Australian Truck Industry eyes record breaking deliveries for the first half of 2018

Australian Truck Industry eyes record-breaking deliveries for the first half of 2018

Australia’s Truck Industry Council (TIC) believes new truck deliveries in Australia for 2018’s first half could “rewrite the history books.” The TIC, which represents Australian on-road heavy vehicle suppliers, is basing this assertion on record-breaking new truck deliveries for May 2018 of 3,913 units, up 20.9 percent from May 2017 and topping May 2007’s previous high of 3,323 units. The TIC reports that all truck segments saw encouraging growth during May 2018’s first half.

Heavy-duty leads the way

According to the TIC, heavy-duty trucks are driving sales growth thus far this year. The segment totaled 1,328 units sold in May 2018, up 31% from May 2017. Through May 2018, the heavy-duty market is “well on track for a sales record,” the TIC says, citing 5,387 heavy-duty vehicles delivered thus far, up 38.8% from the same period last year. In the medium-duty segment, May 2018 deliveries were up 17.3% on 747 units delivered. Through May 2018, deliveries totaled 3,189 units, up 23.7% from 2017.

The light-duty truck segment also saw growth in May 2018, reaching 1,215 units versus 1,071 for May 2017. The segment saw 4,717 trucks delivered through May 2018, up 11.8% from the same period in 2017. And although the TIC says light-duty van sales haven’t been “as spectacular,” May 2018 deliveries (623 units) were up 21% from May 2017. Shipments through May 2018 reached 2,446 units, up 9.4% from 2017.

Record-breaking progress

TIC President Phil Taylor says it’s “pleasing to see the heavy-duty segment continuing to lead new truck sales growth in 2018 with record-breaking month after record-breaking month.” Taylor points out that June is typically a strong month for trucks sales due to the end of the financial year approaching. He added that signs are “positive that we will reach the halfway point of 2018 with a result that will rewrite the history books for heavy-vehicle sales in Australia. This has been a long time in the making.”

Tony McMullan, TIC CEO, echoes Taylor’s sentiment concerning record-breaking deliveries of heavy-duty trucks through 2018’s first five months. “This is a good indicator that business confidence is strong in the road freight sector, as it is across most, if not all, economic segments,” he says. “The indicators are there for a record first-half-year result and hopefully a similar result in quarters three and four of 2018.”