October 14, 2008
Daimler to Discontinue Sterling Brand
The Sterling Trucks brand
will be discontinued effective in March 2009, according to Daimler Trucks North
America. The company reports that additions to the Freightliner and Western
Star product ranges will be made to address market segments that have been
served exclusively by Sterling offerings in
the DTNA stable.
Daimler cut its estimate of heavy truck sales in North America by 20 percent to 294,000 vehicles.
By closing two factories in Ontario
and Oregon, it
will decrease its capacity by 20 percent and expects to increase annual
earnings by $900 million by 2011.