Truck sales slide continues

According to the latest Truck Industry Council TMARK data, registrations of new trucks and commercial vehicles fell by 26.3 per cent during the month of May, with 2621 new vehicles moving into the national fleet. The overall year-to-date tally to the end of May is 20.2% lower than the previous corresponding period, for a total of 11,828 vehicles.

The figures represent a continuation of the falls sustained in April, when registrations were down by 21.8% for the month for a year-to-date contraction of 18.2%.

While the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent economic slowdown are being felt across the board, the light-duty truck sector is thus far retracting at a significantly lower rate, the trend possibly fueled by a surge in parcel delivery as people have stayed indoors during lockdown.

Registrations of new light-duty trucks fell by 10.0% for the month, for a year-to-date drop of 13.5%.

That's in stark contrast to the heavy end of the commercial vehicle market. Registrations of new heavy-duty trucks fell by 37.6% for the month of May, the figure adding further weight to a year-to-date drop of 26.3%.

The medium-duty market fared little better. That segment saw a contraction of 29.8% for May over the same month last year, while the year-to-date tally is now running at a fall of 20.5%.

Related reading:
COVID-19: Euro truck sales hit hard
COVID-19 strikes Aussie truck sales
Truck sales soften in March

Even the light-duty van segment – one which you might think would be riding the wave of the uptick in parcel and last-mile-delivery business – suffered a sizeable drop. New registrations for the segment were down by 26.2% for May, for a year-to-date fall of 18.6%.

With the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions around the country, the truck industry – like most others – is riding out the storm, and waiting for the economic recovery that will eventually come.