December preliminary North America Class 8 net orders of 30.8k units increased 20% y/y, according to the most recent ACT Research State of the Industry report. Complete industry data for January, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-February.

“After a weak October and November, a few things have happened that, in our thinking, have helped spur recent order activity. The US economy continues to outperform expectations, clarity surrounding EPA’27 bolstered demand, and arguably most importantly, since the end of November, we’ve seen a sustained run up in spot rates after three successive Midwest snowstorms,” shared Carter Vieth, Research Analyst at ACT Research.

Regarding medium duty, he added, “Medium-duty preliminary orders in January totaled 15,800 units, up 11% y/y. Given last January was the weakest January for orders since 2013, the 11% improvement seems to be more of an easy comp than meaningful improvement.”

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.