According to ACT Research’s recently released Transportation Digest, the top line on the Class 8 Tractor Dashboard dropped again in April.

“The Tractor Dashboard result affirms the steady and steep erosion in prospective business conditions for Class 8 tractors that has been the rule through calendar year 2022. It is the first time the index has strayed into negative territory for two consecutive months since the COVID recession in April and May of 2020,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “Looking at underlying row item behavior, we see sustained adverse trends in the macro and financial lines (consumer goods spending and the Dow Jones trucking stocks trends), freight indicators (now almost all negative readings), ACT’s Class 8 orders-to-build, and the ACT For-Hire Index (our proprietary fleet survey).”

When asked about the take-away, Vieth concluded, “The broad sweep of negative row items, and the sizable erosion from December 2021 to April 2022, a net loss of 14 in the top line tally, all suggest that headwinds for Class 8 tractors will be increasing as we move though the second half of the year.”