The top executive at Navistar International Corp said on Thursday the North American truck market has “absolutely” bottomed, and that the industry will experience growth in 2008.But speaking to reporters at the Chicago Auto Show, where his company unveiled a new model of its biggest commercial truck, Navistar President and Chief Executive Dan Ustian said the industry’s fate still depended on the strength of the U.S. economy.
“What we’re assuming is that the economy doesn’t get any worse, and that it starts to get better as the year goes on,” he said.
Earlier this week, industry tracker A.C.T. Research said that orders for so-called Class 8 trucks – the biggest on-highway trucks — topped 20,000 for the fourth month in a row, putting the industry on track for a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 258,000.
That led some analysts to speculate that the truck market was finally rebounding after slumping throughout the first three quarters of 2007.
Navistar and other companies that make trucks or truck components faced stiff headwinds last year because of tough new U.S. emissions rules for big trucks that took effect.
Many trucking companies — worried about the cost and reliability of engines designed to comply with the regulations — updated their fleets in 2006, ahead of the implementation of the rules.
That so-called prebuy, coupled with a drop in the freight business as the U.S. economy slowed in 2007, meant few trucking companies were in the market to make new purchases last year.
“What we’re assuming is that the economy doesn’t get any worse, and that it starts to get better as the year goes on,” he said.
Earlier this week, industry tracker A.C.T. Research said that orders for so-called Class 8 trucks – the biggest on-highway trucks — topped 20,000 for the fourth month in a row, putting the industry on track for a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 258,000.
That led some analysts to speculate that the truck market was finally rebounding after slumping throughout the first three quarters of 2007.
Navistar and other companies that make trucks or truck components faced stiff headwinds last year because of tough new U.S. emissions rules for big trucks that took effect.
Many trucking companies — worried about the cost and reliability of engines designed to comply with the regulations — updated their fleets in 2006, ahead of the implementation of the rules.
That so-called prebuy, coupled with a drop in the freight business as the U.S. economy slowed in 2007, meant few trucking companies were in the market to make new purchases last year.
