A cab is assembled at International Motors’ facility in San Antonio. (international)
key takeaways:
- International is considering a second production shift at its San Antonio assembly plant as demand and product initiatives support potential expansion.
- International truck orders increased 209% year over year to 22,924 vehicles in the second quarter.
- The company recorded its first quarterly operating profit in a year, aided by tariff refunds and recovery.
International Motors is investigating setting up a second production shift at the truck maker’s San Antonio assembly plant, a senior executive at parent company Traton Group said.
Increasing the size of the workforce at Lisle, Illinois-based International’s only assembly plant in the United States is a possibility due to several factors, Chief Financial Officer Michael Jackstein said during Traton’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call on July 23.
Jackstein and Traton CEO Christian Levin said during the call that International is planning an overhaul of the cabs of its on-highway truck portfolio, the truckmaker is looking to increase its share of North American Class 8 truck sales and market demand is at the beginning of an upcycle.
Additionally, International cut second shifts at the company’s largest assembly plant in North America – the Escobedo facility in Mexico – through April 2025; The Springfield, Ohio, assembly plant was sold in April; And tariffs on imported components remain a destabilizing factor in the Traton division’s earnings.
The San Antonio plant builds Class 6-8 diesel and electric vehicles. A 900,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to begin operations in 2022, the site includes a general assembly line, body shop, paint shop and logistics center. There is also a center for aftermarket modifications onsite.
Escobedo assembles the company’s full line of Class 8 vehicles, as well as producing sub-assemblies for international trucks. It is an internal supplier to the plant’s own production lines and to international and IC bus manufacturing plants in the US.
A cab is welded at the International Motors facility in Escobedo, Mexico. (international)
The Huntsville Powertrain Manufacturing Plant produces engines and transmissions, including the S13 powertrain, which Jackstein told analysts provides optimism for the upcoming cab overhaul as well as market share growth.
International sold 22,898 Class 8 trucks in 2025, a 13.8% decline year-over-year and equivalent to an 11% market share. According to Omdia Automotive data, in 2024, the company will achieve 11.1% share in Class 8 retail sales.
Overall, international truck sales fell 10% year over year to 14,628 to 13,130 vehicles in the second quarter, but rose 26% to 10,413 trucks in the first three months of 2026.
Truck orders increased in the second quarter
International truck orders surged 209% from 7,416 to 22,924 in the most recent quarter, up 22% from 18,859 vehicles in Q1.
And International reported its first quarterly profit in a year in the most recent three-month period, posting a second-quarter operating profit of $151.29 million, nearly triple the second-quarter 2025 operating profit of $53.46 million. Traton reports earnings in euros and all conversion rates were correct as of July 23.
The biggest factor in the return to the black was International’s ability to book $136.5 million in Section 232 tariff refunds and recoveries for U.S. content under International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, Tratton said.
The Section 232 tariffs on medium- and heavy-duty trucks and parts, as well as imported steel and aluminum, have tightened slightly in the last quarter of 2025, especially the tariffs on trucks and parts, Traton said.
