The Big Bounce

as Australia’s economy continues to surge forward after the dark days of the pandemic. The Standard and Poor’s/ASX 200 index gained 9.7 per cent during 2022-23, which exceeds the average gain of 6.6 per cent over the past decade and a strong bounce back from the loss of 10.2 per cent for 2021-22. June 30 also marked the end of the instant asset tax write off scheme introduced by the previous Federal Government as a stimulus for the economy. The opportunity to fully expense and claim investments in new equipment has been a major driver for transport operators to order new trucks and consequently a factor in the push to achieve as many deliveries as possible during the month. Despite reverting to a more staged depreciation schedule for major investments such as trucks and trailers in the new financial year, the demand for new units remains strong with orders stretching well into 2025 and beyond for many OEMs, whose challenge will be supplying them.

The latest report from the Truck Industry Council shows a monthly record number of units were delivered during June and the total of 5,405 new trucks was 1,645 more than in May (+43.75 per cent) and 1.063 more than during June 2022 (+24.5 per cent). The year-to-date accrual for the first half of 21,481 shows an additional 3,087 units over those past six months (+16.8 per cent).

The Heavy Duty segment delivered a remarkable 2,294 units during June, 700 more than in June last year (+43.9 per cent). The category’s performance for the year-to-date of 8,732 units shows an additional 1,816 ‘big’ trucks (+26.3 per cent) compared with the first half of last year.

Medium Duty deliveries totalled 1,077 trucks for June, an increase of 15.1 per cent over June 2022 (+141 units). That takes the YTD accrual to 3,971 units, 154 more than in 2022 (a modest 4.0 per cent growth).

The Light Duty category cracked the 2,000 unit barrier with 2,034 sold in June, with new player Foton Mobility notching up 21 deliveries for their first appearance on the score board. The June result was 222 more than during June 2022 (+12.2 per cent) and the YTD total of 8,778 shows a growth for the segment of 14.6 per cent (+1,117 units).

The Heavy Van market managed 649 new units during June, only four mare than in the same month last year but 139 more than in the previous month of May (+27.2 per cent). The year-to-date total of 2,914 shows a category growth of 16.9 per cent (+421 units). The cessation of the very generous tax incentive is expected to cool the new truck market a little over the coming months but the underlying strength of the industry is also expected to continue to demonstrate that records are made to be broken. Increase in freight demand dictates that more trucks are required regardless of their taxable status.