Rush Enterprises, which operates the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America, announced for the year ended December 31, 2017, the company achieved revenues of $4.7 billion and net income of $172.1 million compared with revenues of $4.2 billion and net income of $40.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Pretax income was reduced by $7.2 million as a result of the company’s decision to pay a one-time discretionary bonus to all of its employees as a result of the recently-passed tax reform legislation. Also, as a result of the tax reform legislation, the company’s tax expense was reduced by $82.9 million. This tax adjustment was primarily attributable to the revaluation of the company’s deferred tax liabilities at the new federal income tax rate of 21% compared to the previous rate of 35%.

In 2017, Rush Class 8 retail sales accounted for 6.6% of the total U.S. Class 8 market, compared to 5.5% in 2016. The Company sold 13,083 Class 8 trucks in 2017, an increase of 21% compared to 2016, while the U.S. Class 8 market remained essentially flat.

“A healthy economy, strength in most geographic market segments, growth from customers in the energy sector and solid demand for vocational trucks and from over-the-road fleets contributed to our strong new truck sales performance,” said Rusty Rush, CEO and president of Rush Enterprises.

ACT Research forecasts U.S. retail sales of Class 8 trucks to total 247,000 units in 2018, a 25.2% increase compared to 2017. “We believe continued economic growth, implementation of the ELD mandate, improved fuel efficiency and continued strength in most market segments, evidenced by near record-high order intake for January, will drive Class 8 truck sales in 2018,” Rush added.

“In 2017, our Class 8 market share grew to 6.6% due primarily to the strong vocational market. Looking to 2018, we believe our Class 8 truck sales will remain strong, though we expect our sales mix to shift more towards over-the-road fleets and our market share may normalize closer to historical levels,” Rush explained.

“Used truck values stabilized in 2017, and our used truck sales remained flat compared to last year,” Rush said. “We believe there will be a growing supply of used trucks entering the market in 2018, and we will monitor the market carefully. We are confident our inventory and pricing strategy will support expected market demand.”

Rush’s U.S. Class 4-7 medium-duty truck sales reached 10,952 units in 2017, essentially flat compared to 2016. Rush’s medium-duty new truck sales accounted for 4.5% of the total U.S. Class 4-7 market in 2017.

“Our inventory of bodied-up medium-duty trucks that are ready to support customers in a wide variety of business sectors nationwide contributed to another good year for both medium- and light-duty truck sales,” Rush said.

ACT Research forecasts U.S. retail sales of Class 4-7 vehicles to reach 244,750 units in 2018, a 1.1% increase over 2017.

“We expect the Class 4-7 market to remain strong in 2018, due primarily to expected growth in infrastructure spending, continued strength in a wide variety of industries we support and positive general economic conditions,” Rush said. “By remaining focused on meeting our customers’ immediate needs with ready-to-roll equipment in stock across the country, we believe our medium-duty performance will be strong in 2018.”