U.S. sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks slipped 1.8% on a daily-selling rate basis in January compared with the year-ago, per a news story posted on WardsAuto.com.

“However,” noted reporter Christie Schweinsberg, “big-truck deliveries rose 2.2% on a volume basis to 24,921 units, WardsAuto data shows.”

Class 8 led the month’s decline, with group sales falling 10.5%, reported Schweinsberg: Paccar and Volvo Truck both saw losses, but International suffered the most severe falloff, down 44.3%.  Daimler’s Western Star was the most improved, up 42.2%, although on the segment’s smallest volume of just 317 units.”

Schweinsberg pointed out that medium-duty sales “somewhat balanced” the Class 8 dip, rising 9.1% from the year before, “with all but Class 5 in the black.”

According to the WardsAuto report:

·         Class 8 had a 62 days’ supply at the end of January, compared with 59 a year ago.

·         Class 7 deliveries saw a 1.7% uptick in January

·         Class 6 sales climbed 25.8%, with half of the manufacturers posting increases

·         Class 5 January deliveries slipped 4.2% from the prior year

·         Class 4 sales soared 65.8% in the month for the best performance among medium-duty

Click here to read the full WardsAuto news item.