Daimler Truck says supply chain woes not over as Q3 unit sales jump

Daimler Truck reported a 27% jump in third-quarter unit sales to nearly 135,000 as the global semiconductor chip shortage eased, but warned underinvestment in other parts of the supply chain was still causing shortages of everything from tires to nuts and bolts.

Jochen Goetz, Daimler’s Chief Financial Officer, told analysts the overall supply chain was somehow broken. He added the market picked up super quickly and the investments not taken a few years back meant some smaller suppliers weren’t able to ramp up production as fast as they needed to.

Of the nearly 25 types of semiconductor chips Daimler Truck needed which were in short supply, some were now back in the market while others the firm had found alternatives, CFO Goetz said. However, some would remain hard to source throughout 2023.

The firm, which was spun off from Mercedes-Benz in 2021, raised its outlook in October for full-year revenues to 50 billion - 52 billion euros ($51 billion - $53 billion) from 48 billion - 50 billion euros and said the firm expected earnings to be 5 percent to 15 percent above 2021’s level rather than unchanged, as previously predicted.

The jump in earnings was highest in Europe at 316% from the same quarter of 2021, compared with 111% in North America, traditionally Daimler Truck’s most significant market.