COLUMBUS, IN – Class 8 backlogs continued to increase for the fifth month in a row as March saw order levels remain steady.

According to ACT research, the increase in backlogs has been attributed to healthy order levels in conjunction with restrained build levels.

“Q3 fill is running at 42%, which is in line with previous-year patterns, suggesting that the build plan is solid,” said Jim Meil, principal and industry analyst at ACT Research. 

Inventory levels in March were nearly unchanged compared to February. According to ACT, retail sales were up 30.7%, however were down 20% compared to March 2016. With the hike in month-over-month retail sales, the inventory-sales ratio fell in closing of Q1. Progress has been made in reducing inventories since the fourth quarter of 2015 when the unit count hit a peak of 70,000.

“While there still is some trimming to do to reach an inventory/sales ratio target range of about 2.2, the heavy lifting is now pretty much accomplished,” said Meil.