Truck & Bus Manufacturing
Companies in this industry manufacturing heavy duty trucks including companies that manufacture and assemble heavy duty vehicles and buses. Major companies include Navistar and PACCAR (both based in the US), along with Dongfeng Motor and FAW (both based in China), Mercedes-Benz Group (Germany), Tata Motors (India), and Volvo Cars (Sweden).
Globally, the largest region in the heavy trucks market is North America, followed by the Asia- Pacific region, according to the Business Research Company. Leading countries in the heavy trucks market include Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Horea, the UK, and the US.
The US heavy truck and bus manufacturing industry includes about 80 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $30 billion. This industry does not include makers of light trucks, which are covered in the Automobile Manufacturing industry profile.
Competitive Landscape
Heavy truck demand is driven by growth in the agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and retail sectors. Bus demand is driven by growth in the number of school-aged children and investment in public transportation systems. The profitability of individual companies depends on volume and sales of high-margin options. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in purchasing. Small manufacturers can compete by offering highly customized products. The US industry is highly concentrated: the top 20 companies account for more than 95% of revenue.
Companies in the industry compete with makers of transportation equipment such as trains and planes, which also move freight and people over long distances. New trucks and buses face competition from reconditioned and used vehicles, since equipment may have a useful life in excess of 1 million miles.
Mexico and Canada, where many US truck makers have manufacturing facilities, are the leading sources of truck and bus imports. Canada is the industry's primary export market.
Products, Operations & Technology
Trucks and buses can be classified by gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), which measures the total allowable weight of fully-loaded vehicles. Generally,
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