According to preliminary data from ACT Research, there were 16,000 net orders of Class 8 trucks in North America in July, marking a 45% year-over-year jump, while there were 16,600 net orders of Classes 5-7, marking a 21% year-over-year increase. Complete industry data for July, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-August.

“As represented by seasonal factors, this is the time of the year when expectations for orders are low. For both the MD Classes 5-7 and HD Class 8 markets, July is the traditional low-water mark for monthly order placements,” Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT, said. “That low expectation is reconfirmed this year as both MD and HD 2023 backlogs, as measured by BL/BU ratios, are essentially full. In addition to already filled backlogs constraining order flows, 2024 orderboards are not yet, or just barely, open, making the opportunity for bigger numbers elusive. All that said, July order activity was largely in line with or slightly above year-to-date trends.

“On a seasonally adjusted basis, Class 8 orders were up 5.5% month over month at 20,700 units, and Classes 5-7 orders were up 1% month over month at 19,300 units.”