June 2015 Truck Sales Numbers – Concern at Ford?
Tim Esterdahl | Jul 02, 2015 | Comments 5
The sales numbers for June, 2015 are out and most truck brands continue to put up impressive year-to-year and month-to-month gains. Most truck brands except for Ford. There HAS to be growing concern at Ford over flat sales numbers. Are frame concerns really the key reason?
Consumers continue to purchase the 3rd-generation Tundra in pretty good numbers. What does Toyota have in store for us in the future?
Before we dive into commentary, here are the sales numbers.
| Rank | Model YTD Sales | YTD vs. 2014 | Year-Over-Year | Monthly Sales | Monthly Change vs. 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Ford F-Series | 357,180 | -2.4% | June 2015 June 2014 | 55,171 60,560 | -8.9% |
| 2 - Chevy Silverado | 275,822 | +14.6% | June 2015 June 2014 | 51,548 43,519 | +18.4% |
| 3 - Ram Truck | 212,716 | +4.3% | June 2015 June 2014 | 33,332 33,149 | +0.6% |
| 4 - GMC Sierra | 100,850 | +8.2% | June 2015 June 2014 | 18,618 15,406 | +20.8% |
| 5 - Toyota Tacoma | 88,801 | +18.2% | June 2015 June 2014 | 15,959 12,173 | +31.1% |
| 6 - Toyota Tundra | 61,014 | +5.2% | June 2015 June 2014 | 9,926 8,977 | +10.6% |
| 7 - Chevy Colorado | 41,575 | NA | June 2015 June 2014 | 6,558 0 | NA |
| 8 - Nissan Frontier | 34,805 | -3.2% | June 2015 June 2014 | 4,437 5,722 | -22.5% |
| 9 - GMC Canyon | 15,017 | NA | June 2015 June 2014 | 2,532 0 | NA |
| 10 - Nissan Titan | 6,049 | -5.7% | June 2015 June 2014 | 1,155 976 | +18.3% |
| 11 - Honda Ridgeline | 503 | -93.6% | June 2015 June 2014 | 7 1,309 | -99.5% |
Ford
Doesn’t matter how you look at it or spin it, a -8.9 percent decrease in sales is a BIG deal. Period.
Part of the reason, according to several news outlets, is a shortage of frames for the new truck. Apparently, the lack of product is causing a shortage in overall production. While sure, this makes sense on paper, Ford has likely used the same frame supplier for some time now and we can’t imagine a shortage (if any) being that big of an issue. We imagine once a shortage was noticed, the frame supplier went into overtime to correct the problem. Looking at this in a larger scale, we just can’t see that many trucks being affected.
As the story goes, Ford plant workers and a UAW official at the Kentucky plant say the shortage is affecting planned overtime shifts including “Super Sunday” shifts at Dearborn and Saturday overtime shifts in Kansas City.
Yet, Automotive News, says Ford had a 77-day supply of F-Series (including Super Duty) pickups on May 1 (up from 68 days in April).
Hogwash or truthful on the frame shortage, it doesn’t matter. With the new truck up against last year’s monthly sales, it should be doing better – a lot better. Looking way back, the June 2014 numbers were down 11 percent from the June 2013 high of 68,009. If you look at the past two years, Ford is down nearly 20 percent from June 2013. That is not good, not good at all.
GM Trucks
The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra’s sales growth is nothing short of “impressive.” Arguably, the least improved trucks (along with the Tundra) are leading the way in 2015 with double-digit sales increases.
There are many questions surrounding this growth like money of the hood at dealers and special financing which are hard numbers for journalists to get their hands on. Yet, clearly GM trucks are in “surge” mode.
One interesting thing to watch is just how close the Chevy Silverado can come to the Ford F-Series. Last month, they were just 4,000 units off. With news Chevy is reentering the medium-duty commercial truck segment, we wonder if they will badge these as “Silverado” models. If so, these additional sales would be listed under that badge and could just be enough to push Chevy Silverado over Ford F-Series.
Ram Truck
The excitement around the Ram Truck brand’s sales has definitely cooled. They boomed last year with an 11.8 percent increase and this year, they are basically flat.
It seems to us, the demand for the EcoDiesel has been met and they stagnant on real growth in other areas. That isn’t to say, they aren’t working on new angles to increase sales. Ram recently announced new “best-in-class” heavy-duty 31,210 lbs of towing, 900 lb-ft. of torque and 7,390 lbs of payload. These numbers, in our opinion, are getting a little absurd and we wonder if customers even care anymore.
Ram has some more tricks in the bag for fuel economy which will be announced in September (currently embargoed). Stay tuned for more information on this.
Toyota
Last month, we questioned the overall capacity of the San Antonio plant numbers since it seemed like they exceeded their previous “at a capacity” numbers. We asked and haven’t received an answer on this (nor do we think we will, capacity numbers are pretty secretive for whatever reason). Why bring this up? Yet again, Toyota improved sales numbers above and beyond their stated capacity with nearly 5k more units moving off sales lots.
We are left to wonder two things about the sales numbers:
- Is the boom in Tacoma sales consumers’ reaction to seeing the new truck?
- What is the ongoing conversation like around expanding production via further expansion of the Mexico facility and/or adding on to San Antonio?
We likely won’t get answers to either, but we would pay money to be a “fly on the wall” inside Toyota’s headquarters for a day.
Nissan, Honda
Both companies round out the list with mediocre sales. They both have new products in development with the new Nissan Titan expected out this fall.
Filed Under: Auto News
I can’t help to think that some of the Tacoma sales are from Tacoma owners who cannot bear to wait five months or so for a new frame to replace their rusted one.
Ford is in a world of hurt right now. They have been extremely aggressive on keeping a tight lip on critical QC issues. Even with production curtailed, dealers’ lots are filled to capacity and the discounts are coming big time.
GM has at least been able to stabilize QC issues; so much so, it is a significantly higher quality product than Ford. The flash in the pan Ram has cooled and so has their QC, but still much better than Fords.
Toyotas production to me is self-explanatory; that is, Baja is making more Tacoma’s and that means more Tundras can be made in San Antonio. The stunning growth rates in mid-size also makes perfect sense. Tacoma is an “absolute proven product” that works and the customers love them. No one can say that about the new GM twins, they too will fade away in time. Tacoma’s current success will not take away from the new 2016 model. The 2016 will have a lot “new” about it; something no other mid-size has brought to market.
The 2016 Nissan’s could actually be considered a “new” truck maker. They will not take away from Toyota; they will be taking sales away from Ford, GM, and Ram.
I see lots of new f150s, with $12000 in discounts in canada right now
@Randy: I disagree with your thoughts about Nissan. I wouldn’t underestimate the new Titan, mainly because Nissan is providing features missing in the Tundra and the weight the Cummins reputation has; Nissan is serious about trucks and you can’t blame them as they’re the most profitable vehicle of any automaker.
Someone once made a comment that the new Titan is what the Tundra was back in ’07. They’re right.
Um? I think you misunderstood what I said. Titan will be bringing many new important capabilities to the truck market. That is why I called it “new”. And in typical Nissan fashion it should be a “quality” product.