Volvo, the Swedish truck manufacturer, said fears of war with Iraq have prompted some of its customers to hold off on new orders.

Leif Johansson, chief executive, told the Financial Times the possibility of war was having an impact on purchasing decisions.
He said there is lots of activity and the truck manufacturer is making plenty of offers, "But then we come to a point where we say let's make a decision and place the order. That's when we get a situation of 'let's wait and see what happens,'" he told the Financial Times.
In spite of war worries, Johansson said the North American truck market was "flat to improving," suggesting sales will be lower at the start of the year because many customers bought trucks ahead of the introduction of new environmental rules last October. But he expects an increase in orders in the second half.
This would leave Volvo deliveries unchanged over the year as a whole at around 172,000.
Johansson said he was expecting a significant improvement in profitability in North America this year, after two years of losses. This would entail closing a former Renault plant and raising prices for a new truck range.
He said he was expecting Volvo's European market to fall slightly from last year's 210,000 deliveries, due to expected weakness in France, Spain and Italy.
Johansson said Volvo's Asian strategy was now focused on China and the rest of Asia, rather than Japan, after the setback it suffered three years ago when it was thwarted by DaimlerChrysler in its efforts to forge an alliance with Mitsubishi.