Research and Markets: How are Truck Manufacturers Addressing Cost, Legislative and Environmental Pressures?
DUBLIN, Ireland, May 31, 2005 -- Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c18421 ) has announced the addition of Global Market Review Of Truck Manufacturing - Forecasts To 2009 to their offering.
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How should freight be transported overland with minimal environmental impact? This question has been focusing the mind of legislators around the world for some time and is likely to do so for decades to come. While water, rail and air transport all have roles to play, road transport has proved to be the most cost effective means of moving goods across land, as far as businesses and consumers are concerned.
Truck manufacturing is a relatively small sector within the automotive industry, driven more by business pragmatism than consumer choice, although businesses, as the principal consumers, are able to exercise considerably more control than individual consumers when it comes to determining price. Tough competition brings narrow margins, which ensure that truck manufacturing is not a highly profitable business.
The long-term trend in heavy trucks has been for gross vehicle weights (GVW) - the total weight of the vehicle plus its load - to increase gradually over the past 20 years. This means that over time, the overall number of heavy trucks on the roads of the developed nations has fallen. In this respect it has been a triumph of efficiency, but inevitably has added to the financial pressures on manufacturers, who have seen sales decline as a result.
At the same time, controls on vehicle emissions, both exhaust and noise have progressively tightened in developed countries. Trucks around the world are almost exclusively diesel powered and diesel engines have attracted particular attention for their exhaust emissions. As some of the largest diesel powered vehicles, trucks have been an easy target for environmentalists. But the picture is changing rapidly. Legislators have yet to home in on safety issues in the way they have done concerning passenger cars, but the way in which trucks could develop over the next five to ten years is likely to influence this significantly.
Outside the developed markets of Western Europe, the United States and Japan, the awakening economies of Asia and China will ensure that the global demand for transport will not slacken. As consumers in those countries enjoy greater prosperity, it is consumer goods such as televisions, refrigerators, audio systems and computers that will be affordable long before cars. And consumer goods need transport.
How are truck manufacturers addressing the cost, legislative and environmental pressures? How many of them are likely to survive into the future? What emissions standards are currently in force in the major markets and what impact will impending changes have on the vehicles? What is driving future truck development besides these issues? This report attempts to answer these questions.
Manufacturers Covered Include: - DaimlerChrysler - Volvo - PACCAR - Navistar International - Iveco - Tata - Isuzu - MAN - Hino - Scania
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Laura Wood Senior Manager Research and Markets press@researchandmarkets.com Fax: +353 1 4100 980Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040820/RESEARCH