NA Class 8 Orders Through YTD October Total 440,700 Units

Preliminary North America Class 8 net order data show the industry booked 43,600 units in October, up 1.9% sequentially from September, but only 21% from year-ago October, compared to recent year-over-year gains such as the 181% recorded in July.

“October marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the current cyclical surge for Class 8 orders, making year-over-year comparisons narrow appreciably,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. He continued, “Through year-to-date October, Class 8 orders totaled 440,700 units. In the twelve months ending October, a 12-month record 510,900 units have been booked. In 2018, October had the third strongest order seasonal factor. As such, actual data receives a substantial haircut when seasonally adjusted. On that basis, October’s order intake drops to 37,800 units, down 26% from September.”

About medium duty orders, Vieth commented, “Trendy medium duty order activity continued in October, with activity dipping modestly below short and long-run averages. Over the course of the past 6 and 12 months, orders have averaged 24.0k and 24.9k, respectively. October’s preliminary NA Classes 5-7 net orders were up 19% y/y, but down 4.9% m/m. October is typically a strong month for medium duty orders, so season adjustment drops the month’s intake to an 11-month low 22.1k units.”

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