North American Class 8 net orders in March were 19,200 units, down 10% year over year, while North American Classes 5-7 net orders were 18,600 units, according to preliminary data from ACT Research. Complete industry data for March, including final order numbers, will be published by in mid-April.

“Given how robust Class 8 orders were into year-end and ensuing backlog support, coupled with increasingly cautious readings from the ACT Class 8 Dashboard (minus six on average year-to-date in 2023 versus minus three on average from March [to] December 2022), we have expected SA orders in a range of 15-20K units per month into mid Q3/23,” Eric Crawford, vice president and senior analyst of ACT Research, said. “After coming in stronger than expected last month, SA Class 8 orders fell back within the 15-20K range and have averaged 19,500 units year-to-date.

“Medium-duty demand declined year over year by double digits for the second consecutive month. March Classes 5-7 orders declined 15% year over year to 18,600 units. The seasonally adjusted March intake, at 16,900 units, declined 16% year over year.”