February was the fifth consecutive month in which Class 5-8 medium-duty and heavy-duty orders rose above 50,000 units, according to ACT Research Co.

Preliminary Class 5-8 vehicle orders were booked at 51,400, up 6% compared to February 2014. While at their lowest level since September 2014, February’s order volume annualizes to a 616k AR (622k SAAR)—“meaningfully higher than current production forecast expectations for the industry in 2015,” stated ACT.

“The run of excellent new Class 8 order activity continued into February as 31,200 North American net orders were booked,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “Up 7% compared to last year, February’s orders marked the twenty-fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains in net orders.

“While February’s order volume qualifies as the weakest month in the past five, on a seasonally adjusted basis it also represents the ninth consecutive month of orders over 28,000 units. However, there is a recognition that with the 2015 build schedule filling rapidly, it is unlikely that this string of excellence will remain unscathed by the time we get to late Q2,” he added.

Vieth added that medium-duty orders have beaten year-ago results in five of the past six months including against a tough February comparison. Class 5-7 net orders rose to 20,100 units in February, up 8% from January and 4% compared a year ago.

For more information, visit www.actresearch.net.