In The News
June Class 8 orders lowest since 2012, down 34 percent from last year
Class 8 truck orders in June remained depressed, registering the lowest monthly total since July 2012, analysts reported today. The order total of 13,000 was the worst June since 2009, 8 percent below May and 34 percent down from June 2015, according to FTR.
"The Class 8 market is stuck in a holding pattern, at the bottom end of this cycle," said Don Ake, vice president of Commercial Vehicles at FTR. "Fleets are cautious as freight demand has cooled off this year. There are enough trucks to handle freight right now with carriers ... in a wait-and-see mode, before adding trucks or replacing older units."
"Despite increasingly easy year-over-year comparisons, Class 8 vehicle orders continued to lose traction in June with orders slipping," said Kenny Vieth, ACT Research President & Senior Analyst. "The last time actual Class 8 orders were this low was (the third quarter of 2010)."
Vieth said that a pull-back in medium duty orders was more a reflection of past strength, rather than current weakness.
"The pull-back of the past two months follows a three-month stretch from February to April in which medium duty orders were booked at a volume well ahead of demand," he said.
Ake predicted a continued slow summer.
"This is what the summer looks like in a market down cycle, so we can expect this level of activity for a couple more months. We do anticipate higher orders later this year. However, the volume of orders will be determined by the strength of the economy and freight activity at that time."
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