BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Preliminary North American Class 8 orders for May were strong according to analysts at FTR Transportation Intelligence.

The forecasting company reports preliminary North American orders sitting at 35,200 units last month, falling slightly below the six-month average of 40,000 units per month – volumes never before seen in the industry.

Although the numbers were lower than they have been, orders still exceeded expectations as fleets try to keep up with huge freight demands.

North American Class 8 orders for the past twelve months have now totaled 386,000 units.

FTR vice president of commercial vehicles Don Ake says the capacity crunch is the tightest the industry has ever seen.

“Long-time veterans in this industry are saying this is the best freight market they have ever seen. Fleets cannot add capacity fast enough and as long as the economy and manufacturing are going great, this capacity crisis will continue.”

Ake indicated a shortage of truck parts has been holding up deliveries, exacerbating the situation and leading fleets to grab every available build slot in an attempt to get more trucks before the end of the year.

Delivery dates for orders are starting to spill over into the early months of 2019.

“It is a red-hot market.”