COLUMBUS, IN. — Orders for Class 5-7 trucks returned to “prevailing trend levels” in November, while Class 8 orders fell from October’s “best since January” volume, said ACT Research.

Final numbers will approach 13,900 units for medium-duty Class 5-7 trucks and 20,200 for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks.

The preliminary net order numbers are typically accurate to five percent of actual.

“The pullback in medium-duty was across all three vehicle types,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst, ACT Research. “With a very low factor, seasonal adjustment boosts orders to 14,100 units. Seasonal adjustment trims November’s Class 8 order volume to 19,000 units.”

Vieth also added that low-end of expectations of the Class 8 order total is likely tied to short-term demand challenges.

“Those issues include a tax pull forward into Q4, a deferral into Q2 for more fuel efficient MY’14 units, and the fact that dealer inventories are already reasonably making meaningful stock accumulation in Q1 unlikely,” he said.