COLUMBUS, IN – Preliminary net orders for heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles were weak in September and will continue to be in October, predicts America’s Commercial Transportation (ACT) Research.

The soft results come amidst political uncertainty over the outcome of the 2012 U.S. Election, says Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT.

“The angst will not be resolved until after Election Day, since there’s no near-term trigger for stronger orders,” Vieth said, adding the data currently indicates a pullback in business investment in fear of potentially bad political decisions at the end of this year.

According to Vieth, the final numbers will be released mid-October, approaching 15,600 units for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks and 14,000 for Class 5-7 medium-duty vehicles.

“In seasonally-adjusted periods, Class 8 net orders were 17,900 units and Classes 5 to 7 net orders were 13,000 units,” he said.

Vieth says September’s volume was within 100 units of those in August and was the third consecutive month with a positive year-to-year comparison.