Mack grows market share while battling supply chain disruptions

In a market where demand is exceeding supply, Mack Trucks has still been able to pick up some market share in both Canada and the North American market as a whole.

Mack’s Class 8 market share grew about 1% in Canada this year, to 7.2% through August, according to Ward data. The U.S./Canada market combined has seen Mack grow about half a percent, according to Jonathan Randall, senior vice-president, sales and commercial operations. He was giving a Canadian market update to Newcom Media editors along with Steve Jugovic, regional vice-president, Canada.

The introduction of the new MD truck has also allowed Mack to stake a claim in the medium-duty segment, with about a 3% share.

“We have gone from zero to north of 3% market share in less than a year,” Randall said, noting it would likely be higher if the MD could be spec’d without air brakes, making it accessible to a larger pool of drivers.

Unfortunately, Mack, like all other OEMs, has seen production limited by a shortage of key components – everything from plastic resins, to microprocessors. And Randall sees no end in sight.

“Demand remains extremely strong for the remainder of this year and next year,” he said. “But supply constraints and disruptions, we figure, will continue at least for the foreseeable future. In the first quarter, it felt like things should solidify by the end of this year. As we got further into the year, we recognized that is not going to happen…We think we’re going to be dealing with this for a while.”

Randall likened the situation from a truck maker’s perspective to playing whack-a-mole, with new shortages and challenges popping up each day. But he said being part of the Volvo group has helped the company source parts globally and leverage its global purchasing power. It’s also working more closely with Tier 2 suppliers to ensure they can step up when Tier 1 suppliers are limited.