Caution on ‘unpredictable’ month after second best January in 10 years
While justifiably pleased by January’s bold showing, the Truck Industry Council (TIC) has refused to go overboard on what it might mean.
TIC notes that result fell short of the best ever January, that of 2006 by 114 units and hopes the solid result is a sign that the Australian new truck market has finally shrugged off the struggling years following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
But CEO Tony McMullan wants to see more.
“It is a healthy start to a new year for heavy vehicle sales and the momentum of the later part of 2016 looks to have carried through to 2017,” McMullan says.
“However, January results can be somewhat unpredictable with the holiday season historically affecting December and January sales.
“The strong sales in January could be a result of some late December deliveries that were held up in bodybuilders, processing or stock delays from last year.
“We will have to wait for the February results to have a clearer picture of how the market is shaping up for 2017.”
Curiously, however, the TIC notes this January’s result is exactly the same as recorded for January 2007, “a year that went on to become Australia’s best ever for heavy vehicle sales”.
Full year light duty van sales in 2016 saw a fall when compared with the record breaking result of 2015 but the January result holds hopes for another record breaking result.
“A total of 478 vans were sold in January, up 46.6 per cent or 152 units for the month over January 2016,” TIC says.
“The previous best January for van sales was in fact last year, 2016, so we have a new January sales record and by a fair margin too.”