Volvo Trucks North America expects to sell about 30,000 Class 8 trucks in North America this year, according to company sources. That's about 12.5% below the company's 1999 sales of 34,303 units.

Volvo's backlog of unfulfilled orders at its Dublin, VA, plant increased by more than 2% this month, as the company apparently under-built market demand. Its current order backlog is slightly more than 10,000 units versus 9,800 units last February 1.
The company has been receiving orders for about 150 units per day this month but is producing 105 units a day, sources disclosed. About 500-600 finished Class 8 trucks are waiting to be shipped to dealers.
Volvo just completed a 28% reduction in its Dublin workforce. It recently idled assembly of VN models for a week. When it resumed production it dropped the VN build rate from 112 units to 80 units a day. Production of specialty vehicles was not affected.