Preliminary Class 8 truck total net orders for all major North American OEMs were 23,998 for February, a 210% increase from the same period a year ago, according to FTR Associates.
That represented a 12% decline from January’s exceptionally strong level of net orders, including U.S., Canada, Mexico and Exports.
“FTR has had a very cautious outlook to this point given the unusually high levels of uncertainty in the economy,” said Eric Starks, President of FTR. “Although February orders showed a decline from January, we have become more comfortable with the durability of the economic recovery in general and the outlook for heavy-duty trucks in particular. The continuing strong outlook for the industrial sector that provides a disproportionate amount of truck freight demand is a very good sign. As a result, we have recently increased our 2011 projection for Class 8 truck sales by 10%.”
Final data for February will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service. Contact FTR Associates at [email protected] or 1-888-988-1699 ext 1 for more details.