Paccar saw its earnings take another nosedive in the third quarter, falling 95.6 percent to $13 million from $299 million in the third quarter of 2008

. Similarly, during the second quarter, the company's earnings plummeted 91.5 percent to $26.5 million, down from $313.5 million for the year-ago quarter.

The third quarter earnings include the $9 million intake related to the permanent closure of the company's Peterbilt facility in Madison, Tenn. Mark Pigott, chairman and CEO, attributed the drop to the impact of the recession on freight shipments and truck purchases.

Despite the fall, the company focused on its improved revenue from the second quarter. Third quarter net sales and financial services revenues were $2 billion. Meanwhile, aftermarket parts revenue was $477.7 million.

"Paccar's financial strength, global diversification, high-quality products and strong distribution network are important contributors to its industry-leading profitable results," said Tom Plimpton, Paccar vice chairman.

The company does not expect truck sales to get much better for the rest of 2009, but it expects 2010 to see improvement.

"Class 8 industry retail sales in the U.S. and Canada are expected to be in the range of 100,000-110,000 vehicles in 2009, reflecting continued economic weakness, particularly in lower housing starts and auto production," said Dan Sobic, Paccar executive vice president. "Industry retail sales in 2010 are expected to improve slightly, due to the aging of the fleet and general economic growth, to a range of 110,000-140,000 units, which is still below normal replacement demand of 225,000-250,000 units."