Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/599511
74 commercial carrier journal | november 2015 BUSINESS | 2015 ATA MC&E ROUNDUP DTNA's Daum: 2016 outlook lower, but still likely one for the books DuriNg A press briefiNg, Martin Daum, president and chief executive officer of Daimler Trucks North America, updated the company's sales numbers and discussed future plans. Year-to-date through September, DTNA has achieved a 38.7 percent market share for NAFTA Class 6-8 truck orders, includ - ing a 39.5 percent share of the U.S. Class 8 market (up 2.2 percent from 2014) and 40.4 percent of the U.S. Class 6-7 market (down 0.7 percent from 2014). "We have more room to grow in this market and will push for that in 2016," Daum said. On the overall North American Class 6-8 market, Daum believes the industry will reach the 435,000-unit mark forecasted in March, which would represent a 13.4-per - cent increase from 2014's 384,000 units. He warned that while fourth-quarter industry- wide truck order intake numbers will be sharply lower than the same period last year, the industry shouldn't read too much into that as an indicator of the overall health of the truck OEM market. "Q4 2014 was not normal," said Daum. "We had an absolutely monster October, and it triggered a monster November and December." Penetration rates for DTNA's heavy- duty engine platform for both Freight - liner and Western Star brands in the U.S. and Canadian markets year-to-date through August are 86 percent, with front axles and rear axles at 74 percent and 50 percent, respectively. Penetration for the DT12 automated manual transmission is 22 percent overall, but has reached 41 percent on the Freightliner Cascadia. "The future is definitely integration, and it will continue to go on," said Daum, hinting that DTNA will complete the vehicle integration puzzle in 2016 by adding to its proprietary engine, trans - mission and axle offerings. Daum said DTNA has invested $547 million in research and development for vehicle and powertrain develop - ment in 2015 and is budgeting $563 million in 2016 as it continues to expand on its SuperTruck and Freightliner Inspiration efforts from this year. The company is expected to introduce an update to the Freightliner Cascadia Evolution in 2016. Aside from increasing market share, Daum said DTNA will focus in 2016 on improving customer service and experi - ence through its dealer networks. "We need investments in technicians and bays on the dealer side because that is the name of the game in the future," said Daum. "If you want to survive in the trucking world, you have to have service." Mack targets uptime with dealer certification program MAck Trucks NorTh AMericA announced its new Mack Certified Uptime Centers, a dealer service certification with a focus on maximizing customer service and uptime. Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks North America, said the new program represents a paradigm shift in dealer service, calling it a process change rather than just making improvements. Mack Certified Uptime will standardize workflows and processes to allow faster and more efficient service and repair, as well as more transparent information for the customer. Uptime bays will be reserved specifically for trucks with service and repair tasks requiring less than four hours of work. Citing an industry average of four days of downtime and 3.5 hours of repair time, David Pardue, Mack's vice president of aftermarket business development, said Mack Certified Uptime does away with the "first-come first-served" approach. The company is currently in a pilot program with 21 dealer locations and said the program will roll out through participating dealers in 2016. Since 2010, Mack dealers have invested $400 million in upgrades to its 420 North American service points, including facili - ties, training and service centers. In other news, Roy said the company had delivered more than 16,000 trucks year-to-date through August, a 10-percent increase from 2014. Since making the mDrive automated manual transmission standard equipment on Pinnacles in 2014, mDrive penetration in Pinnacle axle-back models has reached 70 percent, and the transmission now is the dominant choice in axle-forward models. 'The future is definitely integra- tion, and it will continue to go on,' said Martin Daum, DTNA president and ceo. Mack Certified Uptime will standardize workflows and processes to allow faster and more efficient service and repair.