Heavy-Duty Vehicle 

Market Analysis 

Vehicle Characteristics & Fuel Use 

Manufacturer Market Shares 

June 2009 
2 

Agenda 

1 Executive Summary 

2 Heavy Duty Trucks 

3 Commercial Trailers 

APPENDIX Data Sources & Methodology 
Executive Summary 
4 

Executive Summary 

 Data confirms that the HDV fleet is extremely diverse 

 With respect to annual fuel use, most important vehicle is CLASS 

8 TRACTOR pulling a 40-53 ft VAN-type trailer 

 Approx 67% of annual fuel use by the entire HDV fleet 

 Most important target for HDV fuel efficiency regulation 

 Likely that >50% of STRAIGHT TRUCKS are equipped with a 

box, flat bed, or stake bed body 

 Used to haul various types of freight 

 “Vocational trucks” (dump trucks, refuse haulers, utility trucks, 

vehicle haulers, etc.) are <15% of new HDV sales 

 CLASS 3 vehicles are 30% of new HDV sales, but use only about 

10% of annual fuel 

 Of these smaller HDVs, most important type is PICK UP truck 

High Level Insights 
5 

Executive Summary 

 Manufacturing of the most numerous and important HDVs is 

concentrated to only a few companies 

 Largest Class 8 HDVs dominated by 6, mostly U.S., “heavy 

truck” manufacturers 

 Smallest HDVs (Class 3 -4) dominated by the “big 3” U.S. auto 

manufacturers 

 Both “truck” and “auto” manufacturers produce significant 

numbers of Class 6 HDVs 

 Manufacturing of the most numerous types of commercial trailers 

(VANs) is dominated by only five trailer manufacturers 

 The concentration of manufacturing may make implementation of 

HDV fuel efficiency standards easier? 

High Level Insights 
6 

Executive Summary 

 More than half of all in-use HDVs are registered to fleets with ten 

trucks or less 

 Includes 35% which are registered to owner-operators with only 

a single truck 

 Limited available data suggests that larger fleets buy a greater 

percentage of new vehicles, and that smaller fleets (<10 trucks) 

are more likely to buy used trucks 

 These ownership patterns may make imposition of HDV fuel 

efficiency standards more difficult due to the perceived hardship 

that they would impose on small businesses 

 Somewhat mitigated by buying habits? 

High Level Insights 
Heavy Duty Trucks 
8 

Approximately 521,000 Class 2B trucks sold in 1999 

 Approximately 6.4% of all Class 1 & 2 trucks sold 

 Virtually all were pick-ups, SUVs and large vans 

 82% were pick-ups 

 Virtually all manufactured by Chevy, Ford, GM, or GMC 

 Approximately 1/3 had diesel engines 

 Class 2B trucks are generally 1 ton or 3⁄4 ton “Heavy Duty” or 

“Super Duty” models 

 In most cases very similar to Class 2 models from the same 

manufacturer 

 May have a larger engine 

 Will likely have heavy-duty springs, suspension, and 

transmission 

Class 2B Trucks 

8,500 – 10,000 lb GVWR 

SOURCE: Davis, S. and Truett, L., Investigation of Class 2b Trucks, Oakridge National 

Laboratory, ORNL/TM-2002/49, March 2002 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
11 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Most Popular Class 8 Tractor Models 

Freightliner Columbia 

#1 

Volvo VN Series 

#2 

Freightliner Century 

#4 

Peterbuilt 379 

(discontinued in 2007) 

Peterbuilt 389 

#3 

International 9200 

#7 

Kenworth T660 

#6 

Kenworth W900 

#8 

Photo Credit: Manufacturer websites 
12 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Example of Variety of Configurations within a Single “Model” 

Freightliner Columbia Cab Options 

Freightliner Columbia 

21% market share new tractor registrations 

Photo Credit: Freightliner website 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
15 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Most Popular Class 3-4 Straight Truck Models 

