BLOOMINGTON, IN – North America’s Class 8 truck orders pushed passed 30,000 units for the third month in a row this December – reaching 37,200 units – and totalling about 290,000 truck orders for the year, FTR says.

The December orders were 15% better than November totals and 77% better than the previous year. They’re the highest levels since more than 40,000 orders were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Freight rates are pushing higher against a backdrop of mandated Electronic Logging Devices, tighter capacity, and strong freight activity, says Jonathan Starks, Chief Operating Officer at FTR.

“Our forecast continues to call for an increase in production for 2018, but market expectations are varied for 2019,” he says.