Australian truck market endured another month of turbulence in November, with most brands suffering a decrease
By Gary Worrall
The Australian truck market endured another month of turbulence in November, with most brands suffering a decrease in compared to October, which was itself down on previous months.
Although the statistics look to show a decline in sales, the reality is the figures reflect deliveries, rather than orders, and can be affected by a number of variables, including the ability of body builders to supply finished product, rather than the actual orders taken during the month.
While these figures are also down on previous months, many in the industry point to continued demand for transport services as a sign all is not lost.
A dealer based in regional Australia says the real impact may not be known until the end of the first quarter in 2009, when October and November orders are delivered.
“The reality is food still needs to be delivered, and so does the beer, so long as they are going, there will be plenty of demand,” the dealer says.
Isuzu and Kenworth continue to lead the way, with Isuzu claiming not only the light and medium segments, but finishing November second to Kenworth in the blue ribbon heavy duty category in delivered trucks and retaining their number one spot in the market.
Perennial heavy duty runner up Western Star had another solid month, although with 1079 deliveries for the year there are now just three heavy duty trucks between Western Star and the rampaging Isuzu.
Also doing well in November, despite sacking 130 staff, was Volvo with 110 deliveries, enough to secure its fourth position.
While most manufacturers saw their numbers drop, Mercedes Benz, Freightliner, DAF and FIAT all enjoyed an increase compared to October, giving rise to some optimism in the market place.
In the medium duty market, it was a question of ‘how much?’ when discussing Isuzu’s lead, with Hino heartened to finish with 90 units of its arch rival, while Fuso was again consistent, finishing third with 114 units, just over 100 behind Hino.
Further back, UD Trucks is not enjoying the higher sales that were hoped for after launching the revamped MK and PK models, although it remains ahead of Mercedes, MAN, Iveco and DAF.
The light duty class is also the domain of Isuzu, with more than double the result of nearest competitor Hino, 312 to 142, while third ranked Fuso actually delivered 154 trucks to be second for the month, although it still trails Hino by 250 units for the year-to-date.
Despite recording the best month of its competitors in the heavy van section with 70 units, FIAT remains behind Iveco (28) and Ford (50), while Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen were both steady, if not spectacular, with 22 and 9 deliveries respectively.