According to ACT Research’s latest release of the North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook, the question of commercial vehicle demand for 2021 has already been answered, and for the first time ever, this perspective is illuminated by all positive indicators on ACT’s Class 8 Tractor Dashboard. The N.A. CV Outlook is a robust report that forecasts the future of the industry, looking at the next one to five years, with the objective of giving OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, and investment firms the information needed to plan accordingly for what is to come.
The report provides a complete overview of the North American markets, as well as takes a deep dive into relevant, current market activity to highlight orders, production, and backlogs, shedding light on the forecast. Information included in this report covers forecasts and current market conditions for medium and heavy-duty trucks/tractors, and trailers, the macroeconomies of the US, Canada, and Mexico, publicly-traded carrier information, oil and fuel price impacts, freight and intermodal considerations, and regulatory environment impacts.
“April’s Tractor Dashboard rose to its maximum value of 15, with all indicators flashing positive.” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “The average reading across the past four months is an unprecedented 13.5 reading.
“For the unfamiliar, the Dashboard is a collection of 15 forward-looking demand indicators that provide three to six months of forward visibility for orders. The metric is comprised of economic, freight, and ACT/industry-specific data series. In April’s greatest-of-all-time print, optimists and pessimists can agree, ‘it doesn’t get any better than this.’”
Vieth concluded: “The order lines on the Dashboard graph illustrate the current rollover in the order trend. One will note the drop in the order trend preceding the opening of subsequent years’ orders in each of the last two cycles, with significantly higher orders booked ahead of the second year of the cycle. Given recent historical precedent, and with appropriate caveats in place, we would expect orders to warm starting in June, with a material jump beginning in July.”
