North America Heavy- and Medium-Duty Preliminary Orders Show Improvement from Last Year

North American medium- and heavy-duty (MD & HD) Classes 5-8 net orders dropped in July, falling 12% from last month. While orders were lower month-over-month, the 33% increase from last year highlights the significant improvement in demand that has occurred over the past 12 months. “Adjusting for seasonality, NA Classes 5-8 net orders rise to 41,400 units in July,” says Kenny Vieth, President and Senior Analyst at ACT Research. He continues, “Compared to year-ago levels, total Classes 5-8 net orders were up over 36% from a seasonally adjusted 30,500 unit tally.” Complete industry data for July, to include final order results, will be available mid-August in ACT’s State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 Vehicles report.

Preliminary Class 8 net orders improved incrementally in July, rising 4% from June. Compared to last year, July’s orders were up 81%. “While down on a nominal basis from the 2017 order trend, seasonal adjustment brings July’s order intake in-line with recent activity,” says Vieth. He continues, “Over the past 6 months, Class 8 net orders, seasonally adjusted, have averaged 21,900 units/month.”

After a 7-month stretch of NA Classes 5-7 net orders averaging 22,100 units per month, preliminary orders dropped in July, declining to a 13-month low. “Despite the 26% decline from June, orders were still 2% better than last year,” notes Vieth.