Volvo truck shipments begin year on strong note
Volvo truck shipments begin year on strong note
Stockholm: World number two truckmaker Volvo said shipments surged 62% to 15,277 units in January as a recovery in commercial vehicles markets carried into the new year.
The highly cyclical heavy-duty truck market has picked up strongly in recent quarters with growth spreading out of emerging markets in Asia and Latin America to mature markets on both sides of the Atlantic.
Volvo, which also sells trucks under the Eicher, Mack, Renault, and UD Trucks brands, said unit shipments rose 78% in Europe, its biggest market, while they were up 83% in North America.
In Asia, further down the road to recovery than markets on either side of the north Atlantic, deliveries rose 51%.
The group, second globally to German group Daimler, earlier this month raised its demand outlook, saying it expected markets to grow to about 220,000 units in both Europe and North America, implying double-digit growth.
Gothenburg-based Volvo, which also manufactures buses, construction equipment and engines, has seen earnings recover on the back of the strong demand but also encountered production problems as it tries to raise output.
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