North American Class 8 truck orders hit another all-time high in August, according to preliminary data collected by ACT Research and FTR.
ACT reported the industry booked 53,100 units last month, breaking the mark set in July in another typically weak order intake month. Complete industry data for August, including final order numbers, will be published in mid-September, ACT said.
“Preliminary data indicate that during the month of August, NA Class 8 orders rose 0.9% month-over-month and 150% from August 2017,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “Super-strong orders in June and July are likely pulling large fleet orders ahead in the schedule, as truckers race to reserve build slots in a market where demand is running well above capacity.”
Orders from June to August were booked at a 700,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate.
FTR reported orders for 52,400 Class 8 units, surpassing July’s total by 300 orders in an “exceptionally strong” US Market, with most OEMs racking up great order months. Orders were even month over month and up 153% year over year.
Orders are coming in so hot, six of the top 12 order months all-time occurred in the first eight months of 2018. North American Class 8 orders for the past twelve months now total 477,000 units.
“The good news is, it appears the supplier shortage issues that significantly slowed production earlier this year, have been largely abated for now,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial sales. “However, the supply chain remains tight, and fleets and dealers continue to place large orders to lock down build slots in 2019.
“Fleets are ordering early and often and orders this plentiful indicate fleets are highly confident the flourishing freight market will persist for a while. Current economic and manufacturing data point to a strong start to 2019. FTR does expect some easing to occur in the second half of next year.”