Medium-Duty Truck Sales Drop 25% From Prior Year in October
Sales Also Decreased 9.3% Sequentially From September
Key Takeaways:
- U.S. medium-duty truck sales fell 25.1% year over year in October, dropping to 15,345 units amid tariff pressures and market uncertainty, Omdia Automotive reported.
- All classes posted year-over-year declines, including a 51.7% drop in Class 4 sales that Steve Tam said may reflect disproportionate tariff impacts.
- Tam said ongoing tariff-driven uncertainty is weighing on demand and expect full-year Classes 5-7 sales to finish about 10% below last year.
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U.S. medium-duty truck sales dropped sequentially and compared with the prior year in October amid ongoing tariff headwinds and market uncertainty, according to data from Omdia Automotive.
Classes 4-7 retail truck sales for the month decreased 25.1% to 15,345 units from 20,484 in October 2024. The last year-over-year increase in medium-duty sales occurred in January. Total sales decreased 9.3% sequentially from the 16,916 units reported in September.
Earlier this year, Wards Intelligence became fully assimilated under the Omdia branding.
Omdia data showed a year-over-year decrease for every medium-duty class. Class 7 truck sales decreased 30.1% to 4,219 units from 6,036. Class 6 declined 14.1% to 4,964 units from 5,780. Class 5 decreased 22.1% to 5,202 units from 6,681. And Class 4 fell 51.7% to 960 units from 1,987.
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“I kind of scratched my head a little bit about that Class 4 number, trying to understand what’s going on there,” ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said. “It’s a unique vehicle, most of the vehicles are in that space, and so they must just be getting hit disproportionately [by tariffs].”
President Donald Trump has used tariffs as his main tool to rework international trade. Tam said this has led to market uncertainty that has impacted both heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicle sales. He also speculated that tariffs could be influencing what inventories manufacturers try to clear out.
“From a big-picture perspective ... sales on a year-to-date basis in that Classes 5 through 7 arenas are down about 9%, and our forecast is down 10%,” Tam said. “The market is performing as expected, and it’s unfortunate that it’s in decline. But it’s where business and where the economy is right now.”
Freightliner reported the most Class 7 sales at 1,897 units. Ford sold the most Class 6 trucks at 2,492 units, and the most Class 5 vehicles at 3,102. Isuzu sold the most Class 4 units at 545.
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