FTR has released preliminary data showing November’s Class 8 truck net orders at 40,560 units—the second consecutive month above the 40,000 level.
November order activity, similar to the previous month, was concentrated at a few OEMs, with the remainder falling short of October order input. Class 8 orders have totaled an impressive 363,000 in the last 12-month period.
Don Ake, FTR Vice President of Commercial Vehicles, commented, “The rare back-to-back 40,000-unit months in October and November is a result of fleets placing orders into the middle of 2015 to secure build slots due to tight production capacity. Confidence in the economy and positive factors in the trucking sector are motivating fleets to place orders very early in this cycle.
“Trucking capacity remains tight and fleets continue to need more trucks. Orders may be weaker at the beginning of 2015, since some fleets have half of their expected 2015 requirements already in the backlog”.
Final data for November will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service. To contact FTR, send an email to [email protected] or call (888) 988-1699 ext. 1.