For the first time this year and only the third time in 18 months the demand for Class 8 trucks rose faster than the supply, according to the most recent ACT For-Hire Trucking Index from ACT Research Co.

“May showed the first meaningful increase in freight volumes in nine months,” said Steve Tam, ACT’s vice president for the commercial vehicle sector. “However, the balance between supply and demand is still under attack from the widespread macro-inventory overhang.”

Fleets in the survey noted that even though freight increased in May, the economy was still soft and there was no seasonal surge that usually occurs in the spring.