Heavy Truck Sales Increased 5% YoY in January

This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the January 2025 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 534 thousand.

Heavy truck sales really collapsed during the great recession, falling to a low of 180 thousand SAAR in May 2009.  Then heavy truck sales increased to a new record high of 570 thousand SAAR in April 2019.

Click on graph for larger image.

Note: "Heavy trucks - trucks more than 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight."

Heavy truck sales declined sharply at the beginning of the pandemic, falling to a low of 288 thousand SAAR in May 2020.  

Heavy truck sales were at 534 thousand SAAR in January, up from 454 thousand in December, and up 4.6% from 510 thousand SAAR in January 2025.  

Usually, heavy truck sales decline sharply prior to a recession.  Currently heavy truck sales are solid.

As I mentioned yesterday, light vehicle sales decreased in January.

The second graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967.  

Light vehicle sales were at 15.60 million SAAR in January, down from 16.87 million in November, and up 3.8% from 15.03 million in January 2024.