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TIPPER MAKERS RIDING HIGH
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Multi-wheeler sales rose strongly last year. We analyse the motivations and movements in the tipper and mixer market league tables.
• Vehicle sales into the construction market last year highlighted its remarkable recovery from recession. Registrations of tippers and truck mixers through 1988 accelerated well ahead of overall heavy truck registrations. The growth in the multi-wheeler market, especially the four-axled sector, illustrated the trend vividly.
For the first time ever in 1988, eightwheelers outsold six-wheelers, to the tune of 3,657 against 3,405 units, proving the need of civil engineering businesses in particular to carry greater payloads. The scale of construction and road-building projects has increased, justifying larger material batches. And because sites are bigger, there is room for longer, more ungainly, eight-wheelers to manoeuvre.
With 1987 figures as a base, registrations of all chassis above 15 tonnes GVW moved ahead 18.7% last year. Heavy four-wheelers moved ahead by 17.5%, as did 29-tonne-plus tractors. But the eightwheeler market increased by a massive 34.9%. Most were tippers, some bought for bulk work hauling grain, animal feed, waste and solid fuel, but the majority was for construction industry applications.
• Interest emerging
On non-tipping eight-wheelers, loads like bricks and concrete products account for many sales. And there is a perceptible interest emerging in four-aided mixers, able to carry 7.5 to 8m3 of concrete. lyeco Ford has made a conscious pitch for that embryo market with its Deutzpowered 8x4 tipper chassis.
Foden and Hino recorded the most spectacular gains in eight-wheeler sales last year. For Foden it represented something of a come-back, recalling those days in the sixties when Foden was the eightwheeler — in the northern half of the country at least — 826 Foden rigid-eights went into service last year, compared with just 349 in 1987. Hino lifted registrations from just 10 eight-wheelers in 1987 to 77 last year.
Reorganisation of Hino imports into the UK, with the setting up of a new headquarters at Catterick in Yorkshire, albeit supplied via J J Harris in Dublin, seems sure to increase the Japanese presence in the eight-wheeler market. The "Irish con-. nection" goes some way to explain the popularity of Hinos with Irish-owned companies in Britain, of which there are many in the muck-away and demolition businesses particularly. The Hino chassis, though fairly heavy, also has a good reputation for its durability.
Different factors have stimulated the Foden eight-wheeler revival. The decision by parent group Paccar to promote Caterpillar engines more strongly in Foden chassis, in parallel with its recent US strategy in Kenworth and Peterbilt chassis, has struck a chord with British construction industry buyers. They know Cat earthmoving equipment well and respect the quality and durability of its off-road diesel engines. They calculate that a Catengined Foden tipper will be reliable.
A sea change in Caterpillar's worldwide industrial and marketing strategy was triggered in around 1983, when ruthless earthmover competition from Komatsu, at a time when plant sales had slumped, nearly brought the American company to its knees. Its lofty "Rolls-Royce attitude" of not wanting to discuss prices was abandoned. The former "Fat Cat" is now leaner and hungrier, and its 10.5-litre 3306B engine in Foden's eight-wheeler is some £780 cheaper than the equivalent Cummins L10-290 power unit.
Foden's market surge brought its position in the eight-wheeler league table up from third to first; its market share increased from 12.9 to 22.6%. An analysis of engines shows that Cat 3306B diesels went into 15.2% of all eight-wheelers (British and imported) registered in 1988 — up from a mere 4.4% in 1987.
Cummins' L10 remains comfortably the most widely-fitted eight-wheeler engine. It went into 932 chassis, 25.5% of the units registered. But for the launch of the more powerful 242kW (325hp) air-air chargecooled L10 variant, now being fitted by Foden as well as ERF, Cat might have had Cummins even more worried.
Volvo was a conspicuous loser in the 1988 eight-wheeler stakes. Its FL10 and FL7 chassis dropped in the combined market share, from 25.6 to 18.7%, although the number of units registered fell only marginally, from 695 to 682 chas. sis. The reason, says Volvo, was supply constraint.
• Produdion line
During 1988, the decision was made tc assemble more of the Swedish company's big-selling FL and F model tractors at the Irvine plant in Scotland. And, as Volvo ha: pointed out, the profit margin on a 4x2 oi 6x2 artic is far greater than on an eight. wheeler; it also occupies less space on the production line.
Those frustrated would-be Volvo eight wheeler buyers appear to have turned t( Foden, and perhaps a few to Hino. Other: have evidently switched to lveco Ford whose re-cabbed "Maggie" eight-legge: was initially accepted rather coolly. The arrival of the more powerful turbocharge( Deutz engines will, however, increase it: appeal. And, despite appearances, the chassis is also reasonably light.
Operators of big fleets buying eight wheelers are usually less obsessed witl tearaway performance than owner-driver: and smaller contractors. Their concern t( maximise payload tempers their enthu siasin for bigger, usually heavier, engines At 30.5 tonnes GVW, they regard a VoIv( FL7 as adequately powered.
Some of those fleets faced with lom Volvo waiting lists have turned to Mer cedes' 3025K. Its engine is well ove twice the capacity of the Volvo's (14.1 against 6.7-litres), but its power output it. almost the same, at around 187kV (250hp) though the Mercedes has a 79 torque advantage.
Mercedes-Benz introduced its 30251 three years ago as its first-ever mode developed especially for Britain. The corn pony felt it needed an 8x4 to complemen its well-established 2421K six-wheeled tip per chassis. Many of those companie running both sixand eight-wheelers quit, reasonably want to rationalise on a sing!, chassis make between the two configura tions. Mercedes reckoned it was losin, 2421K sales to Volvo. Leyland and Daf i particular, with fleets needing eightwheelers as well.
