Though orders were up year-over-year, Volvo reported its North American first-quarter 2025 construction net sales and deliveries were down double digits.
Volvo CE reported North American net order intake of 1,625 units for the first quarter, up 12% year-over-year from 1,446. However, equipment deliveries were down 18% to 1,430 versus 1,746 one year ago, and construction net sales dropped 18% to $541.9 million.
Volvo reported its North American construction market development for the first two months of 2025, measured in units, was down 14%, and it is forecast to drop 5%-15% by the end of the year.
The company stated its North American construction market had declined from high levels as dealer and rental fleets normalized and that customer sentiment was being impacted by repositioning of fleets and market uncertainty. Additionally, the company attributed higher order intake to a stabilized equipment supply and lower order intake last year when inventories were high.
CEO Martin Lundstedt said during the earnings call that Volvo is working to reduce the impact new tariffs will have on the company’s North American construction equipment business, where the majority of sales volume is imported from Sweden, South Korea and Brazil.
Volvo’s global construction net sales in the quarter were $2.2 billion, down 8% year-over-year from $2.4 billion. Operating income in the segment dropped 31% to $262 million compared to first-quarter 2024, and adjusted operating margin dropped from 16.1% to 12%.
Among all its regions, Volvo CE reported large and medium construction equipment orders rose 23% to 12,218 units, compact machine orders rose 26% to 4,958 units, and orders for fully electric compact equipment were up 412% to 1,019 units.
Global deliveries of large and medium construction equipment were up 4% to 11,016 units, compact deliveries rose 16% to 4,492 and fully electric compact machine deliveries were up 334% to 1,008.
Volvo Group’s total net sales for the first quarter came in at $12.7 billion down 7% from $13.5 billion in last year’s first quarter. Net sales were down in all regions and categories except for Buses.
