Cain's Segments:Truck, Truck, Hooray!

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

U.S. sales of pickup trucks rose 19% in May 2013 despite the disappearance of 6175 Ford Rangers, Dodge Dakotas, Suzuki Equators, Chevrolet Colorados, and GMC Canyons.

So strong were sales of the remaining trucks that these deficits weren’t simply accounted for, they were overcome to the tune of 32,144 extra sales. Overall, the auto industry reported 108,594 more sales this May than last, according to Automotive News. That works out to an 8% improvement. More than a hundred passenger car nameplates combined to generate about 36,000 more sales in May 2013 than in May 2012.


AutoMay 2013May 2012May % Change5 mos. 20135 mos. 2012YTD % ChangeFord F-Series71,60454,836+ 30.6%299,477246,116+ 21.7%Chevrolet Silverado43,28334,555+ 25.3%199,327160,942+ 23.9%Ram Pickup31,67226,040+ 21.6%140,675114,630+ 22.7%GMC Sierra16,06113,196+ 21.7%71,06560,466+ 17.5%Toyota Tacoma14,72712,269+ 20.0%67,16555,289+ 21.5%Toyota Tundra99508765+ 13.5%41,80636,418+ 14.8%Nissan Frontier65705480+ 19.9%23,90323,734+ 0.7%Chevrolet Avalanche19802113– 6.3%10,1669283+ 9.5%Honda Ridgeline16261199+ 35.6%74486084+ 22.4%Nissan Titan14022166– 35.3%75528347– 9.5%Chevrolet Colorado2443778– 93.5%287917,333– 83.4%Cadillac Escalade EXT200137+ 46.0%973672+ 44.8%GMC Canyon88910– 90.3%8124761– 82.9%Suzuki Equator—186– 100%448753– 40.5%Ford Ranger—1607– 100%—17,526– 100%Dodge Dakota—26– 100%—441– 100%—— —————Total199,407 167,263 + 19.2%873,696 762,795 + 14.5%

As always, the Ford F-Series led the way in the pickup truck market. The big change in May related to its ability to crest the 70,000-unit barrier for the first time since March 2007. Ford’s 31% F-Series improvement was the biggest year-over-year increase during the F-Series’ 22-month streak of increases.

The F-Series outsold the GM twins, Chevrolet’s Silverado and GMC’s Sierra, by 12,260 units, up from a 7085-unit gap a year ago. Strictly on volume terms, May 2013 wasn’t a bad month for the GM trucks. Joint Silverado/Sierra volume jumped 24%. Together they added 11,593 sales to the General Motors mix – GM was up 3%, or 7638 units.

Three out of every ten Ford brand sales in May occurred because of the F-Series. During a month in which Ford utility vehicle sales rose 17%, and the Escape reached an all-time high in U.S. volume, the F-Series outsold the five Ford utilities by nearly 4000 units.

Chrysler’s Ram truck has posted year-over-year gains in 37 consecutive months. Its market share in the category, 15.9%, grew from 15.6% in May 2012. Through the first five months of 2013, Ram P/U market share in the whole 14-truck category has risen to 16.1% from 15% in the equivalent period of 2012.

These four full-size trucks, together with the Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, Chevrolet Avalanche, and Cadillac Escalade EXT, were responsible for 88% of all truck sales in May 2013. Of the remaining 23,255 sales, 63% went the way of Toyota’s Tacoma.

As a group, trucks accounted for 13.8% of the U.S. auto industry’s 1.44 million new vehicle sales in May, up sharply from 12.5% in May 2012. The non-truck market produced gains in May, but those gains measured 6.5%, rather than than the truck-inclusive 8.1%.

The truck category’s ability to continue to grow at this pace would seem to depend somewhat on GM’s ability to continue selling such a large number of trucks once discounts are, presumably, not so readily available on the next-gen trucks later this year. On the other hand, the current growth rate at Ford and Ram, though undoubtedly aided by incentives, is taking place in the light of newness, not under the shadow of run-out specials.

Independent analyst Timothy Cain is the founder and editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. His look at the important segments will be a permanent fixture at TTAC, along with a look at the market up North.

Timothy Cain
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  • Jeff S Jeff S on Jun 05, 2013

    @Landcrusher--You are correct 4 wheel drive is completely unnecessary in Houston. I grew up in Houston (lived there 29 years) and moved to Northern Kentucky 26 years ago. Even in NKY 4 wheel drive is not used that much unless when it snows or farmers and anyone who goes off road in the country. A front wheel drive vehicle with traction control works very well in driving in the winter snow. I usually engage my 4 wheel drive twice a year when it snows. @Conslaw--You are likely to start a war mentioning carbon tax especially with many truck owners. I agree that it is better to make more efficient choices but there is not the will or desire in Washington DC to pass higher taxes. Anyway the politicians are too busy fighting each other and having hearings to do any kind of real business. Also most of the Congress takes kick backs from big oil and other lobbyist in the form of campaign funds. If gas prices start to rise rapidly then you will see a bigger demand for more efficient vehicles and then some of the big V8 4x4 trucks will either get driven less or unloaded on the market at a loss. Right now the sales of the big 4x4 trucks are booming.

  • Dr. Gonzo Dr. Gonzo on Jun 06, 2013

    I think Dodge has really got a good thing going right now in the Ram Express. Base model (yet decent looking) interior, a very nice exterior and the brutish 5.7 Hemi. As a fellow in his 30s without any desire for kids, it's suits me nicely. Ford has the stripped out F150 with the regular V6 for the same price, and the GM interior (on the 2013 anyway) looks plain awful.

  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
  • EBFlex The best gift would have been a huge bonfire of all the fak mustangs in inventory and shutting down the factory that makes them.Heck, nobody would even have to risk life and limb starting the fire, just park em close together and wait for the super environmentally friendly EV fire to commence.
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