The parent company of Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks on July 19 reported both increased sales and profitability during the second quarter of the year.

Sweden’s Volvo AB said net profit for the period was 6 billion kronor ($725 million), up from 1.9 billion kronor a year earlier, according to AP, and in line with analysts' expectations. Profit a year earlier was hit due to a 2.3 billion kronor payment the company made due to a European Union completion investigation.

Sales increased 12% to 88.4 billion kronor as its net order intake for trucks increased to 55.265 from 45,422 a year earlier. Despite this total, truck deliveries during the quarter fell by 1% due to the North American market, according to the company.

“Recent trends on the truck markets continue with good demand in Europe, including a distinct recovery in Russia, and a gradual improvement in North and South America, with increased order intake,” said Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO.

Volvo said that in North America, the on-highway truck segment is still characterized by over-capacity due to the underutilized population of used long-haul trucks, however, regional distribution is showing signs of higher activity.

In North America, truck deliveries were down 11% for the company during the quarter. Volvo Trucks’ market share came in lower at 8.8% while Mack gained market share, reaching 8.2%.

The order intake increase of 30% was driven by both Mack and Volvo reflecting the higher activity within the construction segment and a somewhat improved freight environment, according to the company.

Volvo raised its total North American market forecast for retail sales volume modestly to 225,000 trucks 2017, up from its previous projection of 215,000.

The company is the first truck maker to release earnings for the second quarter, with Daimler and Paccar set to unveil their figures next week.

Related: Volvo Unveils Next-Generation VNL Highway Tractor 

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Evan Lockridge

Evan Lockridge

Former Business Contributing Editor

Trucking journalist since 1990, in the news business since early ‘80s.

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