In The News

Truck Orders See Strongest Month Since November

August Class 8 net orders for all major North American OEMs was its strongest since November 2008, according to preliminary data released by FTR Associates. Order activity for August was up 19.9 percent from July, to 10,758 units.

The August numbers bring the annualized rate to 129,096 units, FTR says. This includes orders for the U.S., Canada, Mexico and exports.

"FTR is cautiously optimistic about the increased August preliminary Class 8 net orders; however, we believe some of the orders being placed are in response to 2010 EPA emissions requirements," said Eric Starks, president of FTR. "We still expect any recovery in the transportation industry to be slow and bumpy through next year."

Despite some of the hopeful signs of a recovery, the industry is still uncertain about the economic outlook. Stifel Nicolaus' Transportation & Logistics Research Group recently gathered industry comments through meetings with management team members of various publicly traded and privately held truckload and intermodal providers.

According to Stifel Nicolaus, participants are still unsure whether the economy will recover quickly, slowly or bounce along the bottom for several more quarters. The industry has not ruled out the possibility of a double-dip or "W-Shaped" recession.

In addition, both spot pricing and contract pricing continue to be under pressure. There have been some signs of increased volumes, but volumes are still well below 2008 levels. "It is unclear whether these somewhat encouraging changes in demand are due to inventory re-stocking, growing exports (as the U.S. Dollar weakens), or the 'cash for clunkers' program," the meetings report said. "Therefore, it is also unclear if these improved traffic trends are sustainable."

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