Reports: Class 8 truck orders ‘skyrocket’ in February
North American orders of Class 8 trucks “skyrocketed” in February, according to new data from FTR Intel and ACT Research.
FTR reported a 47% month-over-month increase and 159% year-over-year spike, with orders coming in at 47,200 units in the month. That’s the highest order total since September 2022 and the third straight month of y/y growth in excess of 20%, the company said.
The result also was well above FTR’s 10-year February average of 24,991 units.
While the on-highway market made up the bulk of the increase, both on-highway and vocational markets contributed significantly to the m/m and y/y growth in orders, FTR added. Orders have totaled 258,466 units over the last 12 months. The 2026 order season (September 2025-February 2026) is now up slightly at 4% y/y growth, a notable improvement from the double-digit declines earlier in the cycle. The steady narrowing of the y/y deficit in recent months and strengthening freight conditions suggest that the market is not only stabilizing but also transitioning into the early stages of a cyclical recovery.
Risks persist, including the durability of the freight recovery, still-high financing costs, the potential for tariff or regulatory shifts, and geopolitical risks such as the new conflict in the Middle East, FTR cautioned. However, aside from those risks, the sustained and increasingly freight-driven strength in orders reinforces the case that underlying demand is firming more decisively as 2026 progresses.
“February’s very solid y/y increase in net orders extended the firmer tone that has been building since late last year,” Dan Moyer, FTR senior analyst for commercial vehicles, said in a news release. “While a portion of demand still reflects previously deferred replacement purchases reentering the market, the consistency and breadth of recent order activity suggest momentum is now being driven more meaningfully by improving freight fundamentals.
“Freight volumes and utilization are trending higher, and FTR’s rate forecasts have strengthened. Also, improved clarity around tariff-adjusted pricing and EPA 2027 NOx regulations is reducing policy-related hesitation and giving fleets greater confidence to advance capital plans. Order patterns increasingly suggest a structured replacement cycle and forward-looking fleet planning rather than short-term catch-up buying, underscoring healthier underlying demand.”
Growing confidence buoys activity
Class 8 orders in February hit 46,200 units in a 156% y/y increase, according to ACT.
“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, ACT research analyst. “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.
Regarding medium-duty truck orders, Vieth added: “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 seem the likeliest explanation for y/y outperformance.”