Class 5-8 Backlogs Affecting Orders: ACT

For the month of June, 34,600 Class 5-8 preliminary vehicle orders were booked, down 14% from May and down 17% compared to June 2014—largely due to backlogs and not a decline in demand, according to ACT Research.

“ACT Research believes the recent order decline is a reflection of meaningfully larger backlogs rather than any structural change in demand,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “Looking back one month to May, Classes 5-8 backlogs were 56,000 units, or 33% above their year-ago levels.”

“At 19,900 units, NA Class 8 orders were down 25% year over year to their lowest monthly net order volume since September 2013. However, starting in June, and for the next several months, seasonal adjustment becomes accretive to Class 8 order volumes. Seasonally adjusted, June’s order volume rises to 22,200 units – the best order month on a seasonally adjusted basis since April.

“A large hiccup in medium-duty orders reduced the monthly net order volume to 14,700 units, well below the 19,300 units per month net order average experienced since last July. However, medium-duty orders were down only 3% year over year, so there may be a growing seasonal consideration for softer results in June. Seasonal adjustment is positive in June, boosting orders to 16,000 units.”