Strong sales continue in February

The total Australian truck market for February 2018 reached 3001 units, up a massive 31.9 per cent on the February 2017 figure and just 16 vehicles shy of the all-time February sales record set in 2008.

In 2008 truck sales were at record levels until just after the mid-year point, when Australia succumbed to the economic effects of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and new truck sales slowed considerably. The preceding year, 2007, still holds the record for Australian new truck sales. Tellingly though, heavy vehicle sales to the end of February this year are up 841 units over the first two months of 2007 – something that has market analysists very excited.

Heavy Duty
For the second month in succession, the result for the Heavy Duty truck segment was spectacular, with 973 units sold – up 47.9 per cent, or 315 units, on February 2017. When compared with the record pre-GFC January of 2008, when 1060 trucks were sold, this 2018 result is down by 8 per cent, but still the second-best February result on record.

Medium Duty
The Medium Duty segment also performed well again in February with 589 truck deliveries for the month verses 465 units in February 2017; a gain of 26.7 per cent. The medium-duty segment is a shrinking market, so it is unlikely that we will ever see new medium truck sales rewriting the record books. This was evident in February, with sales exactly 100 trucks down on the best-ever February deliveries of 689 trucks, achieved back in 2008.

Light Duty
The Light Duty truck segment set new sales records in 2017, so further growth in 2018 was expected to be incremental. However, sales in February and year-to-date are higher than expected: up 15.8 per cent for the month of February (128 trucks) and 12.1 per cent (170 trucks) for the year thus far.
Historically this February was the best ever recorded with 936 Light Duty trucks finding a new home, beating the previous sales recorded of February 2006, when 910 units were delivered.

Light Duty Van
Light Duty Van sales in January were down on those recorded in 2017 but they bounced back in spectacular style in February with 503 sales, up a whopping 45.8 per cent (158 vans) over the February 2017 result.

Year-to-date van sales are up over 2017 numbers by 8.4 per cent. It should be remembered that 2017 was a record year for the van segment, so for sales to be ahead this year bodes well for a challenge to that record.

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President of Truck Industry Council, Phil Taylor, said the February figures were heartening indeed.

"It just seems to keep getting better at the moment," he said.

"It is pleasing to see solid sales in February that back up the January result. Again we saw very strong sales at the top end of the market with the Heavy Duty segment up almost 25 per cent for the year. The first two months of 2018 have set the market up for a very strong first quarter result."

Tony McMullan, CEO of Truck Industry Council, also saw that the strong sales start to 2018 was positive for road transport, but warned that the industry had a long way to go before making any significant difference in the nation's truck fleet age.

"January and February sales have been very solid and if this trend keeps up we could see record sales in 2018," he said.

"The market peak was set back in 2007 in the pre-Global Financial Crisis era. However, over the past 10 years, when new truck sales have not been as strong, the average age of the Australian truck fleet above 4.5t GVM has grown from 14.4 years in 2007 to 14.9 last year.

"It is sobering to think that it would take a decade of year-on-year record new truck sales to get back to the 2007 truck park age of 14.4 years. Our aging truck fleet is not as safe, environmentally friendly, nor as productive as it could, or should be. That is why TIC continues to lobby Government to do more in this area."