TIC reports record new truck sales

According to the latest report from the Truck Industry Council (TIC), the first quarter of 2018 represents a promising start for the Australian trucking industry. The organization, which is made up of 21 truck, engine, and component manufacturers that operate in Australia including Cat, Cummins, Daimler Trucks, Hino, IVECO, Scania, Volvo, and more, reports that the heavy- and medium-duty truck sectors saw the biggest growth overall.

The big numbers

TIC’s Truck Market Comment report states that, so far, Australia has taken delivery of 8,675 trucks and vans, which marks an increase of 1,517 units, or 21.2%, year-over-year. This quarter’s sales numbers are also more than 400 units higher than the previous single-quarter record sales, achieved in the first quarter of 2008. March was the biggest month of the first three; there were 3,447 heavy vehicles delivered during this period, which was an increase of 16.4% compared to March 2017.

Heavy-duty truck deliveries in quarter 1 increased 37.1% and medium-duty truck deliveries were up 28.3% during the same period. Although sales of light-duty trucks, or those with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of between 3,500 and 8,000 kilograms, didn’t perform as well, there was still an impressive growth of 10.3% compared to quarter 1 of last year. Light-duty van sales also improved year-over-year, to the tune of 7.5%.

An eye on the horizon

The President of the TIC, Phil Taylor, expects to see continued record-breaking growth following nearly a decade of less-than-stellar sales numbers. Taylor’s optimism is based on the expectation that Australia’s truck fleet, currently considered very old by global standards, is in the process of dropping the average truck age to 2007’s numbers or better.

Tony McMullan, CEO of the TIC, was pleased with the growth trends Australia’s trucking industry is currently experiencing, but he was anxious to have the safety, environmental, and productivity benefits of modern trucks proliferate more readily among the nation’s fleet. To accelerate this adoption, McMullan called for the government to take steps to offer incentives to organizations willing to purchase new trucks.