In March, retail sales of Class 4 to Class 8 trucks dropped as demand declined due to macroeconomic unpredictability linked to tariffs.
The U.S. Heavy Duty Retail Truck Sales Index from Equipment Finance News utilizes data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This index monitors the sales of heavy-duty trucks over 14,000 pounds, falling within Classes 4 to 8.
In March, sales reached 403,000 units, reflecting a decrease of 7.6% from the previous month and 12.2% from the same month last year. Total sales for the first quarter of 2025 were 1.3 million units, which is a 9.9% year-over-year decrease.
U.S. Heavy Duty Retail Truck Sales
The Traton Group, a commercial truck manufacturer, reported net sales of 73,100 units in Q1, down 9.9% year-over-year amidst a challenging environment, with declining unit sales across its subsidiaries, including Scania, MAN, and International, attributed to low demand in both Europe and the U.S., and tariff uncertainties, according to their April 9 release.
Conversely, Volkswagen Truck & Bus, another subsidiary, experienced a sales increase due to strong performance in Brazil and Argentina. The group also saw a notable rise of 93.8% in all-electric vehicle sales.
Heavy-Duty Truck Orders Decline
ACT Research’s “State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 Report,” published on April 2, also indicates that orders for Class 5 to Class 8 trucks fell in March. Class 8 orders in North America totaled 16,000 units, down 8.3% year-over-year.
The decline in both sales and orders has been attributed to the persistent uncertainty affecting the heavy-duty truck market, according to Carter Vieth, a research analyst at ACT Research. “The first quarter of 2025 has been defined by one word: uncertainty,” he explained. “It’s still unclear if this drop in orders is due to reduced economic activity, a pause in fleet expansions, or a reaction to trade and policy uncertainties.”
Medium-Duty Truck Orders Decline
For Class 5 to Class 7 vehicles, orders amounted to 18,600 units, a decline of 33% year-over-year, as noted in the report. The ongoing pressure on the heavy-duty truck sector is partially due to high dealer inventories and interest rates, as stated by Kirk Mann, executive VP and head of transportation at Mitsubishi HC Capital America, during the Commercial Vehicle Business Summit on April 2.
“Dealers nationwide are overloaded with inventory that needs to be sold,” he mentioned. “The threat of tariffs could potentially prompt some sales that might not have occurred as quickly otherwise.”
Due to the tariffs and prevailing trends in transportation inventory, customers are holding onto equipment longer, adding to dealers’ challenges, according to Peter Spitzer, a commercial and fleet account manager at Ron Du Pratt Ford in Dixon, Calif., during the Commercial Vehicle Business Summit on April 3.
“The duration of the tariffs remains uncertain, and consumer sentiment varies widely,” he remarked. “Our focus is on what we can control—how to capture our share of the market and prioritize that effort daily.”
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