Ford E450 

Class 3 Class 4 

Ford F350 Ford E350 Ford F450 

Chevy 3500 

Chevy 4500 Chevy G30 

GMC W Series 

Isuzu NPR 

Mitsubishi FE 

GMC 3500 

Photo Credit: Manufacturer website 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
17 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Most Popular Class 6 Straight Truck Models 

Ford F650 

International 

4300 4400 

#1 

FL70 M2-106 

Freightliner 

#2 

#3 

7500 8500 

GMC 

#4 

Hino 268 

#5 

Sterling Acterra 

#10 

Photo Credit: Manufacturer website 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
21 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Most Popular Class 8 Straight Truck Models 

Kenworth T800 

#2 

TerraPro 

Refuse 

Mack 

Granite 

#1 

Sterling Acterra 

#3 

Intl 7400 

#7 FLD 

Freightliner 

M2-106 

#4 

 M2-112 

#15 

Photo Credit: Manufacturer websites 
Summary of Manufacturer Market Shares 

Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
23 

HDV Manufacturer Corporate Structure 

 Daimler Trucks NA 

 Freightliner 

 Freightliner Custom Chassis 

 Sterling Truck 

 Western Star 

 General Motors 

 Chevrolet 

 GMC 

 Navistar International 

 International Trucks 

 Workhorse Custom Chassis 

 PACCAR 

 Kenworth 

 Peterbilt 

 Volvo 

 Volvo 

 Mack 

 Parent 

 Subsidiary 
24 

Corporate Parent HDV Market Share 

CLASS 3 - 8 

CLASS 6 - 8 

Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
26 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Fleet Size of In-use Trucks 

Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
27 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Fleet Purchase Behaviour 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vehicle Inventory & Use Survey, 2002. 
28 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Fleet Age Distribution 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vehicle Inventory & Use Survey, 2002. 
29 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Estimated VMT and Fuel Use by Class/Type 

Source: M.J. Bradley & Associates LLC. 
30 

Heavy Duty Trucks 

Estimated VMT and Fuel Use by Class/Type 

Source: M.J. Bradley& Associates LLC
Commercial Trailers 
32 

Commercial Trailers 

Trailer Types 

VAN 

REFRIGERATED VAN 

CONTAINER CHASSIS 

FLAT BED 

FLAT BED DROP DECK 

LOW BED 

DUMP 

TANKS 

Photo Credit: Manufacturer websites 
[1] Tanks hauling hazardous chemicals [2] dry bulk (i.e. cement) [3] Wood chips Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
TOP 5: 74% of total market and 89% of VAN type trailers 

Next 5: 10% of total market and 7% of VAN type trailers 

Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
Top 10 manufacturers don’t make “specialty” trailers other than FLATBEDs 

Specialty trailer manufacturers typically only make one type of trailer 

In each specialty category Top 2 manuf generally have 50%+ market share 

Source: R.L. Polk & Co. 
36 

Summary 

 Analysis covers all HDVs greater than 10,000 lb GVWR (Class 3 

– Class 8) registered between 2003 and 2007 

 On average 684,000 new HDVs registered each year 

 Class 3 trucks, 30% of new registrations 

 Class 8 trucks, 30% of new registrations 

 Class 4 – 7 trucks, each between 6% and 11% 

 The largest subset of newly registered HDVs were Class 8 

TRACTORS (713,000), followed by large (Class 3) PICK UP 

trucks (573,000) 

 Class 8 tractors represent 22% of new HDV registrations and 

68% of new Class 8 truck registrations 

Heavy Duty Truck Types/Uses 
37 

Summary 

 Of all STRAIGHT TRUCKS, more than 50% are likely equipped 

with some kind of box or flat bed body and are used to haul 

freight 

 Trucks registered to CONSTRUCTION companies represent 

13% of straight trucks (6% of all HDVs) 

 Trucks registered to SANITATION/REFUSE companies 

represent 2% of straight trucks (1% of all HDVs) 

