NASHVILLE, Ind. — Preliminary data for North American January class 8 truck orders shows a modest 1 percent increase (at 27,009 units) over the strong December 2010 activity even though the start of the year is traditionally slow in trucking.

This marked a whopping 324-percent increase over the total from January 2010, reports FTR Associates. 

Net order activity annualizes to 251,900 units over the last six months, and the prior three months alone at 319,500 Class 8 trucks.

"Orders for January came in above expectations," said Eric Starks, president of FTR. "The continued strong order activity in January adds more fuel to the recovery in the commercial vehicle equipment sector. With the recent sustained higher levels of order activity, 2011 is shaping up to be a very good year especially relative to where we were in 2009."