This article was first published at Seeking Alpha on
February 8, 2015
By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Asst. Adnan Mushtaq
The latest truck order numbers released by ACT Research show
continued strength in the North American market, which was highlighted by
Paccar (NASDAQ:PCAR), the second largest North American heavy-duty truck
manufacturer when the company released its fourth quarter results last week.
In January, the Class 8 truck orders for North America
climbed by 2.4% year-over-year and dropped by 19.7% from the previous month to
35,400. Credit Suisse's analyst Jamie Cook wrote in a research report emailed
to me that the numbers were largely in-line with expectations. Once again, the
growth was due in large part to improving economy and strong carrier
profitability. Cook is expecting similar numbers for February in the mid-30,000
range, albeit February is usually around 4% weaker than January due to the
seasonal impact.
Paccar has recently reported 18% year-over-year increase in
net income to $394.3 million, or $1.11 a share on the back of 11% increase in
revenues to $5.12 billion. Excluding the positive impact from taxes, the fourth
quarter earnings were $1.09 a share.
Paccar installed its MX-13 engine, which the company
launched in mid-2010, in 37% of its Kenworth and Peterbilt heavy duty trucks.
The gaining popularity of this engine could be bad news for Cummins (NYSE:CMI),
the largest diesel engine manufacturer and leading supplier of engines to
almost every … read full article at Seeking Alpha.
