According to preliminary numbers from ACT Research, 28,300 new Classes 5-8 vehicle orders were booked in June. Of those, Class 8 garnered 13,100 orders and for Classes 5-7, 15,200 orders were placed.
“The pace of commercial vehicle orders slowed in seasonal fashion into the first month of summer,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “June’s [medium duty and heavy duty] net order total volume was the lowest monthly order total since July 2012. Seasonally adjusted, at 31,500 units, it was the lowest total since September 2012.”
Vieth said that the pull-back in medium duty orders was more a reflection of past strength, rather than current weakness.
“The pull-back of the past two months follows a three-month stretch from February to April in which medium duty orders were booked at a volume well ahead of demand,” he said.
Regarding Class 8, Vieth said, “Despite increasingly easy year-over-year comparisons, Class 8 vehicle orders continued to lose traction in June with orders slipping to 13,100 units. The last time actual Class 8 orders were this low was Q3/10.”
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