Class 8 orders improve in November

Class 8 net truck orders moved upward in November, following the weak, cancellation-heavy numbers reported last month, according to ACT Research Co. November new orders totaled 21,108 units, with the net at 19,440 units.

“In addition to rising 40% from October, November marked the first positive year-over-year net order report in 22 months,” said Jim Meil, ACT’s research principal and industry analyst. “After spiking to a volume not seen since 1999, cancellation activity returned to trend levels in November at 1,668 units and a cancellation rate of 2% of the backlog.”

In terms of medium-duty, Meil said: “The consumer side of the economy remains solid, and overall there is consistency in MD demand. That is why we think the subpar orders results reported for Classes 5-7 in November were an outlier. Specifically, Classes 5-7 net orders were 17,372 (17,300 SA)—about 1,700 under the 2016 YTD average.”