COLUMBUS, Ind. – Preliminary Class 8 truck orders totaled 12,600 units in September, a 13% increase from August.

Classes 5-7 orders were down 9.4% at 17,300 units, according to ACT Research.

“Little has changed since August with respect to the freight market and freight rates, while uncertainties surrounding trade and tariffs continue to weigh on truck buyers’ psyches,” said Steve Tam, ACT’s vice-president. “Fleet overcapacitization has led to reduced utilization, with all the foregoing considerations conspiring to undermine demand.”

Regarding the medium-duty market, Tam noted, “Previously a picture of stability, the medium-duty market marked a sixth consecutive month of below-trend net order activity in September, which is more a recognition of the outsized strength of the market in the not-too-distance past than a comment on its current state. Nonetheless, demand is slowing, setting up expectations for a small decline next year.”