COLUMBUS, Ind. — February preliminary North America Class 8 net orders of 46.2k units increased 156% y/y.
“With onerous EPA’27 cost increases on the horizon, an aging fleet, and growing confidence that the winter run-up in freight rates will remain sticky; Class 8 order strength continued in February,” said Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT Research. “February’s intake represents the eighth best order month in the 530 months ACT Research has been collecting data. The higher EPA’27 cost estimates, coupled with an improved carrier profitability, may partly explain February’s high-side surprise, as dealers and large fleets have even greater incentive to find the budget for equipment now rather than later. Arguably, the most important factor to the order turnaround has been the sustained run-up in spot rates that started in late November.”
Complete industry data for February, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-March.
Regarding medium duty, Vieth noted that preliminary Classes 5-7 orders rose 6.7% y/y to 17,400 units in February.
“Given last year was the weakest month for February orders since 2013, easy comps rather than meaningful medium-duty improvement seems the likeliest explanation for y/y outperformance,” Vieth said.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
