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Business
Equipment
VTNA, Mack ramp up output, hiring on freight market rebound
October 23, 2026 3:30 PM, EDT
Martin Lundstedt expects production to ramp up further as 2026 comes to a close, particularly after a slow start to the year. (Volvo Group)
Key Takeaways:
- Volvo Group limited 2027 North American order slots amid uncertainty over EPA nitrogen oxide emissions regulations, CEO Martin Lundstedt said Oct. 23.
- VTNA’s third-quarter North American sales rose 58% while Mack’s rose 28%, as both manufacturers added workers to increase production.
- Volvo expects North American heavy-duty truck retail sales to rise from 265,000 vehicles in 2026 to 300,000 in 2027.
Volvo Group is limiting the availability of 2027 order slots for trucks in North America even as production plants across the region ramp up hiring and output, CEO Martin Lundstedt said Oct. 23.
Uncertainty about how demand in the North American truck market will unfold as a result of the Environmental Protection Agency failing to finalize nitrogen oxide emissions regulations ahead of a Jan. 1 launch meant production slots deeper into 2027 were being rationed, Lundstedt said during the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call.
“We have been restrictive in our order slotting [in North America] in quarter 3 to secure not having an order book that is filled too far into 2027,” he told analysts.
Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks opened their order books for 2027 at the start of September.
Each of the two Volvo Group divisions reported increased sales in the most recent quarter, and Lundstedt expects production to ramp up further as 2026 comes to a close, particularly after a slow start to the year.
VTNA is hiring up to 500 more workers for its New River Valley plant in Dublin, Va., company President Peter Voorhoeve told Transport Topics.
Capacity at the Virginia plant has been raised and new hires are being onboarded, Voorhoeve told TT in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of American Trucking Associations’ 2026 Management Conference & Exhibition.
Mack Trucks added about 270 staff at its Lehigh Valley Operations production plant in Macungie, Pa., in recent months. The current head count at Mack’s biggest assembly plant is now around 2,800 employees, a Mack Trucks spokeswoman told TT in an email.
The production line additions are the latest example of an industrywide trend predicated on rising demand for trucks and the ongoing freight market recovery.
“People need new trucks,” Voorhoeve said. “The trucks are getting old. They want to renew the fleet. I think that’s what’s happening right now.”
The average fleet’s rolling stock is currently 6.5 to 6.7 years old, whereas historically the average age of tractors was between 5 and 6.5 years old, he added.
North American truck makers typically open their order books for the coming year in late August or early September. Many of the biggest orders are then sealed in meetings at MCE involving an original equipment manufacturer’s top executives.
As a result, Lundstedt told analysts it was too early to say whether customers would take advantage of the two engine options VTNA and Mack are offering fleets: EPA 2024-compliant and EPA 2027-compliant engines.
While NOx regulations are set to tighten in 2027, the EPA on July 9 offered engine manufacturers wiggle room on implementation, noncompliance penalties and NOx credits.
VTNA sold 58% more trucks in the most recent quarter in North America. The unit sold 6,948 trucks across the continent, compared with 4,395 vehicles in the year-ago period.
Mack sales in North America rose 28% year over year to 6,675 trucks in Q3 from 5,219 vehicles.
VTNA’s Q3 orders jumped 61% year over year to 6,729 vehicles from 4,176 trucks. However, Mack’s orders in the most recent quarter fell 16% year over year to 4,401 trucks from 5,240 trucks.
Volvo Group’s 2026 North American heavy-duty truck retail sales forecast remains unchanged at 265,000 vehicles. The company expects 2027 sales to total 300,000 trucks.
The company also kept its heavy-duty truck registrations forecast for Europe unchanged, but boosted its expectations for China and India.
PCS Software CEO Mark Hill discusses the advance of AI in the trucking industry. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Globally, Volvo Group sold 49,611 trucks in the most recent quarter, an increase of 11.2% compared with 44,631 trucks in the year-ago period. The company’s truck orders on a worldwide basis totaled 46,918 vehicles, a 26.3% rise compared with 37,134 vehicles in the same period 12 months earlier.
Volvo Group posted a profit of $1.06 billion in Q3, a 42% increase compared with $748.4 million in the third quarter of 2025. The company’s revenue rose 8% to $11.86 billion in the most recent quarter from $10.98 billion in the year-ago period. Volvo Group reports earnings in Swedish kronor, and all currency conversions were correct as of Oct. 23.
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