Aussie market trends continue

Latest truck and van registration data reveals on-going heavy-duty doldrums, while light-duty powers ahead

According to the latest Truck Industry Council T-Mark data, a total of 2863 new commercial vehicles with GVMs of over 3501 kilograms were registered in the month of September, the figure essentially holding steady when compared to the same month last year (down 0.1 per cent). That brings the year-to-date tally to 23,951 units, equating with a slight increase of 2.4 per cent over this time last year.

A closer look at the market by segment shows a continuation of the prevailing trend in recent years, namely that a softening heavy-duty market is being masked in the overall figures by the strong performance of the light-duty market. The medium-duty market is steady, while – in a departure from the last couple of years – the van market now appears to be in a decline.

In the overall figures, traditional market leader Isuzu is on a charge, its 6145 vehicles registered year to date representing considerable growth of 14.8 per cent. Hino is in second place with 3262 units (down 2.4%), while Fuso is in third with 2644 units (up 10.3%).

That leaves heavy-duty king Kenworth in fourth spot (1440 units, down 3.8%) and arch nemesis Volvo in fifth (1131 units, up 6.7%).

In the heavy-duty market a total of 836 new trucks were registered, a decrease of 6.4%, bringing the year-to-date total to 6946 units – a drop of 3.8%. Kenworth leads the segment with 1440 units, from Volvo (1125), Isuzu (958), Mack (598) and Scania (446).

In the medium-duty market some 629 new commercials were registered in September, up 1.1% from the same month last year. The year-to-date total now stands at 5154 units, which is up 5.6% from the same time last year.

Isuzu dominates the medium-duty market with 2220 units, ahead of Hino (1497), Fuso (766), UD Trucks (402) and Mercedes-Benz (82 units).

A total of 1003 new light-duty trucks were registered in September, which represents strong growth of 9.6% from September 2016. Similar growth was recorded in the segment's year-to-date figure, with the 7817 units registered so far in 2016 equating with an improvement of 9.9%.

Isuzu dominates here too with 2967 units registered this year, ahead of Fuso (1592), Hino (1555), Iveco (552) and Fiat (483).

That left 395 light-duty vans registered in September, a drop of 9.2%. A total of 4034 vans have been registered in 2016, a fall of 3.3%.

Mercedes-Benz garners the lion's share of this segment with its many Sprinter derivatives, with 1544 units registered year to date. Next comes Renault's Master and Trafic (1027 units), followed by Ford with its Transit and Transit Custom (509), Volkswagen with its Crafter and Transporter (400) and Fiat with its Ducato and Scudo (384).

"Another solid quarter for the light and medium truck segments," said the President of TIC, Phil Taylor.

"Sales of vans and heavy trucks were less encouraging, with both segments continuing to lag the sales of last year. The continuing poor year-on-year sales in the heavy-duty segment will negatively impact truck safety, the environment and productivity of this section of Australia’s truck fleet."

TIC Chief Executive Officer, Tony McMullan, echoed Mr Taylor's sentiments.

"It is encouraging to see a good result for the third quarter for small and medium Trucks, but heavy truck sales slipped even further during July to September, now trailing 2015 sales by 3.8 per cent," he said.

"The HD segment has seen year-on-year falls since 2012 and trails the quarter three results of that year by a substantial 16.2 per cent (down 1132 trucks).

"The truck fleet age in the heavy truck segment continues to rise, as seen by the recent release of detailed data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics – Motor Vehicle Census. This clearly indicates that new heavy truck sales are not keeping pace with Australia's growing freight task.

"This is a poor result for our country's long-term road freight efficiency."

Aussie market trends continue

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