COLUMBUS, Ind. — Preliminary North American net orders for medium- and heavy-duty trucks were down in April, according to the latest data from ACT Research.

The industry analyst reported there were about 17,200 Class 8 orders and 8,600 medium-duty truck orders placed in April.

“Orders continued to come in below the level ultimately needed to sustain current rates of build,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst, ACT Research. “Conditions that contributed to the soft patch that started in March were still in play in April, including higher diesel and new truck prices. Beyond that, the data that we use to predict demand remain healthy: The overall economy, and in particular the manufacturing sector, continues to grow, trucker profits are healthy, and used truck prices remain close to record levels.”

The actual results will be released in mid-May. The preliminary figures are generally accurate to within 5% of actual totals, ACT says.