Truck Orders Rise 2.4% in January; Ease Back From Record Highs
Class 8 truck orders rose 2.4% in January to 35,400, slowing from the torrid fourth-quarter pace in which they averaged over 43,000, ACT Research reported.
Despite the slower pace — 2.4% was the lowest year-over-year increase in almost two years — orders were the highest for January since 2006, ACT records showed.
“After three consecutive months in which Class 8 orders rose above 40,000 units, January’s Class 8 order intake of 35,400 units appears pedestrian,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst.
But while the fourth quarter was the strongest three-month cycle to date, “January orders tilt the scale at a respectable fifth-best and are closely aligned with the six-month order trend,” Vieth said.
Another firm, FTR, reported a similar total of 35,060 orders for the month.
“Even though orders were their lowest in the last four months, the market remains very robust,” said Don Ake, FTR’s vice president of commercial vehicles.
Truck orders averaged almost 31,700 last year, with last January’s 34,558 total the fourth-highest after the year’s final three months, which all topped 40,000.
