April 9 (Reuters) - Traton reported a 10% drop

in first-quarter deliveries and said the quarter's operating

will fall short of market expectations, Volkswagen's

trucks business said on Wednesday.

The company said it sold 73,100 trucks and buses in the

first quarter, compared with 81,100 a year earlier, citing a

challenging market environment.

Preliminary operating profit for the first three months of

2025 is expected to be 645 million euros ($712.14 million), it

said. That compared with an 877 million euro consensus from

analyst forecasts compiled by the company, though its full-year

outlook remains unchanged.

"The U.S. market is continuing to suffer from low

transportation activity," a Traton statement said, adding that

market uncertainties caused by tariffs had a negative effect on

first-quarter deliveries.

JP Morgan has said that it expected weaker U.S. order intake

for truckmakers to persist in the second quarter, regardless of

the outcome of the tariff negotiations.

The broker also expected lower order intake to persist

because the third quarter tends to mark the seasonal summer

shutdown.

"This lower overall activity would likely mean heavy truck

demand in (North America) moving from 2025 into 2026," JP Morgan

added.

Rival Daimler Truck on Tuesday that its North

American sales fell 16%.

($1 = 0.9057 euros)