Class 8 net orders were just over 20,500 units in May, while Classes 5-7 posted 19,900 net orders. 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.

Steve Tam, ACT’s Vice President-Commercial Vehicle Sector, noted that, amid an economy sending mixed signals, the NA Class 8 market performed to expectations in May. He added, “While focusing on the order intake of the past may bring feelings of euphoria, a glance into near term expectation is sobering and much more instructive.” According to Tam, “Historical order placement practices suggest orders for the next four months will be 15% to 20% below average.”

Concerning medium duty, Tam said, “The MD market in May bucked seasonal expectations, which called for moderate slowing, but the intake resulted in a nearly 11% sequential gain. He continued, “More importantly, it was 22% higher than May 2014, and on a SAAR basis, orders are flowing in at a little over a 230,000 unit pace, very much in line with expectations.”