International’s Escobedo, Mexico plant built 4,181 trucks in June, an increase of 11.6% year over year. (International Motors)
key takeaways:
- Mexican heavy-duty commercial vehicle production rose 7.6% year on year in June, while output at International’s Escobedo plant rose 11.6% to 4,181 trucks.
- Production fell 13% to 70,876 vehicles in the first half, although exports rose 3.2% in June and the US received 92.3% of exports in the first half.
- Traton expects North American sales to be strong in the third quarter after June orders more than doubled, with earnings scheduled for July 23.
Mexican production of Class 8 trucks continued to rise in June as sales increased across North America, with production growth at International Motors’ Escobedo plant outpacing its peers.
International’s Escobedo plant built 4,181 trucks in the most recent month, an 11.6% increase year over year compared to 3,748 vehicles in June 2025, an 18.8% increase compared to 3,519 trucks in May and a 43.4% increase compared to 2,915 trucks in April.
Capacity at the Escobedo facility declined in April 2025 when the second shift at the plant was eliminated, causing 900 workers to lose their jobs.
A representative for International declined to comment on whether any jobs had been added as a result of the increase in the number of trucks coming off Escobedo’s production line, citing a quiet period before parent company Traton Group’s earnings release on July 23.
Traton said on July 10 that International’s second-quarter 2026 sales fell 8% year over year to 16,200 trucks and buses, from 17,600 vehicles in the year-ago period. However, sales increased 21% compared to the first three months of the year.
Even better North American sales figures are expected for the third quarter of 2026, Traton noted in comments Along with Q2 data, ACT Research data released July 3 shows June orders increased more than 100% year over year for the fifth consecutive month.
Commercial vehicle production increased by 7.6% in June
Overall, Mexican heavy-duty commercial vehicle production rose 7.6% year on year in June to 15,262 trucks and buses, from 14,189 vehicles in the year-ago period, according to the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography.
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The institute said on July 10 that exports of trucks and buses rose 3.2% to 12,730 vehicles in June from 12,331 vehicles in the same period a year earlier.
In the first half of 2026, original equipment manufacturers made 70,876 trucks and buses, down 13% from 81,456 vehicles in the year-ago period. About 97.5% of these vehicles were trucks.
Mexico exported 58,260 heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the first six months of 2026, down 14.5% from 68,148 trucks and buses in the same period a year earlier. The US was the destination for 92.3% of heavy-duty commercial vehicle exports in the first half of the year.
Daimler Trucks North America’s Freightliner unit, International and Packer’s Kenworth division produced a combined 14,735 trucks in Mexico in June, accounting for 96.6% of all commercial vehicles produced in the country in the month. The three truck makers’ Mexican plants produced a combined 13,878 vehicles in May and 11,755 trucks in April.
Freightliner’s Saltillo and Santiago Tianguistenco plants built 9,379 trucks in June, a year-over-year increase of 9.6% compared with 8,554 trucks in the same month in 2025 and a 0.3% increase compared with 9,348 trucks in May.
During the first half of 2026, plants built 44,380 trucks, down 5.9% from 47,174 vehicles in the year-ago period.
Production at Kenworth’s Mexicali plant fell 0.5% to 1,175 trucks from 1,181 trucks in June, but was up 16.2% from 1,011 trucks in May.
