Preliminary numbers are in for September’s truck orders, and the consensus is that truck orders rose significantly in the month, with both heavy- and medium-duty truck orders seeing jumps.

ACT Research Co. found Class 8 North American preliminary net orders at 22,600 units, up 63% over last year, the fourth consecutive month of improvement; medium-duty orders, meanwhile,  came in at 20,900, up 11% from August and 2.1% over a year ago. Overall, ACT’s Class 5-8 order number is 43,500 units, up 27% year-over-year.

“With a generous factor bestowed on what is typically the second-weakest order month of the year, seasonal adjustment boosts September’s order performance to its highest level in over two years at 26,200 units,” noted Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research.

FTR found a similar uptick in Class 8 orders, showing 22,100 units, a month-over-month increase of 7% versus August and 62% above a year ago.

“The recovery in the Class 8 market is building, and we saw that with the orders through the summer,” said Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles at FTR. “Order totals never got that low and followed cyclical trends. This is a healthy, growing truck market, which is in excellent position for greater expansion in 2018. Class 8 order rates are expected to jump in Q4. Stronger freight growth generated by a more vibrant U.S. economy will spur demand for additional trucks next year. Factor in the loss of productivity from the ELDs, and fleets will have to expand capacity to haul the available freight.”