Preliminary September Class 8 truck orders see strong numbers
Preliminary September North American Class 8 net trucking numbers were very strong, 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 September preliminary orders—at 31,200 units—saw a 94% increase, from August to September, and were down 45% annually. The firm noted that both the sequential increase and the annual decrease were well within expectations as build slots have opened for 2024 production, coupled with the market normalizing after 2022’s exceptional order volumes. And it added that total Class 8 orders for the previous 12 months have equaled 270,000 units.
“Build slots have opened for 2024 production, and fleets are placing orders at a solid pace,” said Eric Starks, chairman of the board, in a statement. “Although a large increase in September was expected due to available build slots, it is still a positive indicator for the industry. We saw increases across the board versus August – another indication that this is a broad-based gain for the market. Despite the weakness in the overall freight market, fleets continue to be willing to order new equipment. We did not anticipate matching the level of orders that we saw this time last year, but increasing orders confirm our expectations of replacement demand in 2024.”
ACT data: ACT reported that that preliminary North American Class 8 September orders—at 36,800 units—increased 67%, from August to September, marking its highest level for orders in the last year.
“Between reports of falling carrier income and margins, still sloshy load-to-truck ratios, weak spot rates reported by DAT, and a sense over the past six weeks or so that the US economy’s year-to-date outperformance was starting to lose some momentum, we were unsure how the market would respond when the 2024 orderboards officially opened,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst, in a statement. “One thing we did know was that nearly all the August-ending Class 8 backlog was scheduled for build in 2023, so strong orders are imperative for the industry to maintain current strong production rates very far into 2024. While it is too early to infer much from September orders, data from the OEMs confirm the ‘season’ started on the right foot.”
