Heavy- and Medium-Duty Preliminary Orders Show Slight Month-Over-Month Decline

North American MD & HD Classes 5-8 net orders declined in August, dropping 1,400 units from last month, while rising 28% year-over-year. “Seasonally adjusted, orders rose 1.8% to 42,700 units,” says Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. He continues, “On that basis, Classes 5-8 orders have ranged from 41,400 units to 42,700 units since April.” Note that these numbers are preliminary; complete industry data for August, to include final order results, will be available mid-September in ACT’s State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 Vehicles report. 

Preliminary NA Class 8 net orders improved on both an actual and seasonally-adjusted basis in August. “For the month, orders rose 49% from easy year-ago comps,” says Tam. He continues, “Seasonal adjustment boosts August’s order performance to their highest level since April at 23,800 units, a sequential gain of 21%.”

Following robust performance through the first half of the year, NA Classes 5-7 net orders have moderated the past 2 months. Preliminary, medium duty orders rebounded from a soft July, rising to 18,800 units. Tam says, “Despite the relative softness, August’s intake was up 10% year over year.”