June CV Demand Lowest In Four Years, Says ACT

For the month of June, 28,300 new orders for Class 5 through Class 8 vehicles were booked – the lowest total since 2012, according to the latest information from ACT Research, the Indiana-based market research company specializing in the North American and Chinese commercial vehicle (CV) markets.

Class 8 garnered 13,100 orders and 15,200 orders were placed for for Classes 5 through 7. These numbers are preliminary, ACT noted, with final June numbers to be published in mid-July.

“The pace of commercial vehicle orders slowed in seasonal fashion into the first month of summer,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president & senior snalyst. “June’s medium-duty and heavy-duty net order total volume was the lowest monthly order total since July 2012. Seasonally adjusted, at 31,500 units, it was the lowest total since September 2012.”

Vieth said that the slowing in in medium-duty orders was more a reflection of past strength rather than current weakness. “The pull-back of the past two months follows a three-month stretch from February to April in which medium-duty orders were booked at a volume well ahead of demand,” he said.

Regarding Class 8, Vieth said that, “despite increasingly easy year-over-year comparisons, Class 8 vehicle orders continued to lose traction in June with orders slipping to 13,100 units. The last time actual Class 8 orders were this low was Q3 of ’10.”

www.actresearch.net