91ÊÓƵ

Truck manufacturers are set to raise the prices of new Class 8 tractors as early as May as a result of tariffs on U.S. imports, with further hikes likely on the way.

Key advances include an up to 7.5% improvement in fuel efficiency, upgraded safety systems and a tighter turning radius for navigating urban routes, the Volvo Group unit said.

The company will begin its first small production run in a new 305-acre manufacturing facility in Golden, British Columbia, founder and CEO Chace Barber told Transport Topics.

U.S. Class 8 retail sales started the year on a down slope, losing ground on both a monthly and year-over-year basis, according to data from Wards Intelligence.

The back half of last year mostly trended below prior-year comparisons but ended on a predictable uptick. That has since settled back to another year-over-year decline.

North American Class 8 truck orders jumped in December compared with the same month a year earlier, according to ACT Research, for the first such increase since May.

Sales increased 3.3% to 19,658 units from 19,027 during the same time last year. They decreased 5.8% from the 20,859 units reported in October.

Preliminary data showed orders declined 5.2% to 30,600 units, marking the fifth month in 2024 where orders fell on an annual basis.

Speaking at the FTR Transportation Conference 2024 in Indianapolis, Dan Moyer said he would have expected build levels to decline, but that has not happened.

Volvo Trucks North America is working with the University of Minnesota and two fleets on testing of Volvo's Class 8 VNR Electric model to assess the impact of temperature on battery life.