BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – FTR has released preliminary data that shows North American Class 8 truck net orders rose for the first time this year to 23,920 units in July.

FTR said this surprising number shows a 21% increase month-over month, and a 19% decrease when compared to July 2014 numbers. The organization also claims that these numbers were much higher than expected as some big fleets placed their large 2016 requirement orders a couple of months early.

The forecasters contest that the market remains healthy with Class 8 orders totalling 356,000 units over the last year.

“This is a strong order number for July,” said Don Ake, FTR vice-president of Commercial Vehicles. “Even though most of the market was subdued, the fact that some big fleets have the confidence to place huge orders right now is a great sign for the Class 8 market going forward. Fleets are positive because freight markets continue to grow.  We may see more of this early ordering trend the next two months before the peak order season starts in October.”