48 e-COMMERCE | e-COMMERCE | e-COMMERCE The cargo transport segment will not look back with fondness on the last three years and successive 30% falls in truck sales have scarred highway implement manufacturers. Last year only underlined the drama experienced by the segment, which has suffered losses since 2014. The heavy vehicle industry is, however, almost unanimous that 2017 cannot be worse than 2016. “It will not be a year of big purchases, “says Roberto Leoncini, vice president of sales, marketing, parts and services for trucks and buses at Mercedes-Benz do Brasil. “Fleet managers will not be buying 100, 150 trucks, but rather some twenty or thirty,” says the executive, who is an expert on the Brazilian commercial vehicle market. In the midst of the crisis that has shaken the country, companies have been aware of a shift in the economy. First was the forecast of another record grain harvest, of almost 220 million tons - about 17% up on the previous harvest. Then, falling interest rates and inflation are bringing down the cost of credit and boosting confidence. The return of fear-free household spending promises, in the medium term, to spark a logistics chain that will foster the vehicle and implement businesses. Resistant to the crisis, e-commerce and deliveries stemming from it in 2016 grew by 11%, with revenue of R$ 53 billion from more than 179 million orders. Shock of 12% For 2017 more of the same is expected. According to the Brazilian Electronic Commerce Association (ABComm), the sector is expected to grow by 12%, with revenue of R$ 59.9 billion from more than 200 million orders online. This is encouraging for manufacturers of vehicles, mainly light commercials, which are best suited to urban freight distribution and free from traffic restrictions that apply in large cities. According to Mercedes-Benz, for example, light commercial vehicle sales are expected to grow by between 5% and 10% this year. The segment, it must be stressed, includes load capacities of 3.5 to 5 tons. Vans, says the automaker, will see the same rate of growth but for cabin-chassis models, as they are called, growth of something between 10% and 15% s forecast. “The light truck segment is gaining in relevance each year in the freight sector,” says Werner Schaal, senior marketing and sales manager at Mercedes-Benz in Brazil. “ About five years ago, the share of vans in the segment sales was 60%, while vans and cabin-chassis models accounted for about 40%.Today, this relationship is just the inverse.” Schaal has more information that is of interest to implement manufacturers. The share of cabin-chassis sales in the light commercials market has grown by 15% in six years .The configuration accounted for 9% in 2011 and ended last year with 24%. “Due to legislation and the very dynamics of the economy, urban cargo distribution has changed. In addition, new businesses have opened up. But basically we are talking about fractional loads and cabin-chassis can serve the diverse demands on the market, from refrigerated loads to construction material, for example.” ANFIR’s reports confirm the growing strength of light commercial vehicles in cargo transport. Although not what the segment had hoped for, they suffered the lowest fall in sales last year, with almost 16,700 units licensed, compared with 22,800 the previous year. Driven by the growth of e-commerce, cabin-chassis models are becoming relevant in freight transport Light trucks lead the way © Madmaxer | Dreamstime.com®
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU0Njk=