 Other HDV types with large numbers of new registrations 

include- 

 MOTOR HOME (Class 3 – 8): 262,000 (8% of all HDVs) 

 SCHOOL BUS (most Class 7): 148,000 (4% of all HDVs) 

Heavy Duty Truck Types/Uses 
38 

Heavy Duty Truck Market Share 

 Manufacturing of larger trucks is dominated by a few, mostly 

American, “truck” manufacturers 

 Class 8 TRACTOR: Freightliner, International, Peterbuilt, 

Kenworth, Volvo (90% for top 5) 

 Class 8 STRAIGHT/VOCATIONAL: Mack, International, 

Sterling, Peterbuilt, Kenworth, Freightliner (88% for top 6) 

 Manufacturing of smaller trucks (Class 3 and 4) is dominated by 

the “Big 3 auto” manufacturers: 

 Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Dodge (89%) 

 Isuzu, Mitsubishi (10%) 

 Class 6 trucks are produced in significant numbers by both the 

“truck” and “auto” manufacturers 

Summary 
39 

Heavy Duty Truck Fuel Use 

 Class 8 tractors account for approximately 57% of annual VMT 

and 67% of annual fuel used by new Class 3 - 8 HDVs 

 Other Class 8 trucks & buses account for about 13% of annual 

VMT and fuel 

 School Buses 1.9% of fuel 

 Transit buses 1.5% of fuel 

 Vocational Trucks 2.8% of fuel 

 Other Straight trucks 6.0% of fuel 

 Class 3 trucks account for 30% of new HDV sales, but only 17% 

of annual VMT and 10% of annual fuel use 

Summary 
40 

Heavy Duty Truck Fleet Size 

 At the end of 2007 there were 11.6 million HDVs registered in the 

U.S. 

 51% of this current in-use fleet are Class 8 trucks 

 Class 8 TRACTORS represent 21% of all in-use HDVs and 39% 

of in-use Class 8 trucks 

 Owner-operator trucks represent 35% of the total in-use fleet, but 

only 18% of in-use Class 8 trucks 

 61% of all in-use HDVs are in fleets with less than 10 trucks 

 45% of in-use Class 8 trucks are in fleets with less than 10 trucks 

Summary 
41 

 Between 2003 - 2007 1.1 million commercial trailers were 

registered in the U.S. (average 215,000/year) 

 1.5x as many new trailers as new Class 8 tractors 

 Dry VANS and REFRIGERATED VANS together accounted for 

68% of new trailer registrations 

 FLATBED and FLAT BED DROP DECK trailers = 10% 

 CONTAINER CHASSIS = 7% 

 All other “specialty” trailers (DUMP, TANK, GRAIN, HOPPER, 

etc.) = 15% 

 55% of newly registered trailers are 53 feet long, and virtually all 

others are shorter (24 – 52 feet) 

 75% of newly registered VANS are 53 feet long, and virtually all 

others are shorter (24 – 52 feet) 

Commercial Trailer Types/Uses 

Summary 
42 

Summary 

 74% of trailers built by 5 manufacturers 

 Great Dane, Wabash National, Utility Trailer Manufacturing, 

Hyundai, and Stoughton Trailers 

 Primarily build VAN, REFRIGERATED VAN, CONTAINER 

CHASSIS and FLAT BED trailers 

 89% market share for “box type” trailers 

 The next 5 largest trailer manufacturers have only 10% market 

share 

 Primarily build VAN, CONTAINER CHASSIS, FLAT BED and 

FLAT BED DROP DECK trailers 

Commercial Trailer Market Share 
43 

Summary 

 Most “specialty” trailers are built by manufactures that specialize 

in only one or two types of trailer 

 Specialty trailer manufacturers do not build VAN or FLAT BED 

trailers 

 50 different companies have top-10 market share in at least on 

type of trailer 

 For all types of trailers except FLAT BED and DUMP, the top two 

manufacturers have 55% - 99% market share 

 Market for FLAT BED and DUMP trailers is more fragmented 

 Larger number of manufacturers and more evenly distributed 

market shares 

 No manufacturer of DUMP trailers has more than 12% market 

share 

Commercial Trailer Market Share 
44 

Appendix 

Data Sources & 

Analysis Methodology 
45 

Main Data Source 

Polk Automotive TIPNETTM Database – Industry Sales Data 

 Database of all heavy-duty vehicles registered in the U.S. 

