International Truck and Engine Corp. announced it would boost production of Class 8 trucks, but warned that doesn’t mean an end to the slump in truck demand.

Starting Sept. 4, International’s Chatham, Ontario, assembly plant will increase output to 60 units per day, up from the present 43 units per day. Nearly 200 workers will be recalled.
The company said the increase puts production at a level that more closely matches current retail demand. For the past year, International has been producing below retail demand as it worked down existing inventories. Dealer inventories have reached a level that will allow this increase.
In making the announcement, the company emphasized that the production boost and employee recall does not signal an end to the severe weakness in demand for new commercial trucks. In addition to general economic conditions and high diesel fuel prices, one of the causes of the market weakness has been a glut of good late model used trucks on the market and the oversupply has not diminished.