Preliminary data shows that Class 8 truck total net orders in June for all major North American OEMs were 20,944, up 33% from a year ago. Orders received in the past six months annualize to 323,900 units, also reflecting strong demand for new equipment.
However, the numbers were down 9% from May. June is the second consecutive month of declining orders after the recent peak was reached in April of over 37,000 units ordered.
“May typically starts the seasonal slowdown in order activity as many fleets have already placed their orders for the year by that point,” said Eric Starks, President of FTR. “A decline from May to June was therefore expected and does not signal any significant weakening in underlying demand. We believe that the OEMs are nearly fully booked for the year and are constrained in their ability to add more capacity, so any slowdown in order activity will have little effect on the 2011 production numbers. We expect demand to begin picking up seasonally once again in Q4, and the strength of that upturn will determine the durability of the recovery and set the stage for 2012.”
Final data for June 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.