FTR Reports North American Class 8 Orders Continue at Record Levels in August

FTR reports that preliminary North American Class 8 orders for August hit another all-time high of 52,400 units, just surpassing last month’s total by 300 orders. Class 8 orders were again exceptionally strong in the U.S. market, with most OEMs racking up great order months. Orders were even month-over-month (m/m) and up 153% year-over-year (y/y). Orders continue their hot streak in 2018. Six of the top 12 order months ever, have occurred in the first 8 months of this year. North American Class 8 orders for the past 12 months have now totaled 477,000 units. 

Carriers continue to scramble to get enough trucks on the road to handle the robust freight growth. The surging economy and vibrant manufacturing sector are stretching the logistics system to the limit. In some markets, goods are moving slower due to supply chain gridlocks, necessitating even more trucks to deliver goods.

Don Ake, FTR Vice President of Commercial Vehicles, comments, “The good news is, it appears the supplier shortage issues that significantly slowed production earlier this year, have been largely abated for now. However, the supply chain remains tight, and fleets and dealers continue to place large orders to lock down build slots in 2019.

“Fleets are ordering early and often and orders this plentiful indicate fleets are highly confident the flourishing freight market will persist for a while. Current economic and manufacturing data point to a strong start to 2019. FTR does expect some easing to occur in the second half of next year.”