Sterling Trucks

Former US truck manufacturer

Sterling Trucks

Company type| Subsidiary
Industry| Automotive industry
Founded| 1906 (original)
1997
Defunct| 1953 (original)
2009
Fate|

* Sterling Motor Truck Company: Acquired by White Motor Company (1951)
* Sterling Trucks: Closed (2009)

Successor| Freightliner Trucks
Headquarters| Redford Township, Michigan, U.S.

Key people

| William Sternberg (Founder)
Products| Trucks
Owner| Daimler-Benz (1997–1998)
DaimlerChrysler (1999–2007)
Daimler AG (2007–2009)
Parent| Freightliner Corporation (1997–2008)
Daimler Trucks North America (2008–2009)
Website| sterlingtrucks.com

Sterling Trucks Corporation (commonly designated Sterling) was an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1998, Sterling was created following the 1997 acquisition of the heavy-truck product lines of Ford Motor Company by Freightliner.[1] Taking its nameplate from a long-defunct truck manufacturer, Sterling was slotted between Freightliner and Western Star within the Daimler product range (later Daimler Trucks North America).

Introduced as a rebadged version of Ford Louisville/Aeromax product line, the Sterling product range was expanded in the 2000s with medium-duty (Class 5–7) trucks. After years of struggling to meet sales expectations, Daimler discontinued the Sterling Trucks line in 2009.[1]

Headquartered in Redford Township, Michigan (Detroit), Sterling assembled its conventional-cab vehicles in St. Thomas, Ontario and Portland, Oregon.[1] Sterling-brand trucks were sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

## History

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A street-cleaning truck in Seattle by the original Sterling company

### Sternberg/Sterling Motor Truck Company (1907–1953)

[edit]

The original company was founded in 1906 by William Sternberg as the Sternberg Motor Truck Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Early models offered were of cab-over design, in 1-, 1.5- 3.5- and 5-ton capacities. Sternberg changed the company name to Sterling at the onset of World War I. Sterling built many different heavy-duty trucks for commercial, construction and military customers in the ensuing years. In 1938, Sterling sold 267 units and in 1939 it increased to 326 trucks.[2]

The company was bought by White Motor Company on June 1, 1951. About two years later, the Sterling nameplate was retired.

#### Sterling trademark

[edit]

Following its last use in 1953, the trademark of Sterling would change hands several times, through White Motor Company and its successor Volvo-White Motor Company (itself becoming the North American division of Volvo Trucks).

As the Sterling trademark had become dormant for so long, when Freightliner (whose own trucks were distributed by White Motor Company from the 1950s to 1975) sought to use the name in 1997, there were no grounds for objection from Volvo.

### Sterling Trucks Corporation (1997–2009)

[edit]

The Sterling name was applied by Freightliner to Class 8 tractors, as well as a range of medium- and heavy-duty cab/chassis vehicles as a continuation of the Ford L-Series after Freightliner's purchase of Ford's heavy truck product lines and the Louisville production facility. With bodies added by third-party upfitters/body builders, these cab/chassis vehicles were used for freight distribution as well as heavy vocational uses, such as construction, snow plowing and refuse collection.

In the last few years of operation, the company also marketed light to medium-duty cab/chassis vehicles from corporate siblings, such as the 360 (a rebadged Mitsubishi Fuso Canter) and Bullet (a badge-engineered Dodge Ram Chassis Cab). These were typically outfitted with bodies suitable for use as lighter vocational trucks — those designed to perform jobs other than straight freight hauling — including fire trucks, garbage trucks, dump trucks, concrete mixers, tanker trucks, and snowplows.

#### Discontinuation

[edit]

On October 14, 2008, Daimler Trucks North America announced a plan to discontinue the Sterling product line in an effort to consolidate its North American truck manufacturing operations under the Freightliner and Western Star brands. The company stopped taking orders for new trucks in January 2009, the St. Thomas manufacturing plant closed in March 2009, and the Portland, Oregon, plant was closed in June 2010.[3]

## Models

[edit]

Sterling Acterra dump truck with trailer in New Zealand

Sterling HX9500 MBE

A Sterling Bullet in Ontario, Canada

From 1997 to 2009, Sterling produced several lines of trucks. Within Daimler-Benz, the Sterling product range was slotted between the Freightliner and Western Star product lines. Through much of its existence, the Sterling product range served as continuation of the second-generation Ford Louisville/AeroMax conventional product line (introduced in 1996).

* Sterling 360 – a rebadged Mitsubishi Fuso Canter medium-duty cabover sold as the Fuso FE model in the U.S. and Canada and the Fuso Canter in Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.[4]
* A line – set back
* Acterra - (1999–2009) Class 5-8 medium-duty, using L-line cab with Freightliner Business Class chassis.[5]
* Bullet – a cab/chassis model based on the third generation Dodge Ram 4500/5500 platform[6]
* Condor - rebadged Freightliner cab. Was used commonly on garbage trucks.
* L line – set back, set forward

## See also

[edit]

* United States portal
* Transport portal
* Companies portal

* Freightliner Trucks
* Western Star Trucks

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Daimler to Close Sterling Trucks Unit, Cut 3,500 Jobs (Update3) - Bloomberg". 2014-05-15. Archived from the original on 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
2. ^ "Sterling 1938 and 1939". The Commercial car journal v.59 1940 Mar-Aug. 1940-03-01. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
3. ^ "Daimler Trucks North America Plans Decisive Response to Changed Economic Environment". Retrieved 18 June 2009.
4. ^ "New Sterling 360 completes lineup". Trailer/Body Builders. 2006-04-01. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24.
5. ^ "StackPath". www.fleetowner.com. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
6. ^ "PickupTruck.Com – Sterling Bullet Debuts at NTEA Work Truck Show". Pickuptrucks.com. Retrieved 2012-03-01.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sterling trucks.

