August preliminary North America Class 8 net orders of 13.2k units declined 19% year over year. Complete industry data for August, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-September.
“A beleaguered for-hire market continues to weigh on Class 8 orders. With elevated uncertainty, particularly around equipment costs, and soft activity in housing and broad freight demand outside of pre-tariff activity, this environment may persist,” Tim Denoyer, vice president and senior analyst at ACT Research, said. “Fleet margin pressure has not abated, with contract rates hardly budging and cost pressures ongoing. Vocational demand has taken its knocks as well this year on a combination of regulatory uncertainty, tariffs and elevated interest rates, though data centers remain an area of strong activity.”
“Preliminary Classes 5-7 orders improved from July, rising 1,250 units M/M to 14,400 units in August,” Steve Tam, vice president and analyst at ACT Research, said. “While up 9.5% M/M, MD net orders fell 25% Y/Y. Historically, August is the beginning of stronger orders for Classes 5-7 vehicles as school bus order season gets underway.”
