The Truck Industry Council (TIC) said sales are strong in the light- and heavy-duty truck sectors, while medium-duty trucks are showing some signs of slowing.

“Overall, the third-quarter result for 2018, with 10,695 truck and van sales, was the strongest third-quarter result seen, breaking the 2007 quarter-three mark by 675 vehicle sales,” the TIC report said.

“This saw the quarter up 11.1 per cent over quarter three 2017. Year to date, the market is tracking up 16.5 per cent (up 4353 vehicles) over the same period last year with a total of 30,665 heavy vehicles sold.

“But at the half-year mark, sales were up 19.0 per cent over 2017, so it can be seen that the slowing of sales that occurred in the third quarter is dragging the year-to-date average back by almost three per cent.”

Light-duty trucks, which are high on the list as a diverse sales segment for new-car franchises, have seen solid sales through 2018, with 3533 of the “little trucks” sold for the quarter, up 549 units over the third quarter of 2017.

It was also a new quarter-three record for the light-duty truck segment, rated at 3500-8000kg GVM.

For the year to date, light-duty sales are ahead of the same period in 2017 by 13 per cent, or 1101 trucks. For September, sales were up 17.0 per cent over the corresponding month in 2017.

TIC CEO Tony McMullan said: “With just three months to go until year end, the industry is still on track hit a new market peak, though with signs that the market is slowing, that may not be the 40,000 plus mark that many were predicting at the halfway point of the year.”

By Neil Dowling