Sales solid in October

Good truck and van sales across all segments last month

For only the third time in 2016, all heavy vehicle segments posted growth for the month when compared to the same month last year, with the other positive growth months in 2016 being February and May, according to the Truck Industry Council’s market data.

October 2016 saw a total of 2996 trucks and vans delivered. This was a solid result for an October, with only the pre-Global Financial Crisis (GFC) Octobers of 2005, 2007 and 2008 attaining higher sales.

However, when compared to the pre-GFC 2007 October peak of 3728 sales, last month’s sales were down by 20 per cent, a statistic that adds a little perspective and highlights that the market is still quite some way from its pre-GFC strength.

October 2016 was in total 11.3 per cent up over the same month in 2015. While year-to-date the total market is ahead of 2015 by 3.3 per cent. It was the light end of the market that again posted the strongest results, continuing a year-long trend for LD Trucks and marking a solid recovery for LD Vans. HD Trucks were again the worst performing segment, but at least in positive territory this month.

Heavy Duty Truck sales were not spectacular in October with the segment posting deliveries of 871 units, up slightly, 1.0 per cent, or just 9 trucks, on October 2015. The year-to-date the result is not so good with Heavy sales tracking down 3.3 per cent over those of the same period in 2015. In terms of actual truck numbers, the sales gap now sits at 264 fewer Heavy trucks sold year-to-date than in 2015.

Medium Duty Truck sales have been the second strongest segment of the Australian heavy vehicle market in 2016 and October saw yet another positive result. A total of 594 trucks were sold, a 2.4 per cent (14 trucks) increase over October 2015. Strong results for most months of 2016 had seen the Medium Duty segment push ahead of 2015 sales by 5.2 per cent (286 trucks) year-to-date.

Light Duty truck sales have been the star performer in 2016 and October was another strong month for small truck sales, up 20.6 per cent (181 trucks) over the corresponding month last year. 1059 Light Trucks were delivered in October, bringing the year-to-date sales tally to a healthy 8876 trucks for the Light Duty segment. This is 11.1 per cent, or 884 trucks, up over the same period in 2015.

The Light Duty Van segment got off to a slow start in 2016 and has had some patchy months throughout the year.

October was a great month for Light Duty Van sales, up 26.9 per cent, exactly 100 vans more than the same month last year. A total of 472 vans were sold for the month. Year-to-date, the tally continues to lag that of 2015, but the gap has now closed to just 39 vans with two months remaining. Sales of 4506 Vans to the end of October 2016, is down just 0.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2015. So 2016 could possibly be another record year for van sales, with November and December deliveries to dictate if last year’s all-time sales record can be broken.

President of TIC, the peak industry body for truck manufacturers and importers into Australia, Phil Taylor, said: "It was great to see strong sales across all segments in October, with again the light end of the market leading the way. We still have some way to go, particularly in the Heavy Duty segment, however the overall signs this month were positive." Mr Taylor concluded.

Sales solid in October

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