Australia’s heavy-duty truck sector continues to feel the pressure of a softening economy, with October’s new truck sales figures revealing the segment has been hit hardest by the slowdown.
According to the latest data released by the Truck Industry Council (TIC), 1226 heavy-duty trucks were delivered in October 2025, a drop of 19.7 per cent – or 301 units – compared to October 2024.
Year-to-date (YTD) the trend is only slightly less severe with heavy-duty truck sales 18 per cent lower than at the same time last year.
That represents 2595 fewer heavy trucks sold to the end of October 2025, with total deliveries for the segment sitting at 11,789 units.
The medium-duty sector recorded the biggest slump last month when compared with the previous year, down 211 units, or 30.2 per cent.
That result means the YTD segment total of 5763 is now 14.3 per cent below the same period last year.
Overall, heavy vehicle sales are tracking 12 per cent lower than last year’s record numbers with 37,648 trucks and vans delivered to the end of October, 5131 less than at the same stage in 2024.
TIC CEO Tony McMullan said the October result underlined the sluggish conditions that have persisted through much of 2025, but he noted that the rate of decline had now stabilised.
“The October result continues the downward trend that we have witnessed for the majority of 2025, though the sales decline has stabilised over the past few months,” McMullan said.
He added that while the heavy-duty market has borne the brunt of the slowdown, the figures are not unexpected given the record-breaking results seen over the past four years.
“The sales decline largely reflects general business activity across Australia,” McMullan said
“Economic conditions across most business sectors in Australia remain weak, and it appears this lack of business confidence is reflecting in new truck and van sales.”
It’s not all doom and gloom for the industry, however, McMullan emphasised. Far from it.
After months of weaker results, the light-duty category managed to outperform its 2024 benchmark, with 1353 lights sold in October – 3 per cent higher than the 1313 sold in the same month last year.
McMullan said the market is also still on target to finish the year strongly enough to rank as one of the best ever.
“The market remains on track for around 45,000 new truck and van sales in 2025 and that would be the third best ever sales result recorded for the heavy vehicle market in Australia,” McMullan concluded.