If the car business is in meltdown, things are only marginally better for truck manufacturers. The results just posted by the two Swedish giants of the industry, Volvo and Scania, painted a picture of collapsing orders with little respite in sight. When Daimler, the world's biggest truck-maker, and MAN, the fourth-largest, report next week, they are expected to confirm that the industry is facing one of the worst busts in its history.rnIt was not supposed to be like this. Just 18 months ago the collective valuation of the world's big truckmakers reached an all-time high, having doubled in less than two years. Some within the industry even suggested that it had achieved a "new paradigm" of stable, long-term growth, in sharp contrast to the violent cyclical swings of the past.
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