Car market, EU – Baltic States, Transport

Sales in Eastern European countries dropped 68% to 1,595 trucks as Poland's market, the largest in that region, shrank by 68%, reports Bloomberg/LETA.

Delivery declines exceeded 80% in Bulgaria and Romania.

Estonia, the smallest eastern European heavy-truck market in April 2008, contracted by 91% and Latvia, the second-smallest, plunged 93%.

Deliveries of trucks weighing more than 16 metric tons declined 47% to 15,117 vehicles from 28,510 a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement today. Four-month sales fell 43% to 64,017 trucks. That compares with delivery drops of 44% in March and 42% in the first quarter.

Daimler AG, Volvo AB and MAN SE, the Europe's top three truck-makers, have responded to the global sales decline by scaling back production. Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler aims to save at least one billion euros at its truck-making business, the world's biggest. MAN, which has headquarters in Munich, reduced its workforce by 1% from Dec. 31 through the end of March, including 150 jobs eliminated in Poland.

Western Europe's heavy-truck market contracted by 43% to 13,522 vehicles as sales plunged 79% in Spain and 49% in Italy. The countries were the region's third- and fourth-biggest markets for heavy trucks a year earlier.

European sales of all classes of commercial vehicle fell 42% to 139,870 vehicles in April while four-month deliveries dropped 37% to 590,894, according to the association. Sales of trucks weighing more than 3.5 tons dropped 44% in April and 40% in the four-month period.