According to preliminary data from ACT Research, North American Class 8 net orders in November were 9,800 units, while North American Classes 5-7 net orders dropped to 21,500 units, with both marks representing sequential and year-over-year declines. ACT Research will publish complete industry data for November, including final order numbers, later this month.

“Long backlog lead times resulting from ongoing supply-side constraints continue to pressure new order activity,” Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst for ACT Research, said. “With backlogs stretching into late 2022 and still no clear visibility about the easing of the ‘everything’ shortage, modest November order results suggest the OEMs are continuing to take a more cautious approach to booking orders so as not to extend the cycle of customer expectations management.

“Importantly, we reiterate, with critical economic and industry demand drivers at or near record levels, industry strength is exhibited in long backlog lead times rather than seasonally weak orders. Looking to October data, the last full month of data in hand, the Class 8 backlog was nearly 281,000 units and at October’s build rate, the backlog-to-build ratio was 14.6 months, illustrating demand versus supply-side challenges.”