North American Heavy- and Medium-Duty Preliminary Orders Show Three-Month High

North American MD & HD Classes 5-8 net orders improved to a 3-month high in September, and hit a 27-month high when seasonally adjusted. “Preliminary MD and HD net orders were 43,500 units in September, up 27% year over year. Seasonally adjusted, orders rose 8.7% month-over-month to 46,500 units,” says Kenny Vieth, President and Senior Analyst at ACT Research. He continues, “For 2017 year to date, orders after seasonal adjustment have been consistent, ranging from 41,400 units in May to September’s 46,500 units tally.” Note that these numbers are preliminary; complete industry data for September, to include final order results, will be available mid-October 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. This was the fourth consecutive month of order improvement after dropping in May, and represented a meaningful jump when seasonally adjusted. “For the month, orders rose 63% from easy year-ago comps to 22,600 units,” notes Vieth. He continues, “With a generous factor bestowed on what is typically the second weakest order month of the year, seasonal adjustment boosts September’s order performance to its highest level in over two years at 26,200 units.”

Preliminary North American MD orders improved in September, but remained below first half of the year activity levels. For the month, preliminary data show net orders rising to a three-month high 20,900 units. “September orders were positive month over month, improving 11% from August, and eked out a small 2.1% gain year over year,” notes Vieth. He continues, “Seasonal adjustment generates a drag on MD orders in September, reducing the month’s volume by 600 units to 20,300 units.”