Dive Brief:
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As the demand for commercial and new home construction gradually picks up, so will the demand for trucks to haul materials to building sites, according to financial forecaster Trefis.
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The interactive website pointed to high homebuilder confidence, low interest rates and the drop in unemployment levels to a six-year low as reasons why truck manufacturers will be selling more vehicles to construction firms in 2015 “and beyond.”
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The demand is likely to be especially high for pickup trucks, which are staples on construction sites for housing, institutional developments and major infrastructure projects.
Dive Insight:
Truck sales also will spike as gas prices drop; they declined by more than 20% in 2014, Trefis reported. In addition, construction crews, other businesses and consumers are coming to a point when it will be necessary to replace their older vehicles; the report noted that the average age of the 250 million cars on the road is 11.4 years—compared with the historic average of seven to eight years. Finally, interest rates for car and truck loans are at their lowest levels since 2008, which could bring more buyers to showrooms after the first of the year.