 Can track vehicles currently registered (current fleet) 

 Can track new registrations in any year (sales) 

 Individual vehicles identified by their Vehicle Identification Number 

(VIN) 

 Encodes information such as MODEL YEAR, WEIGHT CLASS, 

VEHICLE TYPE, CAB TYPE, MAKE & MODEL 

 Database populated by Polk based on “decoding” the VIN 

 Includes registering company information 

 Polk assigns a REGISTRATION VOCATION based on the type of 

business the registering company is in 

 A separate database tracks commercial trailers 

 New registrations only - can not determine composition of actual 

current fleet 
46 

Limitations of Polk Data 

 VIN is generally assigned by the chassis manufacturer 

 For most trucks does not include the type of vocational body 

installed (freight box, tank, dump, etc) 

 REGISTRATION VOCATION can be used to infer body type, with 

limitations 

 Example: many but not all trucks with registration vocation 

SANITATION/REFUSE will be refuse trucks; some will be 

service trucks, freight trucks, etc. 

 VIN includes truck MAKE and MODEL, but “MODEL” is generally 

broadly defined by the manufacturer 

 Single MODEL may include a range of engine sizes 

 Single MODEL may include a number of cab types (including 

both day cabs and sleeper cabs for tractors) 

Main Data Source 
47 

Estimates of VMT and Fuel Use

 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable 

Energy, Transportation Energy Data Book, Edition 27, 2008; 

ORNL-6981, Tables 5.1, 5.2, 5.4 

 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Transit Database, 

2005; Table 17 and 19 

 Nathan & Associates, Motor Coach Industry Census 2008, for the 

American Bus Association

Other Data Sources 

 Davis, S. and Truett, L., Investigation of Class 2b Trucks, 

Oakridge National Laboratory, ORNL/TM-2002/49, March 2002 

Class 2b Trucks

 Truck manufacturer web sites

Truck Model Data

 U.S. Census Bureau, Vehicle Inventory & Use Survey, 2002

Fleet Purchase Behaviour 
48 

Analysis Methodology 

Polk Automotive TIPNETTM Database – Industry Sales Data 

 Vehicles were separated into weight classes based on the VINdefined weight class assigned by the manufacturer 

 Vehicles were separated by type based on either the VIN-defined 

vehicle type assigned by the manufacturer, or based on the 

“registration vocation” assigned by Polk 

 Unambiguous VIN-defined vehicle types include: Tractor 

(combination truck), Pick-up, Van, Step Van, Motor Home, Fire 

Truck, Emergency Vehicle, School Bus, and Bus Non-school 

(Transit Bus or Coach Bus) 

 Other straight trucks (non-tractors) were separated into categories 

based on vocation registration (i.e. perceived use) – these 

categories are approximate only 

 Example: the majority of trucks with registration vocation 

“Sanitation/Refuse” will be refuse haulers, but some will be other 

types of trucks used by sanitation companies 
49 

Analysis Methodology 

Estimated VMT and Fuel Use by Class/Type

 For each type of HDV, total annual fleet VMT and FUEL USE from 

new trucks were estimated as follows: 

 VMT (miles) = # of Trucks x Average Annual Mileage (miles/truck) 

 FUEL (gallons) = VMT ÷ Average Fuel Economy (MPG) 

 For each type of HDV the number of trucks was taken from the Polk 

TIPNETTM database (new registrations last five years) 

 For each class/type of HDV average annual mileage and average 

fuel economy was taken from U.S. Department of Energy statistics 

or from other industry sources. 
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