Class 8 net orders were just over 24,600 units in March, while Classes 5-7 posted 20,800 net orders, according to the latest research released by ACT Research Co.
Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst, said that “seasonally adjusted, March’s Class 8 tally was the second lowest in the past sixteen months, but context is the biggest issue.
“A 300,000 unit annualized rate of order placement represents solid support for an industry already sitting on nearly seven months of unbuilt orders,” Veith said. “Context is required at the other end of the data spectrum, as well. The first quarter represents three of the four weakest sales months of the year. Despite softness in the actual data, on a seasonally adjusted basis, Class 8 retail sales in Q1 occurred at a strong 335,000 unit SAAR.
“The medium-duty market rode strong truck and bus orders to a sixth year-over-year gain in the past seven months,” Vieth said. “Of those six beats, five were double-digit gains, including a 14% order improvement in March versus last year. March represented the fourth best order month since 2H’06.”
For more information on ACT, visit www.actresearch.net.
