Keep on truckin’: sales of big rigs hit record levels
Australia’s truckies are not letting the economic hard times get in their way and are spending up to $1m on new heavy vehicles, lifting big rig sales to record levels.
Australia’s truckies are not letting economic hard times get in the way of them plonking down up to $1m for a new set of wheels.
Sales of heavy trucks – including Kenworth, Mack and Volvo – are at record levels, driven by rising demand to deliver everything from fresh produce and refrigerated food to mining equipment and minerals. Queensland-based Brown & Hurley last year sold 1000 Kenworth trucks, the highest number since the firm was founded almost 80 years ago.
Overall, more than 17,000 heavy trucks – defined as vehicles above 14,969kg – were sold across the nation last year in a sign the economic doldrums are not preventing a major upgrade of the national heavy vehicle fleet.
Brown & Hurley chief executive Paul Hurley said the healthy sales were not only a sign of confidence in the economy, but the last impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There were a lot of supply chain issues during the pandemic that impacted sales of trucks,” said Mr Hurley, grandson of the firm’s founder, Jack Hurley.
“Things are getting more in sync now.”
Mr Hurley said he had never seen so many trucks being driven out of his firm’s sales yards, which span Queensland and northern NSW. “There is a lot of demand in mining and food,” said Mr Hurley, adding that trucks including trailers attracted a price tag close to $1m. “The trucks are being purchased by owner-drivers or small fleets wanting to expand from say 10 trucks to 30 trucks.”
Brown & Hurley now employs 600 people, with new branches opened in north and central Queensland in the past couple of years. The company has expanded into the agriculture sector by acquiring businesses in Ayr, Mackay, Proserpine, Cairns, Innisfail and Tolga, selling tractors, trucks and other farm-related equipment. “The Mackay area has been particularly strong, not only in mining but food production,” Mr Hurley said.
Brown & Hurley traces its roots back to when army mates Jack Hurley and Alan Brown got together after World War II to set up a small bicycle repair shop in Kyogle, funding the business with wartime coupons.
Paul Hurley said both men worked as mechanics in the army during the war, but had ambitions to set up their own business. “They started off repairing bicycles but soon realised there was no money in selling labour,” Mr Hurley said. “They then got into selling agricultural equipment like tractors.”
The men got their first big break when they started a dealership selling British-made Leyland trucks. “The business took off because of the demand to haul timber during the post-war housing boom,” he said.
In 1964, the company sold the first Kenworth truck in Australia for the princely sum of 35,000 pounds, starting a 52-year relationship with the Melbourne-based manufacturer.
Mr Hurley said the company had since gone on to sell 17,000 Kenworths, which he estimated over the years would have travelled enough kilometres to reach the Sun 267 times. The basic timber-hauling trucks sold by Brown and Hurley in the 1950s have since been replaced by long-haul semi-trailers equipped with beds, TVs, microwaves and fridges.
Kenworth is not the only truck manufacturer posting increased sales. Volvo’s Brisbane factory produced 3600 trucks last year, a record year in terms of market share, with Volvo trucks now making up 27 per cent of the Australian market.
Truck Industry Council chief executive Tony McMullan said despite record truck sales, the average age of the Australian truck flee was much older than that of Europe and North America.
Technology may play a big role in the renewal of the fleet.
Mr Hurley said technology was set to change trucking in the coming years. While driverless trucks may be a while off, he said one possibility was “platooning”, which involved a convoy of wirelessly controlled trucks with a driver at the front. Kenworth also has released an electric model – the zero emission Kenworth T680E.