According to a new report from the American Truck Dealerships (ATD), employment at commercial truck dealerships in the United States increased 5.6 percent in 2016 from the previous year, reaching its highest point in 5 years.
ATD, a division of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), reported that the country’s 2,261 franchised heavy- and medium-duty truck dealerships employed 129,392 workers in 2016. The information was released in ATD Data 2016, the annual financial profile of America’s new-truck dealerships.
“Commercial truck dealerships contribute to their communities with jobs that pay well and offer the opportunity for advancement,” ATD and NADA Senior Economist Patrick Manzi said. “In the service department, demand for technical positions remains high, as dealerships help maintain the commercial vehicles that are a vital part of the U.S. transportation infrastructure.”
While employment increased, however, total sales ($85.4 million) and average per dealership sales ($37.8 million) decreased 8.3 percent and 8.8 percent year-over-year, respectively. The top 10 states in sales by rank were Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Georgia.
Other data represented in ATD Data 2016 included the increase of technicians employed by truck dealerships (up 17.4 percent), the decrease of the average new trucks sold per dealership from 188 to 145, the increase of repair orders written by dealerships (up 7.1 percent), and the increase of service and parts sales (up 5.9 percent).