Preliminary Class 8 truck orders in December reached levels not seen since December 2014, according to industry analysts.

ACT Research reported preliminary Class 8 orders of 37,500 units.

“The last month of 2017 was the best monthly order intake since December 2014,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “December’s order volume represents a sequential improvement of 15%, and a year-over-year gain of 76%.”

FTR reported preliminary Class 8 orders of 37,200 units, marking the third straight month orders have surpassed 30,000 units. December order intake was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2014, noted Jonathan Starks, chief operating officer of FTR.

“ELD implementation is now in full swing and will continue through the initial enforcement phase of April 1 of this year. This is contributing to the tight capacity environment and is combining with strong freight activity to move freight rates higher. Our forecast continues to call for an increase in production for 2018, but market expectations are varied for 2019,” Starks said.

Class 8 orders over the past 12 months have totaled 290,000 units, FTR reported.

Medium-duty vehicle orders were also strong. ACT Research indicated there were 58,800 Classes 5-8 vehicles ordered in December, bringing the full year net order tally to 543,400. December’s orders were up 11% from November and 35% year-over-year.

ACT warned that the Class 8 backlog likely grew by about 18,500 units, due to strong orders in December coupled with the constraints holidays place on production.