Preliminary data shows Class 8 orders in April down 9 percent from March

FTR said April 2009 orders were down 57 percent from April 2008.

The Trucker News Services

5/6/2009

NASHVILLE, Ind. —  FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing Class 8 total net orders for all major North American OEM’s totaling 7,935 units in April, down 9 percent from March 2009.

The figure includes orders for the U.S., Canada, Mexico and exports.

FTR said that April 2009 orders, which were 57 percent less than April 2008, reflect an annualized rate of 95,220 units and continue to represent a significantly depressed Class 8 retail sales environment.

“We don’t see any near term increases in Class 8 order activity because the fundamentals of the trucking industry today don’t support that,” Eric Starks, president of FTR Associates, said. “FTR takes a hard look at everything likely to impact Class 8 sales, and right now that data indicates no significant improvement in new equipment demand.

Final data for April will be available from FTR later in the month.

Actual March sales posted a 31.8 percent gain over February.

According to figures provided Ward’s Automotive, Class 8 sales totaled 8,222 trucks in the United States in March, marking the ninth improvement compared to February in the last 10 years. The target was an easy one, however: the 6,236 trucks sold the month before was the worst one-month showing in data dating to 1985.

And the March uptick can hardly be called a turnaround for the industry. Compared to sales the year before, the 2009 number is 21 percent lower than March 2008 (10,419 trucks).

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at kevinj@thetrucker.com.

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