North America heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicle preliminary net orders for August, as reported by ACT Research Co LLC, recovered from July, while Classes 5-7 net orders were at their lowest level since January. The final numbers, which will be released mid-September, will approach 16,200 units for heavy duty Class 8 trucks and 13,900 for medium duty Classes 5-7 vehicles. Preliminary net order numbers typically are accurate to within 5% of actual.
“Class 8 orders were still caught between the economic soft patch and seasonality,” says Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst, ACT Research. “When seasonally adjusted, orders were the best since February at 18,400 units.
“Seasonal adjustment provides no cushion for Classes 5-7, however. Seasonally adjusted, medium duty orders dropped to 13,100 units, another seven-month low. RVs, and to a lesser extent, buses, offset stronger truck orders during the month.”