Medium and heavy duty classes 5-8 orders were at healthy levels again in September. Total net orders for Class 8 were 24,842 units, up 31% year over year. Classes 5-7 net orders, at 19,486, rose to their third strongest level since early 2008. These results were published in the latest State of the Industry report, recently released by ACT Research Co. (ACT). The report covers Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.

“The past couple of weeks have seen volatility in equity markets, but key economic and freight data points relating to commercial vehicle demand continue to trend positive,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. Speaking to the strength in Class 8 order activity, Vieth noted, “Through year-to-date September, net orders have been booked at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 349,000 units, a rate above the 328k orders booked in the past 12 months.”

Concerning Classes 5-7 net orders, Vieth said that compared to a year ago, net orders were up 15%. “Within this segment of the market, trucks fell 4% y/y, but buses rose 156% and RVs rose 31% year over year,” he said. “With housing activity generally trending sideways in recent months, so too have medium duty truck orders and backlogs.”

ACT is the leading publisher of new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT’s CV services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, and worldwide banking and investment companies.