Sales of medium and heavy-duty rigid trucks (7.5t GVW and above) in India declined by 3.3% in the first quarter of the new fiscal year of April to June 2025 (Q1 / FY2025-26), falling to 51,529 units from 53,015 units.

The British bus and coach market grew for a ninth consecutive quarter in Q2 2025, growing by 62.5% to 2,968 registrations, according to statistics published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In Truck & Bus Builder’s “Global Truck Report 2007”, published just before the financial crisis and “great recession” of 2008, we claimed that “across the developed markets, the demand for trucks can often be seen as a leading indicator to inflexions in the overall economic cycle.” Whether or not the truck industry can really be taken as a bellwether of the global economy, the truck wheel, a commodity that exhibits inelastic demand – no commercial vehicle can run without wheels – is undoubtedly a reliable indicator of market trends within the industry. “Usually, when we see shifts – positive or negative – on the truck side, they serve as an early indicator of what’s to come in the market,” said Giorgio Mariani, chief commercial officer at Maxion Wheels and vice president of global purchasing at parent company Iochpe-Maxion. “A good example is when, immediately post-COVID, it was the truck segment which began the industry recovery.”

The market for heavy goods vehicles in Britain continued its decline in the second quarter of 2025, with registrations falling by 11.2% compared with the same period of the year before, according to statistics published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).