According to the latest numbers from both ACT Research Co. and FTR, Class 8 truck orders fell in February, amid a difficult time for the U.S. stock market driven by fears about the ongoing COVID-19 disease outbreak.
Both ACT and FTR have the preliminary number for North American Class 8 orders in February at 14,100 units.
FTR says this result was unexpected. This is the lowest order activity for the month of February since 2010 and down 18% year-over-year.
“This is not good news for the trucking industry or the economy,” Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles for FTR. “It appears fleets have decided to delay some orders until the health crisis has passed. There is no pressure for fleets to order more trucks since most carriers have enough capacity to handle current freight volumes.
“The market was already in a wait-and-see mode before the virus spread. Now, fleets are just waiting for things to calm down before returning to normal ordering patterns. The industry was already taking a pause after two years of great sales. The current uncertainty has just made more fleets leery of taking on additional risks.”
“Weak freight market and rate conditions, as well as a still-large backlog, continue to bedevil new Class 8 orders,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “February is not a particularly strong Class 8 order month and this February’s results, seasonally adjusted, were the weakest monthly order rate since last August. With COVID-19 becoming a hot topic at the end of February, one wonders if that impacted order activity.”
According to ACT, February’s Classes 5-7 net orders rose to an 11-month high 22,200 units, up 12% from January, but down 12% from a very strong year-ago comparison.
“COVID-19 did not seem to bother medium-duty vehicle buyers as much, as that segment reported a third consecutive month of solid order,” Vieth said. “Starting in February, the calendar rolls into the peak order season for medium-duty vehicles.”
