July preliminary NA Class 8 net orders were 16,000, jumping 45 percent year over year (y/y), while Classes 5-7 net orders were 16,600, up 21 percent y/y. Complete industry data for July, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-August.

“As represented by seasonal factors, this is the time of the year when expectations for orders are low. For both the MD Classes 5-7 and HD Class 8 markets, July is the traditional low-water mark for monthly order placements,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “That low expectation is reconfirmed this year as both MD and HD 2023 backlogs, as measured by BL/BU ratios, are essentially full. In addition to already filled backlogs constraining order flows, 2024 orderboards are not yet, or just barely open, making the opportunity for bigger numbers elusive. All that said, July order activity was largely in line with or slightly above YTD trends."

He added, “On a seasonally adjusted basis, Class 8 orders were up 5.5 percent month over month at 20,700 units, and Classes 5-7 orders were up 1 percent m/m at 19,300 units.”