The weak truck market in the US is one of the few black spots in Volvo's latest truck sales figures, with global sales up by 21% in the first six months of 2008. The group's performance reflected the world's economic fortunes, with sales of trucks of over 14 tonnes in China up 55% in May compared to the same month in 2007.
South America also saw strong growth (Brazil up 49% in June), while in Europe strong
growth in the Eastern European states fuelled a 13% increase in Volvo sales in the first six months of 2008 to nearly 60,000 vehicles.
However in North America, Volvo sold 2% fewer trucks in the first half of 2008 than in the same period of 2007 and things may get worse before they get better.
The company reports that in June the total market for trucks in North America declined by 19% to 93,951 compared with 116,618 in 2007. It puts the drop down to a weak economy, high fuel prices and a drop-off in the housing sector.
For Volvo, the poor US truck market has led to 1,300 redundancies in its American production system. These workers were laid off at the end of the second quarter of 2008.
Overall, the Volvo Group's turnover rose by 13% to £6.7bn in the second quarter, its highest ever level for a single quarter.
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