The top line on the Class 8 Tractor Dashboard dropped in October to a -3 reading, marking the seventh moderately downbeat reading in eight months, according to ACT Research’s recently released Transportation Digest.

“Looking at underlying row item behavior, we saw the trucking stock index pull back into negative territory and cancellations move to neutral territory,” Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst of ACT Research. “Of the 15 variables in the dashboard, four were at ‘positive’ levels, the most since July, while the number of variables in ‘negative’ territory declined from seven to six.”

We believe the dashboard offers a three- to six-month forward-looking metric for conditions in the tractor market. We always warn it’s never wise to forecast on the basis of just one indicator, or even an aggregate of indicators, Vieth said. “That said, the ‘Green Minus Red Tally’ has successfully signaled inflection points in the past, so there is a track record of success.”