Brazil is the odd one out of the four leading emerging markets, not least because, in truck manufacturing terms, it has no indigenous player of its own. Russia, India and China all have their own, long established and domestically successful brands up against which the incoming Western players have to go in order to make their mark. Brazil has long been home to a number of European OEMs, with the market presently carved up by MB, VW, Scania and Iveco - which is also to expand its Brazilian plant for the production of the Stralis model range.

Is this a good time to be expanding production by 25 per cent at the 12,000-employee plant? Not if The Economist's forecast is anything to go by; in much the same way as we are now seeing in India, it seems likely that the Brazilian central bank will maintain a robust attitude towards fiscal policy, and the Selic rate - currently at 13 per cent, seems likely to rise to 14.25 per cent by the end of the year. However, inflationary pressures are seen as likely to continue, suggesting that the Selic may well rise yet further through 2009, a prospect that will certainly dampen down demand within the economy at large.

That is only half of the story though. Brazil is the regional economic powerhouse within South America, and, if it dips, then it seems only plausible that the rest of the regional economy will do likewise. If overall demand within the area falls, then so to will th demand for trucks. QED.

But here's the kicker. Demand for trucks in North America has plummeted, and remains flat during a time when historical comparisons suggest that it should now be beginning to rise. Europe is poised to head off the cliff in a graceful if unpleasantly vertical downwards trajectory. India - as discussed yesterday - is slowing up fast, and the prospects for a post Olympics China remain difficult to assess. Factor in both a war and some very strange truck demand numbers in Russia, and all of a sudden, the key global truck markets begin to look far from stable.

The other day, we were asked to rank the current global situation in terms of baseball innings; top of the fourth, bottom of the ninth etc. For an Englishman, this is always a giggle, but, in truth, this now feels like a double-header, with the first game now over, and the second about to begin. Unfortunately, the star pitcher has had to nip out on an errand, and we have no idea when he, or some semblance of economic confidence, will return to the park Rather than a return to the ways of the past, we are increasingly of the view that, when the dust finally settles on the new, global truck market, we will look out over a very different landscape; think fundamental structural change here.

If this does prove to be the case, then the likes of Daimler AG and AB Volvo - both of whom have invested ahead within BRICS - and both of which might currently be accused of being over-exposed within the same - may find themselves in a very nice position indeed.