Industrial customers are increasingly demanding more reliable equipment at a much lower price. Customers value a product based on terms of its return on investment. This involves how a product lowers production costs or increases output at the expense of current equipment. A customer will likely pay higher prices for more reliable equipment that has fewer breakdowns, provides higher output, or requires less downtime in relation to competitve products. A drop in consumer spending usually means a drop in industrial equipment purchase orders.
Demand is usually a lagging indicator of economic activity.
However, the reverse situation occurs during a recovery. Heavy duty trucks are used for hauling goods, raw materials, and finished goods. These vehicles are highly customized and suit end user needs exactly. The industrial customer usually selects the specifications of the truck such as the engine, transmission, axles, suspension, wheels, tires, brake systems, and seating. The buyer also considers the cargo type, road, geographic region, and miles driven.