* Sterling Trucks official website

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Daimler Truck

Current
marques|

| Trucks|

* Alliance Truck Parts
* BharatBenz
* Detroit Diesel
* Freightliner
* Fuso (89.29%)
* Mercedes-Benz
* Western Star

|

Buses|

* BharatBenz
* Daimler Buses
* Freightliner
* Fuso (89.29%)
* Mercedes-Benz
* Thomas

Defunct
marques|

* American LaFrance
* Orion
* Sterling Trucks

Subsidiaries|

* Daimler India Commercial Vehicles
* Daimler Truck North America
* Fuso Trucks America

Related|

Mercedes-Benz Group

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Trucking industry in the United States

Regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Economy of the United States

Regulations|

* Commercial driver's license
* Electronic on-board recorder
* Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula
* Hours of service
* International Registration Plan
* Motor Carrier Act of 1980
* Motor carrier safety rating
* National Network

Manufacturers|

| Truck manufacturers|

* AM General
* American LaFrance
* Autocar
* Bering
* Bremach
* Brockway
* BYD Auto
* Caterpillar Inc.
* Chase
* Chevrolet
* CCC
* CNH Industrial
* Dart
* Diamond Reo
* Diamond T
* Reo
* Dina
* Dodge
* Freightliner
* Ford
* GMC
* Hayes
* Fuso
* Hino
* Hyundai Motor America
* Hyzon
* International
* Isuzu
* Kenworth
* Marmon-Herrington
* Mercedes-Benz
* Moreland
* Mack
* Nissan
* Oshkosh
* Peterbilt
* Ram Trucks
* Selden
* Schacht
* Shyft Group
* Smith
* Spartan
* Sterling
* Tesla
* Tiger Truck
* Toyota
* Traffic
* UD Trucks
* VIA
* Volvo
* Ward LaFrance
* Western Star
* White
* Workhorse Group

|

Engine manufacturers|

* Caterpillar Inc.
* Cummins
* Detroit Diesel
* Mack
* MaxxForce
* Mercedes-Benz
* Paccar
* Volvo

Trailer manufacturers|

* Daseke
* Fontaine
* Fruehauf
* Great Dane
* Hyundai Translead
* Lufkin Trailers
* Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company
* Vanguard
* Wabash National
* Wilson

Motor carriers|

| Truckload carriers|

* Averitt Express
* Celadon
* CFI
* Covenant
* CRST
* FFE Transportation
* J. B. Hunt
* Knight-Swift
* Landstar System
* PAM Transport
* Patriot Transportation
* Roehl Transport
* Schneider
* Swift
* Werner
* Western Express
* WTI Transport

|

Less than truckload (LTL)|

* ABF
* Averitt Express
* Con-way Freight
* Consolidated Freightways
* Estes Express Lines
* FedEx
* New England Motor Freight
* Old Dominion Freight Line
* R+L Carriers
* Saia
* Southeastern
* TForce Freight
* XPO, Inc.
* Yellow Corporation

Third-party logistics providers|

* Access America Transport
* American Lamprecht Transport
* C.H. Robinson
* Freightquote
* CaseStack
* Ryder
* Total Quality Logistics
* Trailer Bridge
* Trucker Path
* XPO, Inc.

National parcel carriers|

* DHL
* FedEx
* UPS
* United States Postal Service

Regional parcel carriers|

* GLS
* LaserShip
* LSO
* OnTrac

Moving companies|

* Allied
* Atlas
* Bekins
* Gentle Giant Moving Company
* Global
* Interstate
* Mayflower
* National
* North American
* PODS
* Two Men and a Truck
* United
* Wheaton

Truck stops|

* BETO Junction
* Bowlin Travel Centers
* Dixie Travel Plaza
* Iowa 80
* Love's
* Pilot Flying J
* Road Ranger
* Roady's
* TravelCenters of America
* Town Pump

People|

* Frederick W. Smith
* Iyman Faris
* J. Harwood Cochrane
* Jimmy Hoffa
* John Hunt
* Keith Jesperson
* Kelly Reno
* Reginald Denny

Organizations|

* American Moving & Storage Association
* American Trucking Associations
* DAT Solutions (Dial-A-Truck)
* International Brotherhood of Teamsters
* National Motor Freight Classification
* National Motor Freight Traffic Association
* National Private Truck Council
* SmartWay Transport Partnership

* Glossary of the American trucking industry

Popular culture|

| Film|

* Black Dog
* Breakdown
* Breaker! Breaker!
* Convoy
* Duel
* F.I.S.T.
* High-Ballin'
* Joy Ride
* Maximum Overdrive
* Over The Top
* Smokey & the Bandit
* They Drive by Night
* The Gang's All Here
* The Great Smokey Roadblock
* Trucker
* White Line Fever
* Hoffa

|

Television|

* American Loggers
* American Trucker
* B. J. and the Bear
* Ice Road Truckers
* Movin' On
* Trick My Truck

Music|

* A Tombstone Every Mile
* Big Wheels in the Moonlight
* Bonnie Jean (Little Sister)
* Convoy
* Drivin' My Life Away
* East Bound and Down
* Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses
* Giddyup Go
* Girl on the Billboard
* Movin' On
* Papa Loved Mama
* Phantom 309
* Roll On Big Mama
* Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)
* Six Days on the Road
* Teddy Bear
* The White Knight

Radio|

* Dale Sommers
* Red Eye (Bill Mack)
* Road Dog Trucking (Dave Nemo)

Video games|

* 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
* 18 Wheels of Steel
* American Truck Simulator
* Rig 'n' Roll
* Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing

Other|

* Citizens band radio
* The Rolling Memorial

* Note: Defunct companies are shown in italics

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