October preliminary North America Class 8 net orders were 30,600 units, down 5.2% year over year. Complete industry data for October, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-November.

“After a strong start to the opening of 2025 order books in September, MD and HD orders took a step back in October,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “On a seasonally adjusted basis, Class 8 orders fell 30% from September to 24,500 units, a 294,000 SAAR.”

Regarding medium duty, he noted that MD Classes 5-7 orders in the last few years have been consistent, "MD Prelim NO 11-4-24if on a slowly deflating trajectory into still-elevated truck and bus backlogs. With the caveat that one month does not make a trend, October orders moved sharply from the prevailing trend. Preliminary NA Classes 5-7 orders fell 5,800 units, or 27% y/y to 15,900 units," Vieth said.

ACT’s State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles report provides a monthly look at the current production, sales, and general state of the on-road heavy and medium duty commercial vehicle markets in North America. It differentiates market indicators by Class 5, Classes 6-7 chassis and Class 8 trucks and tractors, detailing activity-related measures such as backlog, build, inventory, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and retail sales. Additionally, Class 5 and Classes 6-7 are segmented by trucks, buses, RVs, and step van configurations.

The Class 8 market is segmented into trucks and tractors, with and without sleeper cabs. The report includes a six-month industry build plan, a backlog timing analysis, historical data from 1996 to the present in spreadsheet format, and a ready-to-use graph package. A first-look at preliminary net orders is also published in conjunction with this report.