While MAN increased the number of eight-leggers it sold during 1988 to 236, its market share actually fell back from 8.5% to 6.5%. Strong demand for MAN vehicles throughout Europe clearly didn't help the supply situation.
The long-awaited replacement MAN 8x4s with the F90 cab are expected to arrive in Britain soon, when the current 30.291 and 30.331 become the 30.292 and 30.332 respectively. There will also be an extra four-aide chassis, the 30.262, fitted with the same five-cylinder engine as the recently-launched 17.262 tractor.
• Common source
Not so long ago, MAN was talking about bringing in a pukka 6x4 tipper chassis, but with its production line stretched as it is, a right-hand-drive three-axle chassis is "no longer a priority" and therefore unlikely to materialise — at least not before 1990. If operators which buy six and eight-wheelers do prefer a common source, then MAN could lose out by not having a six-legger.
Scania went through an identical rationale a year or two earlier before the launch of its P82 (now a P93) eightwheeler. Registrations of four-axled Scanias went up in 1988, but only to 95 units, a little way behind Mercedes' 135.
Though the current Mercedes 8x4 lacks performance sparlde, it has endeared itself to operators with its exceptional, 373mm, front axle ground clearance. Later this year Mercedes will introduce its 3029K chassis, powered by the latest, slightlylarger, (15.08-litre) naturally-aspirated vee-eight already in the 1729S Powerliner 2 tractor. Its higher power output will put Mercedes into contention with the FL10 and Cummins LTA10-290 and Catpowered British 8x4s for the first time.
Also, in 1990, we can expect to see an even more powerful, but lighter, Mercedes eight-wheeler equipped with the company's new 246kW (330hp) chargecooled vee-six engine — the OM 441LA.
Leyland, which was the consistent market-leader in the four-aided segment before the link-up with Daf, put up a lessthan-satisfactory performance last year. Nearly 100 more Leyland Daf Constructor-8s were registered than in 1987, but market share slipped to 17.5%.
Disruption, caused by the transfer of rigid-eight production from Watford to Leyland, was largely to blame, although uncertainty over what engine would replace the TLI1C must also have figured in some operators' minds.
On the other hand, the introduction of the Perkins Eagle 300 engine as an option brought new interest from power-hungry operators, who can specify the Eagle in 224kW (300hp) form, but the Cummins L10 in only its straight turbocharged 187kW (250hp) guise. Replacement of the now defunct TL11 engine in Constructor 8 chassis by Dafs 11.6-litre diesel might widen the appeal of the Leyland eight-wheeler. It is curious that in 15 years of selling eight-wheelers in Britain, Daf has always deemed its 8.25-litre engine to be adequately powerful for 30.5-tonne operation; there has never been an 11.6-litre option. Perhaps it is a further indication of today's demands for more power and torque.
Seddon Atkinson's uplift in 8x4 registrations last year, from 105 to 163 units, is a reflection of the company's more aggressive Enasa-motivated approach to marketing and production embodied in last year's launch of the Strato tractor range.
The Cummins L10-powered 3-11 multiwheelers are now showing their age in terms of cab refinement, but they are reasonably light and relatively cheap.
A smaller percentage of six-wheelers than eight-wheelers are sold for tipper duties. Both 6x2 and 6x4 rigids remain popular for on-road freight movements. On the other hand, the majority of truck mixers are on 6x4 tipper chassis, augmenting tipper registrations into the construction industry.
Official statistics on chassis registra
tions, which show a 20.3% year-on-year growth, do not distinguish between tipper/ mixer and longer-wheelbase rigid-sixes, but the movements in manufacturers' market shares for six-wheelers as a whole reflect the trends in 6x4 chassis sales to construction companies.
In 1988 Leyland Daf retained its preeminence as the clear market leader; 1,015 Constructor-6s were registered — up from 963 the year before. But as a percentage of the total market the Constructor's share declined, from 34 to 29.8%. The number of Daf 2300 sixwheelers also fell from 279 to 236.
MI Biggest gains
Cargo models made the biggest gams in the 6x4 sector. The availability of Cummins 8.3-litre C-Series engine as an effective replacement for the old Cummins V8.504 (of almost identical swept volume) has given Iveco-Ford six-wheeler sales a tremendous fillip, up from 210 to 458 registrations. The American-made 157kW (210hp) in-line Cummins engine is 80kg lighter than the alternative similarlypowered Deutz vee-six and nearly 200kg lighter and considerably cheaper than the other remaining option, the Cummins LW. The Perkins V8.540 has also been discontinued as a Cargo 6x4 option, though it remains (either naturally-aspirated or turbocharged) as the staple power unit in Renault Commando six-wheeler chassis, which now carry the lowest 24.4-tonne GVW price tag. Renault Truck Industries is also looking for more sales with its G260. 24D G-Range chassis.
Cummins' C-Series engine also gave Foden the opportunity to make a significant impact in the 6x4 market for the first time in years. The light 3000 Series chassis, launched at the beginning of last year, achieved 131 registrations by the end ot December. It is likely that Caterpillar's new-generation unit-injected 6.6-litre 311€ diesel will become available in the next year or so as an alternative in the Foder six-wheeler. Though smaller than thE Cummins C, it comes close to it in powei and torque.
Mercedes, without alterations to its 6x4 chassis specification, quietly increased itE penetration from 10.6 to 11.1%. Mean. while, Seddon Atkinson recorded thE same sort of 3-11 six-wheeler comebacl as on their four-axled counterparts; 33E chassis went on the road, against 244 tht year before.