Class 8 commercial vehicles net orders for the North American markets totaled 28,900 units (not SA) in March, a 19.9% increase over February, according to ACT Research Company, LLC.
Given current production levels, this strong order volume pushed the Class 8 heavy-duty backlog to almost 108,000 units at month-end. Class 8 backlog is now almost 150% above the same time last year, reaching a level not seen since December 2006. The pace of general economic growth supports this strength in Class 8 demand.
“For the past six months, Class 8 orders have been booked at over 300,000 units on an annualized basis,” according to Frank Maly, Director CV Transportation Analysis & Research at ACT. “Backlogs continue to grow, as strengthening orders outpace production increases. Further improvement in production levels will definitely occur as we proceed through 2011.”
For more information on ACT, please visit http://www.actresearch.net.