COLUMBUS, IN – North American heavy and medium-duty truck orders slowed down in April from March, but are still up compared to the same time last year, freight forecasters at ACT Research said.

ACT’s analysts predict that about 17,800 North America Classes 5-7 trucks were ordered in April and about 24,400 Class 8 trucks.

“Total North America Classes 5-8 orders totaled 42,200 units in April,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “While ranking as only the sixth best order month in the past seven, April was also the tenth best order month of the past eight years.”

“For Class 8, the 24,400 North American net orders that were booked in April represented the lowest intake since November,” Vieth explained. “April’s orders were down 11 percent from March, and were up just five percent compared to a year-ago. That single-digit year over year gain was just the second in fourteen months of strong double-digit gains.”

As for Classes 5-7, they continued strongly through April, when total orders rose five percent from the same time last year.

“Consistency continues to be a part of the MD vehicle order story: Over the past three, six, and 12 months, orders have been booked at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 219k, 209k and 209k units, respectively,” Vieth said.