Big drop in van volumes continues; now trucks fall too
Registrations: down 31.1% in October and 4.4% to 367,124 for the rolling year.
Trucks: down 9.4% in October and up 20.7% to 58,272 for the rolling year.
Vans: down 35.2% for the month and down 8.0% to 308,870 for the rolling year.
“October’s banking crisis and UK recession has made another big dent in van and truck orders,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “Van demand will drop sharply, before steadying at the end of 2009 to recover in 2010. Though truck registrations will fall in the final quarter of the year, 2008 volumes will still beat those from 2007. The outlook for 2009 is poor; in recessions, truck demand falls steeply. It will be a difficult year, with tough trading conditions for all businesses.”
