Military vehicles sales plummet.

• Position: From the National Defense Blog

At the height of war spending, the Pentagon bought nearly $5 billion worth of trucks in just one year. Orders are expected to plummet to under $400 million in 2015.

It is indeed a depressing outlook for military vehicle manufacturers that rely predominantly on Defense Department business, analysts said. Many companies might not survive this downturn unless they figure out how to wean themselves off government sales.

"There are very few opportunities on the horizon in the tactical wheeled vehicles market," noted James Tinsley, managing director at the consulting firm Avas-cent.

The only new truck the Army and Marine Corps still plan to buy is the joint light tactical vehicle, or JLTV, to replace old Humvees. But one program alone cannot sustain the current supplier base, he said. Three companies--Oshkosh Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and AM General--are competing for a future production contract.

The next several years are going to be...