Fact #229: August 12, 2002
Medium and Heavy Truck Sales

The sales for medium and heavy trucks vary considerably from year to year. The graph shows calendar year sales of trucks in classes 3 through 8. Sales of class 3 trucks almost doubled from 1997 to 1998. Class 8 truck sales have declined for the past two years.

The 1997 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) indicates that class 8 trucks account for more than three-quarters of the fuel used by class 3-8 trucks.

Share of Fuel Used by Class 3-8 Trucks, 1997 VIUS

	Class 3 10,001- 14,000 lb	Class 4 14,001- 16,000 lb	Class 5 16,001- 19,500 lb	Class 6 19,501- 26,000 lb	Class 7 26,001- 33,000 lb	Class 8 33,001 lb and over	Total
Share of fuel use	3.4%	1.4%	0.5%	14.0%	4.8%	76.0%	100.0%
Sources: Sales: Ward's Motor Vehicle Facts and Figures 2001, and previous annual editions. Fuel use: Bureau of the Census, 1997 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, Public Use File on CD, 2000.

Supporting Information

Sales of New Trucks, Class 3-8, 1986-2001(thousands)

Year	Class 3 10,001- 14,000 lb	Class 4 14,001- 16,000 lb	Class 5 16,001- 19,500 lb	Class 6 19,501- 26,000 lb	Class 7 26,001- 33,000 lb	Class 8 33,001 lb and over
1986	12	N/A	6	45	101	113
1987	14	2	8	44	103	131
1988	14	21	8	54	103	148
1989	19	27	7	39	93	145
1990	21	27	5	38	85	121
1991	21	24	3	22	73	99
1992	26	26	4	28	73	119
1993	27	33	4	27	81	158
1994	35	44	4	20	98	186
1995	40	53	4	23	107	201
1996	52	59	7	19	104	170
1997	53	57	9	18	114	179
1998	102	43	25	32	115	209
1999	122	49	30	48	131	262
2000	117	47	29	51	123	212
2001	102	52	24	42	92	140

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