of 1174 units delivered, up a very healthy 19.8 per cent, or 194 trucks, on March 2017. The first quarter result was even better, with 2903 Heavy sales year-to-date, representing the 37.1 per cent figure mentioned above. That was a 786 Heavy truck increase over quarter one 2017.

Medium and Light Duty up
The Medium Duty segment posted solid sales again in March with a total of 742 trucks delivered, up 34.2 per cent, or 189 units, over March 2017. To the end of the first quarter a total of 1768 Medium Duty trucks have been delivered, up by 28.3 per cent (390 trucks) over 2017 first quarter sales.

Light Duty truck sales (those trucks with a GVM between 3500 kg and 8000kg) have been performing well for the past couple of years and sales in 2018 at the “little end” of the market remain solid. March saw sales in the Light Duty segment total 994 units, up 7.7 per cent (71 trucks) over March 2017. At the end of the first quarter of 2018, Light Duty sales are ahead of the same period last year by 10.3 per cent, up 241 truck sales.

Vans going well
Light Duty Van sales (vans with a GVM between 3500 kg and 8000kg) have been very strong for the past few years, this being a growth segment in the heavy vehicle sector. Van sales in 2018 are continuing this trend. The segment posted good sales in March with a total of 537 units, up 6.1 per cent, or 31 vans, when compared with March 2017.

The first quarter tally stands slightly ahead of this with growth over quarter one 2017 of 7.5 per cent. This represents 1429 van sales so far in 2018, up exactly 100 vans when compared to the end of March 2017.

President of TIC, Phil Taylor, said: “It is pleasing that after more than a decade we are seeing some old benchmarks reached, or surpassed. March and first quarter 2018 truck sales were all time records and in line with industry trends that we have seen building for the past twelve months.

“It has taken the heavy vehicle market in Australia a long time to recover from the GFC, more than ten years and over that time we have seen our nation’s truck fleet age considerably. It will take many more years of record growth for our average truck age to get back to where it was in 2007 and that is considered very old by global standards.

"However, for now the market is strong and let’s hope that this trend continues for the rest of the year and beyond!” Mr Taylor concluded.