IN Brief:
- Volvo CE will stop Rokbak articulated hauler production in the second half of 2026, subject to consultation.
- The Motherwell site will remain active, focusing on Volvo rigid haulers and future product development.
- The move underlines how cost inflation, supply-chain pressure, and trade friction are reshaping plant manufacturing decisions.
Volvo Construction Equipment is shutting the Rokbak articulated hauler business in Motherwell, ending production of one of the sector’s longer-running Scottish off-highway manufacturing lines while retaining the location for rigid hauler work.
Volvo CE said the closure follows a long-term strategic review and reflects the unsustainable profitability of the Rokbak operation. The business generated SEK 1.0 billion in revenue in 2025 but remained loss-making, and Volvo expects the decision to reduce operating income in its Construction Equipment segment by about SEK 0.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Around SEK 0.4 billion of that impact is linked to non-cash items, mainly goodwill impairment.
The company tied the decision to rising operational and supply-chain costs and to wider trade barriers that have made exports from Britain harder to sustain. Production of Rokbak articulated haulers is expected to stop in the second half of 2026, subject to consultation, with the consultation process expected to conclude in the third quarter. A core Rokbak team is due to remain in place to support parts, sales, technical service, and training for existing customers and dealer partners.
That leaves Motherwell changing rather than closing outright. Volvo says the facility will continue as a key hub for the design and manufacture of Volvo rigid haulers and for future product development. For the local supply chain, that distinction matters, because it preserves an industrial role for the site even as one product line is withdrawn.
Rokbak traces its roots back to the former Terex Trucks business, with articulated haulers built in Motherwell for decades before Volvo acquired the operation in 2014. The Rokbak brand itself was launched in 2021, as Volvo tried to give the range a more distinct position in quarrying, mining, and heavy earthmoving markets. The closure suggests that strategy could not overcome the combined pressure of costs, export friction, and a relatively narrow home market.
For plant buyers and contractors, the immediate operational issue is continuity of support for installed machines. For manufacturers, the larger point is less comfortable: even established equipment lines are under sharper review when cost inflation, supply-chain strain, and cross-border trade friction start to cut too deeply into already thin margins.
