COLUMBUS, Ind. — Preliminary North American Class 8 net tractor orders in December totaled 30,300 units, while Classes 5-7 net orders were 17,700 units, according to ACT Research.
The Class 8 market is segmented into trucks and tractors, with and without sleeper cabs.
The report includes a six-month industry build plan, a backlog timing analysis, historical data from 1996 to the present in spreadsheet format, and a ready-to-use graph package. A first-look at preliminary net orders is also published in conjunction with this report.
“At first glance, December’s seasonally adjusted (SA) intake was 4% below the year-to-date monthly average heading into the month,” Eric Crawford, ACT vice president and senior analyst, said. “On the surface, and when combined with a 26% m/m decline on an SA basis, that might suggest some weakening in demand. But when factoring in the year-end seasonal uptick in orders began a month ahead of schedule this year (September), which skewed the year-to-date SA average upward, and that September orders represented the highest monthly total on record, we’re inclined to view December’s order intake as a solid end to a robust final four months of the year.”
About medium-duty (MD) orders, he added, “MD demand was decent. December Classes 5-7 orders declined 17% month-over-month to 17,700 units.”
Crawford said large cancellations, reflecting a multi-quarter correction in cancellation reporting, impacted the volumes at one of the large OEM groups, which had the effect of pulling down on December’s MD and HD activity.
“While ACT does not have the data specifics at this juncture, the cancellations will be reported when December data are released mid-month,” he said.
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