Buyer Hesitation Keeps Medium-Duty Truck Sales in the Doldrums

U.S. medium-duty truck sales (Classes 4–7) slumped 4.7% year-over-year in May, landing at 17,663 units versus 18,532 in May 2025, according to Omdia Automotive. The slide marks the 14th consecutive month of below-prior-year performance, a streak that began in January 2025. ACT Research vice-president Steve Tam pointed to persistent buyer reluctance driven by macroeconomic uncertainty, noting that medium-duty demand is more tightly tethered to consumer spending on both goods and services than heavy-duty trucks are. “From a bigger perspective in the medium-duty space, nothing has changed,” Tam said. “Everything we said about Class 8 applies times two for the medium-duty folks.” On a sequential basis, however, the market showed a rebound: sales jumped 15.5% from April’s 15,293 units. Within the segment, Class 6 was the sole gainer, up 19.6% to 7,096 units from 5,933, a gain Tam partly attributes to Ford’s recent upgrade and repositioning of the F-550 into the Class 6 bracket. Class 7 slipped 2.8% to 4,323 units from 4,445, Class 5 plunged 27.6% to 5,017 from 6,927, and Class 4 held flat at 1,227 units. Brand-level results saw Freightliner top Class 7 with 2,159 units, Ford lead Class 6 with 3,764 units and Class 5 with 2,334 units, while Isuzu captured the Class 4 crown with 652 units.