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On the face of it total truck sales of nearly 50,000 (representing a decline of only 8% on the heady heights of 2006) is nothing to get too alarmed about. The accelerated demand during 2006 caused by digital tachos and Euro-4 was always going to make year-on-year comparisons pretty meaningless. Annual registrations of 50,747 vehicles above 3.5-tonnes GVW, while the lowest figure for 10 years, is perfectly respectable figure. In any case sales improved as the year progressed, so there's no obvious  sign of a downturn in the short to medium term.

Dig a little deeper, however, and it's clear the market above 3.5 tonnes has been buoyed in particular by healthy growth in the 'big van' sector, a burgeoning market dominated by minibuses and motorhomes, which skews the registration figures. As part of its annual 'State of the Nation' review of the CV market Iveco analysed the SMMT figures for 2007 and discovered that the traditional truck market at 7.5-tonnes and above declined by nearly 16% to give a year-end total of 41,688. That's substantially smaller than anything we've seen for the past five years or more.

Marketing director Andrea Bucci cites a number of factors that impacted on the market during 2007. For starters, he reports that at the light end of the market buyers are dropping down the weight scale to duck the legislative burden of speed limiters and tightening tacho regs which now kick in at 3.5 tonnes. This is particularly prevalent among the parcels and  home delivery sector. Formerly the heartland for 7.5-tonners, this market is now becoming the preserve of the oversized 3.5-tonne panel van. As a result 7.5-tonne truck registrations, fell to 9,418 last year, which is their lowest level since 1993.

That artificial boom during 2006 was always going to stifle demand during 2007. But, as mentioned, there were signs of an upturn as the year came to an end so we'll be watching the market closely during the next quarter. Probably the biggest factor behind the market shrinkage, however, is the long lead times as demand for new trucks outstripped supply. Sharp growth in demand from Eastern Europe, coupled with the market planners underestimating the demand for trucks in the UK, led the lead times quoted by most truck manufacturers to disappear over the horizon. Most are quoting over 12 months for truck deliveries, although Iveco stresses that it can still deliver during 2008!

Daf and Volvo have been hit hardest by lengthening lead times. Daf's leadership of the market is still intact, but volumes dropped sharper than the market as it failed to satisfy the demand. Volvo had one of its worst years ever in the UK market, losing its traditional battle with Scania and being usurped by MAN. Fellow Volvo Group member Renault Trucks did even worse the French marque is now struggling to make an impact on the market, despite a decent product range. Word has it Mercedes had its pencil blunted on a number of big truck deals and backed away from some 'marginal' business during the year, which impacted on its fortunes.

As the figures illustrate, last year's big winner was MAN: the German manufacturer is back to the position it held before the great ERF distraction. Pricing was undoubtedly an issue last year - the company is known to have been keener on price than many of its rivals for some of the big deals - but operators were also wooed by MAN's EGR approach to engine emissions which has brought in a lot of new business. The other big winner last year was Hino - demand for its eight-wheelers went through the roof. The 8x4 chassis market hit a decent level last year with 3,593 units registered - the second highest total since 1994 - and the Irish-assembled Japanese truck has taken full advantage of this surge, scooping over 14% of the market to take fourth place in the market.

This year the challenge for Hino will be to extend this impressive performance to less familiar sectors. Of the remaining truck players, both Scania and Iveco held their positions during 2007. The latter is continuing to develop its business strategy, and while it's a long way off the 15% market share MD Henk van Leuven is aiming for, there are some promising signs of recovery from the Italian truck builder.