Daimler weathering NA slowdown

STUTTGART, Ger. — Despite a sharp downturn in the U.S. market, DaimlerChrysler’s trucks division will post an operating profit this year, Andreas Renschler, Daimler’s trucks division chief, said.

Even though heavy truck sales are expected to drop between 35 and 40 percent in 2007 — as a result ’07 EPA-mandated emissions standards coming into effect — the company’s market leading Freightliner subsidiary is set to post its third-best results ever this year after the boom years of 2005 and 2006, Renschler said.

According to Reuters, Renschler forecast the European truck market would remain stable after the Continent’s own engine regulations.

In a recent interview with Today’s Trucking, Freightliner President and CEO Chris Patterson partly blamed the market slip on the lack of incentives to truck buyers, leaving fleet managers and owner-operators with no other option but to avoid the substantial extra cost of the new diesels.

Patterson said he doesn’t see a rebound until the end of the year. “I’m beginning to see the ramp-up later than August,” he said.

For more on this interview click the Related Stories link below, and pick up the upcoming print May issue of Today’s Trucking.