Stobart Group and A.W. Jenkinson Forest Products have struck a second joint procurement deal with Scania to take delivery of a combined 1,000 trucks over the next two years.

Between March 2012 and December 2013 Stobart and A.W. Jenkinson will take a mixture of R-series and G-series models. The first 300 will enter service this year with 700 more entering both fleets ahead of the introduction of Euro-6 on 31 December 2013.

The deal replicates one struck in January 2010, matching Scania’s largest ever single order in the UK. That year Scania registered 2,339 tractor units over 32.5-tonne GCW, rising to 2,476 registrations in 2011 and making the Stobart/A.W. Jenkinson deal worth between 12% and 13% of Scania’s total business in the UK.

Stobart chief operating officer William Stobart says: “This agreement reflects our ongoing satisfaction with Scania and the levels of support provided by the company’s dealer network. Scania’s focus on ongoing development will allow Eddie Stobart to continue to provide sustainable distribution and the usual high levels of service to its customers.”

Stobart runs 2,280 trucks.

Hans-Christer Holgersson, MD of Scania (Great Britain), says: “Winning such a significant repeat order not only demonstrates that our products meet the operational needs of these two high profile customers day-in day-out, but also the capabilities of our service organisation when it comes to providing a comprehensive range of back-up services on such a large geographical scale.”

Scania held 13.5% of the total 2011 marketshare for tractor units, according to Society of Motor Manu-facturers and Traders (SMMT) figures released last month, out of an overall market of 18,403 registrations.

n Last year’s strong growth in the UK truck market has continued, with January registrations of new trucks six tonnes GVW and over up 49% on the same month last year.

But the data from the SMMT shows that the commercial vehicle market is patchy. Registrations of new vans, from car-derived models to 3.5-tonners, have faltered, down by 16%.

Growth in the truck market is coming from rigid chassis, with registration of rigid trucks with gross weights of over 6 tonnes up by 110% in January. In contrast, the surge in the tractor units seems to be slowing, with registrations up just 6%.

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