Class 8 orders top 30,000 units for third month

BLOOMINGTON, IN – Preliminary numbers for Class 8 vehicle orders in November are in, and they’ve surpassed 30,000 units in the United States for the second consecutive month says FTR Intelligence.

The group reports 32,400 units sold last month, putting it down 8% from October, but up 71% year-over-year.

Canadian orders slipped for the first time in three months, but FTR says the North American market will continue to be strong into the new year.

North American Class 8 orders for the past twelve months have now totaled 274,000 units.

Don Ake, vice president, commercial vehicles for FTR said the year-over-year jump is misleading, as the election tempered sales last November, but says sales have been sturdy and consistent in line with analysts’ expectations.

Ake said robust freight growth and an expected slow-down in productivity because of the new electronic logging device mandate in the U.S. is behind the order numbers.

“Still, for now, fleets are being more careful managing their orders and not being overly aggressive placing them this fall.  OEMs should be able to increase production modestly next year when needed,” he said.

As the numbers are still preliminary, FTR will revisit them later in December.