Final North American Class 8 net orders totaled 16,500 units in March, down 5.9% from the same month last year, according to ACT Research’s latest State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 report.

“While uncertainty and a weak seasonal period have made parsing the tea leaves more challenging, cancellations at a 20-month high may indicate customers are pulling back on orders given the increasingly pessimistic outlook,” Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT Research, said. “Tractor orders of 12,200 units this month were essentially flat year-over-year, up 0.9%. Vocational truck orders decreased 21% year-over-year, totaling 4,200 units.”

“Trump’s takeover of the CHIPS Act funding, freezing funds related to the IRA and IIJA acts, and the review of EPA’27 have taken tailwinds out of our forecast coming into 2025,” he added.

In the medium-duty segment, Vieth said total Class 5-7 orders dropped 33% year-over-year to 18,600 units. “MD orders have slowed through the past four months, as current bloated inventories and a weaker economic outlook weigh on new orders,” Vieth said.

ACT’s State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 report provides monthly data on production, sales, and overall market conditions in the North American commercial vehicle sector.