Imported?
What is and what isn't an import isn't so clear these days.
Tom Berg
Equipment Editor
Just what is an "import" any more? In recent years the distinction between domestic and imported vehicles has blurred considerably, and it's not just because of diplomatic and legal breaks won through free-trade treaties.
If you're intent on buying "American" or you think an imported truck offers extra value, you may or may not succeed in getting what you intended.
Fact is, only three commercial truck lines are still wholly imported from overseas: Hino, Mitsubishi Fuso and Nissan UD. The latter two will continue to come in from Japan, but Hino has just begun building a new line of trucks in Southern California using domestic and imported parts. Hino plans to stop importing whole trucks but will bring in some components for the made-in-USA product.
Isuzu, which is partnered with (and partly owned by) General Motors, builds some of its trucks in Japan while GM builds others in the American Midwest. Isuzu supplies complete trucks to GM for sale as Chevrolets and GMCs, and cabs and other parts for U.S. assembly of trucks badged as Isuzus, Chevies and GMCs. Isuzu has helped GM develop diesels, which are now made in the U.S. And GM supplies gasoline engines and automatic transmissions to Isuzu for use in one truck model that's assembled in a GM factory. It, too, is sold as a Chevy and GMC.
International and Ford will soon start selling a new midrange model made in Mexico using Mexican and American parts with a Japanese cab. Does that make it an import or, by virtue of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a mostly domestic product? Ditto for other Ford truck models that are already made in the same Mexican plant for sale here.
Are trucks made in Canada - including heavy duty Internationals and Sterlings and midrange Kenworths and Peterbilts - imported or domestic? Canada's now part of NAFTA, but well before that treaty, our neighbor to the north and the U.S. enjoyed free trade in automotive products. Besides, Canadians are so much like Americans that most of us shrug off their separate nationality and are OK with Canadian products. Mexicans are also North Americans and a part of NAFTA, so what they make and send to us are effectively domestic for tariff purposes.
Freightliner's current Business Class M2 midrange models are standard with Mercedes diesels and transmissions, so their most expensive components are imported (unless buyers opt for domestic Caterpillar diesels and Eaton transmissions). So how do we classify the M2s - domestic or part import? That begs for coining of a new term. How does "imestic" sound to you?
And with the globalization of our economic system, does it matter? Yes, if we think of American jobs being "exported," but no if we think of globalization. More free trade makes for a more harmonious world. When you deal regularly with someone, you get to know him better, maybe even grow to like him, and are less likely to fight. And while any war is harmful to the health of our young military members, war with a trading partner is bad for business.
Conventional Versus LCF
Another characteristic of imported medium-duty trucks - the low-cab-forward configuration - is also not as clear as it once was. Fusos and UDs are LCFs and will continue to be. So are Isuzus, whether built here or in Japan. But Hino is phasing out its LCFs as it ramps up production of its new conventional-cab line in California. Most components will come from North America, but cabs and engines will come from Japan.
For almost 25 years, most domestic-branded trucks were conventionals, and this configuration continues to grab a big majority of Class 3 through 7 sales - more than 90%, at last count. International got out of LCFs in the early 1980s, while Freightliner made only conventionals when it entered the midrange truck market in the late '80s, and, of course, its M2 series is conventional.
Starting in the '80s, Kenworth and Peterbilt fielded an LCF imported from Brazil by Paccar, their corporate parent, but its sales were sluggish. A successor LCF, based on a DAF model from Europe and built in Canada, also did not sell well. So Paccar's Canadian midrange plant now makes only conventionals; KW sells the T300 and Pete the 335. But some of their dealers, and those of other builders, also sell imported LCFs.
GM and Ford sell mostly conventionals but still offer LCFs. As indicated above, the Chevy T and GMC F model are low-cab-forwards made by Isuzu or based on Isuzu components, particularly their cabs. Ford continued its venerable C model LCF into the 1990s before switching to the Cargo, which it then turned over to Freightliner as part of the HN80 heavies sale in '97; Freightliner still makes the Cargo, albeit in small numbers.
But what's small? Ford sold about 3,000 Cargos in the year before they went to Freightliner. Mitsubishi Fuso, Hino and Nissan UD would've killed to attain that much volume. Their sales are still relatively low, but they resolutely continue to support their U.S. marketing efforts, strengthen their dealer bodies and periodically update their well-respected products.
Hino is going to conventionals, where the sales numbers are in North America, and it should enjoy more robust business. Hino is owned by Toyota, which has tremendous resources, while the Penske organization runs Hino's U.S. operations, and Roger Penske will accept nothing less than success. As a result, all midrange competitors in the U.S. are bracing for even more competition.
Ford and International's upcoming Class 4 and 5 LCF trucks will account for many more sales than those of the old Cargo. That will be assured by ample production capacity, a large dealer body and probably aggressive marketing. These trucks will use a new International V-6 diesel coupled to Ford's 5-speed automatic transmission already used in SuperDuty pickups. Curiosity alone should drive customers to at least look at the new trucks, and maybe try some.
Still, conventionals account for the majority of midrange sales in North America because they offer improved outward visibility, thanks to short sloped hoods and big windows, and greater maneuverability, due to set-back front axles and tight wheel cuts. Most driver prefer conventionals for style and because their noses offer protection in frontal collisions. And conventionals cost a bit less to buy.
Those who sell low-cab-forward trucks point out that they are unsurpassed for compactness and maneuverability in tight urban quarters. That's why LCFs rule the streets and highways of the Old World and are popular in congested North American cities. With no nose, an LCF is several feet shorter and can offer more cargo volume in any given wheelbase and body size.
One constant among imported, domestic or "imestic," and LCF or conventional trucks, is increasingly better quality and capability. Competition drives manufacturers to invest billions in research and development and improve their designs and manufacturing processes. The builders have to recoup their investments and pay for higher-cost materials, not to mention adherence to stringent anti-pollution regulations, through higher prices. But competition caps these, too.
So the customers win, no matter what type of vehicles they choose.
