Does Volvo’s latest report suggest there’s trouble down the road?

With transportation a key element of the real economy, the performance of the Swedish-based firm that also manufactures Mack and Renault trucks could indicate trouble down the road.

While new orders fell by 36 percent, primarily due to North America, the reason has more to do with production constraints rather than demand.

“As expected, order intake in the region has remained low as our order books are close to full for 2019,” chief executive Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.

“However, freight volumes and service demand in North America have remained solid,” he added.

Last year the company experienced supply chain problems in North America, which limited its ability to respond to customer demand for latest models.

Truck orders in Europe were also down in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2018, but Volvo said they remained at a good level.

Overall, net sales increased by 20 percent to 107.2 billion Swedish kronor ($11.4 billion).

Sales of buses and construction equipment also increased, as did sales of services.

Net profit nearly doubled to 10.8 billion kronor.

“After a period with good markets, a strong service business and high volume flexibility are key for us to be more resilient to changes in the business environment,” said Lundstedt.

Shares in Volvo rose by 2.5 percent in morning trading on the Stockholm stock exchange, which was up 0.4 percent overall.