January North American Classes 5-7 net orders are expected at 17,000 units (±5%) and Class 8 net orders are expected at 34,700 units (±5%), when actual data are released mid-month, according to ACT Research, publisher of new and used commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the China commercial vehicle market..

“The past four months have seen three of the top five order months this cycle for Classes 5 to 8,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research. “In January, Class 8 orders rose 9% from December’s strong showing and 51% from year-ago January. While the order trend has accelerated, it should be noted that this is the time of year in which Class 8 orders tend to be strong: Typically, orders accelerate in Q4 and remain elevated into Q2 before falling sharply in Q3. If industry build transpires as expected, Class 8 backlogs are expected to have posted a nice gain in January.”

After a pause in December, medium-duty orders returned to trend in January. Net orders were up 13% from December and 31% compared to last January.