August preliminary North America Class 8 net orders of 13.2k units declined 19% y/y. Complete industry data for August, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-September.

“A beleaguered for-hire market continues to weigh on Class 8 orders. With elevated uncertainty, particularly around equipment costs, and soft activity in housing and broad freight demand outside of pre-tariff activity, this environment may persist,” shared Tim Denoyer, VP & Senior analyst at ACT Research. “Fleet margin pressure has not abated, with contract rates hardly budging and cost pressures ongoing. Vocational demand has taken its knocks as well this year on a combination of regulatory uncertainty, tariffs and elevated interest rates, though data centers remain an area of strong activity.”

ACT’s State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles report provides a monthly look at the current production, sales and general state of the on-road heavy and medium duty commercial vehicle markets in North America. It differentiates market indicators by Class 5, Classes 6-7 chassis and Class 8 trucks and tractors, detailing activity-related measures such as backlog, build, inventory, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and retail sales. Additionally, Class 5 and Classes 6-7 are segmented by trucks, buses, RVs and step van configurations. The Class 8 market is segmented into trucks and tractors, with and without sleeper cabs. The report includes a six-month industry build plan, a backlog timing analysis, historical data from 1996 to the present in spreadsheet format and a ready-to-use graph package. A first-look at preliminary net orders is also published in conjunction with this report.