BERLIN (Reuters) – Daimler Truck raised unit sales by 27% to nearly 135,000 units in the third quarter, as the chip shortage that hit the heavy truck business particularly hard in the same period last year began to ease.
Incoming orders were down 18% from the third quarter last year and down 14% this year so far, the company said in a statement, a sign that the backlog of demand outstripping supply as chip shortages prevented automotive manufacturers from delivering goods is clearing up.
Higher pricing, favourable exchange rate effects and a strong after-sale business pushed revenues up 47% and earnings before interest and taxes up 159%, the truckmaker said on Friday, confirming results released in an ad-hoc statement in late October.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Miranda Murray)