Natural gas truck sales ‘fickle’ so far this year

Natural gas truck sales in the U.S. and Canada remain “fickle,” according to an industry analyst, with December sales down 47% year over year and January down an even sharper 57%.

They bounced back in February though, with sales of natural gas trucks up 40% from the previous February.

“In the near term, results were similarly fickle, with December ticking up 1% month over month, January plummeting 49% compared to the previous month, and February recapturing 33% of the prior month decline,” said Steve Tam, vice-president at ACT Research, which publishes the Alternative Fuels Quarterly report.

“Combined, sales in the three-month period ceded their year-to-date November gain, finishing 2022 up 3.2% compared to 2021.”

Tam added, “So far in 2023, sales are down 29% year-to-date February, compared to the same period in 2022. Quantifying activity, natural gas sales totaled 3,837 units in 2022. Through the first two months of 2023, reporting OEMs have sold 403 [natural gas]-powered Class 8 units.”