- Lower oil prices should spark more U.S. consumer spending, which will stimulate demand for commercial trucks this year, Paccar (NASDAQ:PCAR) CEO Ron Armstrong said during today's earnings conference call.
- PCAR expects industry-wide retail sales of heavy-duty trucks weighing above 33K lbs. in the U.S. and Canada to rise ~6% Y/Y in 2015 to 250K-280K vehicles.
- Armstrong dismissed concerns that higher 2014 truck sales were mainly caused by oil and gas producers' need for more trucks as they accelerated exploration and drilling activity, noting that 10% or less of the company's volume is related to the oil and gas industry; such concerns apparently drove shares 6% lower today.
- PCAR's 2014 sales volumes rose 4% Y/Y to 142,900 trucks, but unit sales in the U.S. and Canada jumped 23%, helping offset declines in the rest of the world.
- Earlier: Double-digit growth for Paccar in Q4