After softness in late Q3/early Q4, medium duty orders appear to have shown some resilience the past two months. In January, preliminary data show NA Classes 5-7 net orders at 18,500 units, down 9 percent from December and 20 percent year over year. Complete industry data for January, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-February.

“Seasonal adjustment provides an incremental bump to January’s medium duty net orders, which rise to 18,700 units,” said Steve Tam, ACT’s Vice President. “This means the Classes 5-7 backlog should slide by around 3,200 units, to 49,700 units, but we caution that the data never quite align month to month. The underlying build numbers are projected, so there will some variability in reported backlogs when final data is collected.”

ACT’s State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 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 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, while Class 8 is segmented by trucks and tractors with and without sleeper cabs. This report includes a six-month industry build plan, 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.