Sales were down in all truck segments when compared with the same month last year, reveals the latest numbers from the Truck Industry Council (TIC) – but there’s still plenty to celebrate.
The previous three years have set record numbers and the year-to-date (YTD) tally of 22,582 at the end of June is still the third best ever recorded.
TIC CEO Tony McMullan acknowledged the slowing truck market, however noted that the down-turn this year was not unexpected after the record volumes for the past few years.
“Last year the sales market for trucks was strong, in fact, it was a record year representing the third year in a row where the sales record was broken year-on-year,” McMullan said.
“While it was hoped that sales would remain strong in 2025, it is not surprising to see the market coming off these highs – a federal election year, tight economic times, a lessening of demand for product and economic and general uncertainty being the key determinants for the drop in sales.
“It is hard to predict the next six months, although it is fair to assume that uncertainty will remain and that sales will not be as strong as were seen in 2024.”
There were 4888 units sold across all categories in June, down 10.5 per cent on the June 2024 record of 5461.
At the halfway point of the calendar year, total sales sit at 22,582, down on last year’s record of 25,698, a reduction of 12.1 percent.
The heavy-duty truck segment continued its YTD contraction in June with 1481 deliveries, down 18.5 per cent (335 trucks) over the same month in 2024.
The sector was also down when comparing the same quarter in 2024 (April to June) – 3763 versus 4981 – and also dipped in the YTD comparison, 7143 against 8769, a dip of 18.5 per cent.
Kenworth again led the way in the heavy-duty sector in June with 338 deliveries, good enough for a 22.8 per cent market share.
For the first time this year Volvo topped Isuzu, coming in second last month with 237 units, but Isuzu was not far adrift in third with 208.
Isuzu is still second overall at the half-way mark of 2025 with 1197 (16.7 per cent market share), 24 trucks in front Volvo on 1167 (16.3).
The medium-duty segment has contracted noticeably less than the heavies, though June sales were slower than the year average.
Overall, 764 medium-duty trucks were delivered in June, down 13.9 per cent (-123 trucks) over June 2024.
The overall April to June period is down less, with 2034 mediums delivered in quarter two 2025, compared to 2296 for the same period in 2024, an 11.4 per cent reduction on last year’s levels.
Year-to-date medium-duty truck sales have slowed by 8.4 per cent, with 3698 deliveries to the end of June 2025. That’s 339 fewer truck sales compared to the 2024 half-year result.
The light-duty truck segment (trucks with a GVM between 3500kg and 8000kg) has seen sales reductions of a similar order to that of the heavy-duty segment in 2025.
The month of June was typical of that downward trend with 1332 light-duty trucks delivered in June just past, down 12.3 per cent (-186 vehicles) over June 2024.
The 2025 quarter two result was poor for LD trucks with 3,294 vehicles sold, down 17.7 percent over the second quarter of 2024, a total of 706 fewer little trucks sold. For the first half year, 6,222 Light Duty trucks have been delivered, down on the same period in 2024 by 13.1 percent (-941 trucks).