Preliminary NA Class 8 net orders in December 2019 were 20,000 units, up 14 percent from November and down just 6.5 percent from year-ago December, as the industry transitions to much easier year-over-year comparisons. Complete industry data for December, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-January.

“Overbuying through 2019 and insufficient freight to absorb the ensuing capacity overhang continued to weigh on the front end of the Class 8 demand cycle in December,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “Recalling July and August, orders were down 80 percent from the corresponding months in 2018. December’s orders brought the full-year 2019 volume to 181,000 units versus 490,100 units in 2018.”

Vieth concluded, “For all of Q4, Class 8 orders were booked at a slightly above the 2019 trend 195,600-unit SAAR.”