Class 8 Net Orders Moderated in October, Demand Remains Elevated

“Class 8 net order activity experienced a second consecutive month of ‘moderation’ in October, meaning it was below all-time record highs set in July and August. Demand remains elevated, well above expectations based on replacement and as justified by the current economic and freight growth environment,” said Steve Tam, ACT Research’s Vice President. Tam added, “Of particular interest this month is the spike in order cancellations, which removed about 10,850 orders from the backlog. As a percentage of the backlog, the more salient metric in our view, the cancellation rate was 3.6%.”

Regarding the medium duty markets, Tam commented, “Medium duty demand remained a picture of consistency in October, not straying far from trend. Orders retrenched, falling about 800 units from September, but aligned with the past twelve months’ 24,500-unit order average.”

He added, “In further testament to the stability of the medium duty market, build and sales both rose 3% sequentially, solidifying their year-to-date gains of 8% and 7%, respectively.”