• UK truck manufacturers are enjoying a continuing demand for
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commercial vehicles, despite latest Department of Trade and Industry figures showing a fall in production during April.
Taking the latest six months as a whole, however, output was 4% higher than that of the previous six-month period and compared with the corresponding period of a year earlier output was 7% up, with production for export achieving a 27% growth. In April 22,500 vehicles were built compared with 23,400 in March. In April 1987 17,000 commercial vehicles were built.
0 UK manufacturers have been warned that sales are about to decline. This should be the best year for truck builders since 1979 but, says the industry's monitoring service Data Resources Incorporated (DRI): "Our forecast is for a gentle decline in truck sales over 3.5 tonnes from this year's peak to a level between 59,000 and 60,000 units a year between 1989 and 1991," from an expected 62,000 this year.
DRI also says a dip in medium truck sales may show through as the slowdown of Iveco Ford sales work through to new registration figures. Production for the year as a whole is expected to be unaffected.