Leaving that aside, things look OK. Last year, Scania moved 65281 trucks, up from 58383 in 2005. That’s a 12 per cent bump up on the previous year, and order bookings, which the firm had already said rose 31 percent in October through November, shot up 44 per cent in the full 04 quarter. Scania says order intake in January remains at the "same high level".
Scania expects demand for heavy trucks to remain strong in Europe throughout 2007, adding that its production rate will be raised to an annual rate of 80,000 vehicles from the end of the first quarter. This is an increase of 25 per cent from its production rate a year earlier.

Sizeable investments in infrastructure in the new EU member countries and strong growth in the Russian economy are contributing to rising transport demand. Investment levels are expected to remain high for several years ahead and will generate a high demand for transport capacity. We'll reserve judgement on Scania's plans for Russia until we hear what the Russian OEMs have to say.

Most other markets also showed a strong trend during 2006. Demand for heavy trucks improved in Latin America and Asia, while Africa was stable. Economic restructuring in Brazil through 2007 should - we feel - add some further momentum to Scania's Mercosur business; lots of infrastructure projects will kick off in order to boost Brazilian growth to five per cent. Asia makes us feel pessimistic.

Moneywise, operating income increased by 28 per cent to £636.38 / €965.3 / $1254.14 / SEK 8,753 million meaning an operating margin of 12.4 per cent. Operating income included restructuring costs of about £10.9 / €16.54 / $21.49 / SEK 150 million in conjunction with the ongoing concentration of production as well as the MAN defence.

Now that we’ve seen how well Scania does in the good times, we await with interest news of its performance when the market goes horrible. And, although these numbers will be put forward as a good reason for remaining independent, we’re of the view that Scania needs a friend.