Class 8 U.S. retail sales in April plunged 47.4 percent (forty-seven point four percent) as freight demand plummeted amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to WardsAuto.com (Wards Auto dot com). Sales fell to 12,637 compared with 24,024 a year earlier. Year-to-date sales fell 30.7 percent (thirty point seven percent) to 60,219 compared with 86,908 in the 2019 period. All truck makers posted sales declines of worse than 39 percent, with the exception of the smallest one, Western Star. Freightliner, a brand of Daimler (DIME-ler) Trucks North America, retained its lead in market share with 34.1 percent, even as its sales dropped 47.4 percent (forty-seven point four percent).