According to preliminary North America Classes 5-8 net order data from ACT Research, the industry booked 42,000 units in December, bringing the full-year net order tally to 415,600.

“Demand for Class 8 units ended 2016 on a positive note with 21,400 units booked,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “December was the only month in 2016 in which orders rose above 20,000 units. However, after the streak of negative year-over-year order comparisons was snapped in November at 22 months, the year/year comparison turned negative again, with orders falling 24% from last December.”

Medium duty Classes 5-7 orders climbed to an eight-month high of 20,600 units in December.

“As December is historically the second strongest order month of the year, seasonal adjustment reduces the month’s orders to 19,000 units,” Vieth said. “For all of 2016, MD orders of 228,500 units were a virtual carbon-copy of 2015’s net order intake, giving up 1.1% compared to 2015.”

Complete industry data for December, including final order numbers, will be published in mid-January.