NASHVILLE, Ind. — FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing June Class 8 truck total net orders for all major North American OEM’s at 20,944, down 9% from May. June is the second consecutive month of declining orders after a recent peak was reached in April with more than 37,000 units ordered. However, FTR officials say underlying strength was still evident as orders for June were 33% higher than the same month a year ago. Orders received in the past six months annualize to 323,900 units, which FTR says reflects strong demand for new equipment.

“May typically starts the seasonal slowdown in order activity as many fleets have already placed their orders for the year by that point,” said Eric Starks, president of FTR. “A decline from May to June was therefore expected and does not signal any significant weakening in underlying demand. We believe that the OEM’s are nearly fully booked for the year and are constrained in their ability to add more capacity, so any slowdown in order activity will have little effect on the 2011 production numbers.  We expect demand to begin picking up seasonally once again in Q4, and the strength of that upturn will determine the durability of the recovery and set the stage for 2012.”