Class 8 preliminary net orders down in March: ACT Research

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COLUMBUS, Ind. — North American Class 8 net orders were above 20,000 units for a sixth consecutive month in March, but fell below February’s intake, according to the latest report from ACT Research. Classes 5-7 net orders were down month-over-month and year-over-year. The final numbers, which will be released mid-April, will approach 22,100 units for heavy-duty Class 8 and 15,200 for medium-duty Classes 5-7 vehicles and trucks, according to ACT. The preliminary net order numbers are typically accurate to within 5% of actual, officials noted.

“While down month-over-month, March’s Class 8 net orders were up 10% year-over-year and were the fourth-best in the past 13 months,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research. “For medium-duty, the tough year-over-year comparisons mask an otherwise solid order month. March’s medium-duty order volume was the fourth-best in the past 20 months. Historically, March has been the second strongest order month of the year for MD vehicles.”

Vieth added that orders continue to track generally in line with expectations underlying the medium-duty and heavy-duty forecasts in ACT’s North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook report. As such, ACT officials say that when the April report is released next week, expectations for 2013 should be basically unchanged from the past several months.

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