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Scania has become the third truck manufacturer in a matter of weeks to reveal plans to cut production in Europe.

After months of long lead times, Volvo, Daf and now Scania are feeling the pinch as operators cut back their purchasing in light of the credit crunch. Swedish manufacturer Scania has revealed that truck orders fell by a staggering 41% globally in the third quarter to 30 September. In Western Europe orders were down by 69%, while in Central and Eastern Europe the figure was 45%.

Leif Östling, president and CEO, says: "Due to low order bookings and higher truck inventories, Scania will now adjust production rates accordingly." Jobs will be lost among Scania staff on temporary contracts (about 20% of the workforce).

Meanwhile Paccar, parent company to Daf, will be reducing the build rate for Daf trucks in October. Daf Trucks president Aad Goudriaan says: "After robust growth for a number of years, the European economy and truck markets are now slowing.

"As a result of the recent slowdown in customer demand, Daf will reduce its build rate during October and anticipates the 2009 commercial vehicle market will reflect the slower economy."

He adds that European industry truck sales in 2009 are difficult to predict due to economic uncertainty, but they could be around 260,000-300,000 units.

Finally Volvo Trucks, which revealed its intention  to cut production at the beginning of October, saw orders taken during the third quarter amount to just 115 trucks, compared to 4,970 in the same quarter in 2007.

In the three months to 30 September, sales reached SEK46bn (£3.7bn). European sales rose by 2%, but the North American market dropped by 10%. Thomas Cullen, chief analyst at Transport Intelligence, says the economic slowdown is affecting all areas of the automotive industry.