Posted on 04 Apr 2023
Sales of heavy-duty trucks in China during March gained by 26% on year, according to a preliminary estimate released by Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World (CVWorld), a well-recognized market intelligence provider on China's truck manufacturing sector.
During last month, the country's heavy truck sales totalled 97,000 units, CVWorld estimates, the second-lowest for any March since 2017 despite the increase.
Accounting partly for the on-year rise was the low base of March last year where the total reached just 76,800 units, the lowest since March 2017, according to CVWorld. The on-year rise last month reflected the fact that the market has been in recovery, but the growth momentum is not proving strong enough.
Contributing too was the fact that the export volume of heavy trucks remained robust during March, CVWorld noted.
Moreover, domestic market sentiment improved last month with the lifting of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, with the relaxation releasing some pent-up demand for new trucks, according to CVWorld.
However, the demand for heavy trucks has subsided since mid-March, a symptom of the slower-than-expected recovery of China's economy after the Chinese New Year holiday over January 21-27, with consumption still showing a substantial fall after three years of pandemic. The slow recovery in consumption also suggested there has been no clear improvement in trucking industry issues including insufficient cargoes, surplus shipping capacity and low freight charges, sources mentioned.
Besides, China's property market had been struggling for several years, and infrastructure investment has fallen well short of expectations due to a lack of funds. This suggests that fixed asset investment, another driving force of the heavy truck market, failed to provide any support to the sector, CVWorld shared.
Should central and provincial government authorities across China fail to announce economic stimulus measures this month, CVWorld predicts that sales of heavy trucks may decline by 20% on month.
Source:Mysteel Global
