Truck Orders Positive For Fifth Straight Month: ACT

Preliminary Class 8 truck net orders for North America were 38,900 units in October, up 27% from September and a 78% improvement from the same month a year ago, according to the latest numbers from ACT Research.

Demand for Class 5 through Class 7 vehicles jumped to a 10-quarter high in October with 29,300 units, the best since March 2018, ACT said. That order volume represents an improvement of 6% from September and an 84% uptick compared to last year.

“Keeping in mind the freight backdrop of consumer spending on goods expanding and those for services contracting, preliminary October NA Classes 5-8 vehicles order data rose to 68,200 units,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “That volume represented a 17% gain from September and an 80% improvement compared to year-ago October.

“October was the largest Classes 5-8 order tally in 26 months, and this month’s orders marked a fifth consecutive positive year-over-year reading, after 18 consecutive months of negative comparisons.”

Regarding the medium-duty market, Vieth said, “There is a symbiotic relationship between heavy-duty freight rates and medium-duty demand, and clearly, the shift in consumer spending from experiences to goods has been beneficial for the providers of local trucking services, as e-commerce has grown by leaps and bounds during the pandemic.”

Complete industry data for October, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT in mid-November. Headquartered in Columbus, Ind., ACT Research is a global publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis and forecasts for the North America and China markets.