Preliminary Class 8 truck orders finish 2022 with declines

Preliminary North American Class 8 net truck orders, for the month of December, saw declines, according to recent data respectively issued by freight transportation consultancy FTR and ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles.  

FTR reported that preliminary December net orders—28,300 units—were down for the third consecutive month, decreasing 21% compared to November, with orders “quickly moderating,” said FTR. But on a year-over-year basis, December orders are up 25%, with orders over the last 12 months coming in a cumulative 302,000 units.

FTR officials explained that there has likely been some end-of-year cleanup of the order boards as OEMs look to firm up their production schedules. And they added that orders are now in line with sales and production levels, with any further reductions in incoming orders to start to eat into backlogs.

“Backlogs are still elevated but not at such a level that they can sustain significant deterioration without impacting production output,” said Jonathan Starks, FTR’s chief executive officer and chief intelligence officer, in a statement. “Despite these concerns, essentially all the production slots for the first half of the year are full and the second half of the year is starting to fill up as well. The heavy vehicle market remains strong despite economic and financial uncertainties, and production will still be limited to some extent by supply chains and labor.”

ACT data: ACT reported that December preliminary North American Class 8 orders came in at 30,300 units, down from November’s 33,000 unit preliminary tally, with both well below September and October, at 53,700 and 42,500, respectively.

“At first glance, December’s SA intake was 4% below the ytd monthly average heading into the month,” said Eric Crawford, ACT Vice President and Senior Analyst, in a statement. “On the surface, and when combined with a 26% m/m decline on an SA basis, that might suggest some weakening in demand.” He added, “But when factoring in the year-end seasonal uptick in orders began a month ahead of schedule this year (September), which skewed the ytd SA average upward, and that September orders represented the highest monthly total on record, we’re inclined to view December’s order intake as a solid end to a robust final four months of the year.”