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US and Canadian Class 8 Natural Gas truck retail sales for the first five months of 2019 gained 43% year-to-date, according to a recent quarterly report (AFQ: Alternative Fuels Quarterly) released by ACT Research. Year-to-date sales at this point in 2018 were down 18%, following a 13% full-year increase in 2017.

April 30, 2019

According to the recently released N.A. Commercial Vehicle On-Highway Engine OUTLOOK, published by ACT Research and Rhein Associates, Class 8 production is expected to continue its growth trend into 2019, and diesel is still the dominate power source, but changes in demand for straight trucks and tractors will impact the type of diesel engines ordered.

US and Canadian Natural Gas Class 8 truck retail sales rose 13% in 2017, but shed 23% year-to-date through November 2018, according to a recent quarterly report (AFQ: Alternative Fuels Quarterly) released by ACT Research. Year-to-date sales at this point in 2017 were up 9%. “On a nominal basis, natural gas retail sales are down about 700 units for the first eleven months of 2018 on a year-over-year basis,” said Ken Vieth, Senior Partner and GM at ACT Research. He continued, “Based on news released in the popular press, natural gas vehicle purchases continued to be dominated by refuse fleets, as well as transit and school bus operators.”

According to the recently released N.A. Commercial Vehicle On-Highway Engine OUTLOOK, published by ACT Research and Rhein Associates, Class 8 production is expected to continue its growth trend into 2019, but changes in demand for straight trucks and tractors will impact the type of diesel engines ordered.

US and Canadian Natural Gas Class 8 truck retail sales rose 13% in 2017, but shed 28% year-to-date through August 2018, according to a recent quarterly report (Natural Gas & Alternative Fuels Quarterly) released by ACT Research. Year-to-date sales at this point in 2017 were flat year-over-year. “On a nominal basis, natural gas retail sales are down about 600 units for the first eight months of 2018 on a year-over-year basis,” said Ken Vieth, Senior Partner and GM at ACT Research. He continued, “Based on news released in the popular press, natural gas vehicle purchases continued to be dominated by refuse fleets, as well as transit and school bus operators.”

While not impacting each commercial vehicle segment every year, structural changes within China’s CV market are expected to exert downward pressure through 2022, according to the most recent China Commercial Vehicle Outlook, jointly published quarterly by ACT and China’s State Information Center (SIC). The Outlook includes an overview of the China economy and a review and forecast of China’s heavy and medium-duty truck and bus markets, as well as analysis of OEM market shares within China.

The news media has been active presenting new, electric vehicle product offerings for light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles (CVs) and buses. These headlines could easily lead one to believe the industry is on the verge of going electric, but timing, application, use/applicability and costs remain big question marks. The latest NA On-Highway Engine OUTLOOK published by ACT Research and Rhein Associates highlights this alt fuel activity for CV GVWs 5-8, including five-year forecasts of engines volumes and product trends. The Engine Outlook ties to the detailed NA CV vehicle forecasts published monthly by ACT in the NA OUTLOOK.

ACT Research released its landmark study, Commercial Vehicle Electrification: To Charge or Not To Charge, to charter subscribers earlier this summer and is now making this report available to the public.

US and Canadian Natural Gas Class 8 truck retail sales rose 13% in 2017, but shed 18% year-to-date through May 2018. Sales from January through May 2017 were down 14% from the first five months of the previous year. “As we can see from the year-to-date data in 2017, it isn’t unexpected that sales at this point in the year are subpar. On a nominal basis, natural gas retail sales are down an almost-neutral 7 units for the first five months of 2018 on a year-over-year basis,” said Ken Vieth, Senior Partner and GM at ACT Research. He continued, “Based on news released in the popular press, natural gas vehicle purchases continued to be dominated by refuse fleets, as well as transit and school bus operators.”