In The News
ACT report: March Class 8 orders 2nd lowest in 16 months; solid considering unbuilt orders
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Class 8 truck net orders were just over 24,600 units in March, while Classes 5-7 posted 20,800 net orders, according to the latest report released by ACT Research Company (ACT).
The report covers Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.
Kenny Vieth, ACT's president and senior analyst, noted that seasonally adjusted March Class 8 tally was the second lowest in the past 16 months, but context is the biggest issue.
"A 300,000-unit annualized rate of order placement represents solid support for an industry already sitting on nearly seven months of unbuilt orders," Vieth said.
Context is required at the other end of the data spectrum, as well, he added.
"The first quarter represents three of the four weakest sales months of the year. Despite softness in the actual data, on a seasonally adjusted basis, Class 8 retail sales in the first quarter occurred at a strong 335,000-unit seasonally adjusted annual rate."
There were 20,625 new Class 8 tractors sold in the U. S. in March.
The March results were up 15.8 percent from February sales of 17,811 and were 25.4 percent better than sales of 16, 452 in March 2014.