Volvo Trucks' January Results Promising

Swedish truck manufacturer volvo trucks has announced results for January indicating a promising outlook for 2011. The company's published figures revealed a 62 per cent increase in sales in January, resulting in 15,277 trucks sold. The news adds weight to the hope of a recovery for the commercial truck market htis year.

The highly cyclical heavy-duty truck market has picked up strongly in recent quarters with growth spreading out of emerging markets in Asia and Latin America to mature markets on both sides of the Atlantic.

Volvo, which also sells used volvo trucks and trucks under the Eicher, Mack, Renault, and UD Trucks brands, said unit shipments rose 78 percent in Europe, its biggest market, while they were up 83 percent in North America. In Asia, further down the road to recovery than markets on either side of the north Atlantic, deliveries rose 51 percent.

"It is pretty much exactly as expected and means they held roughly the same production rate in January as they had in December," Handelsbanken analyst Hampus Engellau said.

"This confirms that we are seeing a cyclical recovery in North America, but also that Europe is really stronger than anticipated."

Volvo shares opened up 0.5 percent to 111.5 crowns, to narrowly outpace a 0.1 percent gain in the DJ Stoxx autos sector index shares in rivals Scania and MAN rose 0.6 percent.

The group, second globally to German group Daimler, earlier this month raised its demand outlook, saying it expected markets to grow to about 220,000 units in both Europe and North America, implying double-digit growth.

Gothenburg-based volvo trucks, which also manufactures buses, construction equipment and engines, has seen earnings recover on the back of the strong demand but also encountered production problems as it tries to raise output.

Volvo's deliveries shifted gear toward the end of last year with year-on-year increases of about 60 percent as demand began reviving in North America, the market hardest hit by the downturn in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Volvo Trucks Deliver 50,000th VEST-Equipped Truck

The North American division of volvo trucks has celebrated the success of the company's VEST system, as the 50,000th truck to use the technology has been delivered. Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology was made standard on all its American highway trucks in 2005, and Shamrock Foods in Phoenix, Arizona have received the 50,000th truck made by Volvo using this system.

VEST was designed to help truck drivers maintain control during emergency manoeuvres, to reduce the chance of the vehicle rolling over or jackknifing. It is described by Volvo as a 'full electronic stability program' which the company believes has saved lives since its implementation. The VEST system has become more and more available in used volvo trucks as more are resold.

Mark Engdahl, enterprise director for Shamrock, and Matt Miller, enterprise operations manager, received a plaque from executives at volvo trucks to celebrate the milestone achievement. The company sends refrigerated trucks to 10 states from its distribution centres in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

"VEST is something no driver should be without," said Miller. "It provides improved safety and peace of mind. Volvo's commitment to safety is one of the reasons we ordered 105 Volvo trucks this year. It means a lot to us that we are putting our drivers in trucks that are designed for safety as well as comfort and drivability."

Volvo created the system in a collaboration with Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, and has been praised for its efforts to improve the safety of truck drivers and road users. Ron Huibers, senior vice president of sales and marketing for volvo trucks in North America, says that VEST it sets the company apart from its competitors.

"VEST represents an enormous advancement in truck safety," said Huibers. "We're part of the first heavy-duty truck manufacturing group to make the technology standard in our products - and we did it because it's so important for the safety of truck drivers and the motoring public."