In October, Trucks Outsold Cars by Widest Margin in Years
I recently stumbled upon an enjoyable article by Sarah Carter, posted yesterday, and entitled In October, Trucks Outsold Cars by Widest Margin in Years that I would strongly suggest all of you read! Below are some extracts to whet your appetites!
First of all, people started to reduce their personal savings rates and to spend more. The most recent figures show the personal savings rate has dropped from a yearly high if 6.4 percent in June to 5.3 percent in September. Second, gasoline is still affordable, easing concerns that trucks entail high gas prices. In the past, truck sales fell sharply when gas topped $3 and $4 a gallon in 2008, forcing drivers to spend $100 to fill their tanks.
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According to AAA, current gas prices are around $2.80 a gallon, higher than the $1.50 – $1.90 when trucks and SUVs peaked in popularity, but still affordable enough as to not hinder sales.
Now then, reading Sarah Carter’s post started me off thinking so I searched for some more articles on the subject and discovered some more goodposts! i.e. this post posted yesterday, by admin, over on NextCars.net | Future Cars, Fast Cars, New Cars, Cool Cars, Hot Cars:
Similarly, one of Tesla’s co-founders recently claimed that small EVs are rather insignificant, and that hybridizing pickup trucks and SUVs was more beneficial. Judging by last month’s auto sales, with light duty trucks achieving almost 53 percent of marketshare, both seem to have a point. Once again the Ford F-Series dominated US auto sales, selling almost twice as many units as the closest non-truck competitor. Likewise, the top selling cars were larger sedans, not compacts like the upcoming Nissan Leaf, for instance. Consequently, US automakers are gaining share because pickup trucks and SUVs are again selling well. More important, increased light duty truck sales mean increased profits for Big 3 automakers.
Yet another fine post came from Brooke Wisdom on Commercial Carrier Journal posted yesterday and entitled Equipment | Trucking Magazine Covering Business News, Fleet … which is also definitely worth a read.
Construction is expected to get under way later this year to bring the plant into production in 2012, with the capacity to produce more than 5,000 trailers annually. Advertisement * Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions will discontinue sales of its Dayton brand truck and bus radial tire line effective Jan. 1, 2011. The announcement does not impact the sales or availability of Dayton brand light truck or passenger tires. * CC Industries acquired Trail King Industries, a manufacturer of open deck and material hauling trailers. CC Industries says the acquisition continues its efforts to expand its portfolio of industrial manufacturers and transportation equipment companies.
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” Among the offerings Renschler counts as services are truck rental, financial services and telematics-based fleet management. “By the year 2030, for every euro in sales, we can expect to make more than 50 cents on services. Today we get just half of that.” To capitalize on these trends, Daimler is pitching the idea of “Trucks for the World” – a slogan that synthesizes the ideas of the company’s global sales footprint, development and service capability. For example, Daimler already sells close to a third of its trucks in the BRIC and Next 11 markets and is increasing its presence there through two new brands and five new manufacturing facilities. An example of Daimler’s global development is its Global Hybrid Center in Japan, where the company has centralized its hybrid development. Daimler also is looking for synergies between hybrid commercial vehicles and passenger cars. And although third parties have led the way on telematics in North America, Daimler plans to take its offerings such as TruckMobility and Fleetboard into new markets.