In the world of heavy duty trucking, the big guys are getting bigger, but then so are the smaller ones. An analysis of sales of commercial vehicles for May ’06 shows that truck sales in the medium and heavy segment (MHCV) above 35.2 tonnes were 1,398 units in May ’06 against just 124 in May ’05.

This was the highest single growth of any segment in the commercial vehicles business for the month. The MHCV segment grew 39% to 19,575 units.

At the other end of the category, in the LCV segment, sales of trucks up to 3.5 tonnes, defined as B1 by SIAM, were 8,360 units against 4,583 in May ’05 — a growth of 82% year on year. This led the LCV sales growth of 40% to 13,256 units. Driven by these two segments, the overall CV growth touched 32,831 units, up 40%.

There were other high-growth segments within the CV sales. Sales of trucks of over 25 tonnes grew 81% while sales of minibuses, between 7.5 and 12 tonnes, also grew 75%. But, sales of trucks between 26.4 and 35.2 tonnes fell 54%.

Their loss appears to have translated into a gain for the higher 35.2-tonne segment.

Truckers appear to have worked out the economics and higher tonnage trucks have gained in the MHCV segment. The opposite appears in the goods LCV segment, where

sales of the below 3.5 tonnes trucks far outstripped the 5- and 7-tonne trucks.

A few trends underpin this sales growth. As roads improve, heavier trucks are being used because they reduce the per-tonne costs for the same distance. The heavy trucks are now used for point-to-point deliveries from the factory to the main depot. The LCVs takeover from then on.

LCVs of 1-1.5 tonnes, like the Tata Ace, finish the last mile from the depots to the retailer/ stockist. Newer LCVs have emission-norms-compliant engines because of which, apart from the new purchases, there are replacement purchases.

Major logistics companies have also started buying 1-2 tonne LCVs for their city operations. Tata and Volvo have stepped up sales in heavy trucks, the former with the Daewoo range of Novus trucks in ’05-06.

The movement towards a hub and spoke system is making the heavy tonnages more viable.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1644965.cms