TRUCK sales have hit 10 year highs on fleet renewals and a low interest rate environment with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and component supplier group, the Truck Industry Council (TIC), forecasting a strong chance of a record year in 2018.

Truck sales in November saw double-digit growth in all sectors compared to the same month in 2016, the TIC reported.

It said that the sales in November 2017 were the second best on record and only beaten by the pre-Global Financial Crisis November result of 2007.

The biggest sales increase was in the heavy-duty segment that jumped 33.7 per cent on the sales of November 2016. Almost 2000 more trucks in this segment were sold this year to the end of November compared with the same period last year.

This was followed by the medium-duty truck segment which was up 20 per cent, closely followed by light duty trucks up 19.5 per cent and vans, up by 10.1 per cent when compared to this time last year.

TLC CEO Tony McMullan said all segments experienced double digit growth when compared with November 2016 sales.

“The heavy duty truck segment again led the way for the month, as we have seen all year,” he said.

“It was pleasing to see medium duty sales pick-up in November, an indicator that fleet renewal is actively being pursued by industry across all heavy vehicle segments.

“With only one month remaining in 2017 we will not be rewriting the history books this year, however the market is at a very high level and we may see record sales in 2018.”

Total deliveries for November were 3630 heavy trucks and vans compared with 3776 in the record month of August 2007, showing last month was only 3.8 per cent shy of breaking the record.

Year-to-date sales are 33,352, up 11.5 per cent up on 2016 when 29,903 units were delivered to the end of November. Compared to the all-time record year of 2007, year-to-date 2017 sales have lagged by 3.7 per cent (1270 trucks).

The TIC said that medium-duty truck sales had reported the weakest growth of all the segments in 2017, however November was up 20 per cent (124 trucks) over the same month last year, with a total of 745 new medium trucks being delivered in the latest month.

Year-to-date, medium truck sales are ahead by 279 units, a gain of 4.4 per cent over the 2016 year-to-date mark.

The council said that the light-duty truck sector had been performing well over the past couple of years and that trend has continued in 2017.

In November small truck sales were up 19.5 per cent (175 trucks) over the corresponding month last year.

November delivered 1073 light trucks, bringing the year-to-date sales to 10,571. This is 8.2 per cent, some 797 trucks, more than the same period in 2016.

But while these sectors reported solid gains, the light-duty van segment has been “a bit of a roller coaster ride in 2017”, the TLC said.

A total of 511 new vans were sold for the month of November, an increase of 47 units over the November 2016 result. Year-to-date a total of 5384 vans have been delivered to the end of November 2017, up 8.3 per cent (414 vans) compared with the same period last year.

By Neil Dowling