Final North American Class 8 net orders totaled 17.9k units in February, down 35% y/y, as published in ACT Research’s latest State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 report.

“Economic uncertainty, fueled by the current administration’s policy/behavior, has largely stalled business planning,” according to Carter Vieth, Research Analyst at ACT Research. “Tractors orders of 11.2k units are down 42% y/y, which is likely attributable to private fleets stopping capacity additions after two years of strong demand, coupled with still weak for-hire carrier profitability.”

“Vocational truck orders decreased 19% y/y, totaling 6.2k units. While we began the new year bullish on the vocational market, with EPA’27 on the horizon, and $2 trillion in stimulus money paving the way for infrastructure and construction growth, the political winds haven’t so much shifted as sheered in the opposite direction. Stimulus money is frozen and significant changes to EPA’27 are now in play. These changes, if followed through, are headwinds to vocational demand,” he continued.

Regarding medium duty, Vieth added, “Total Classes 5-7 orders decreased 13% y/y to 16.6k units. MD orders have slowed across the past four months, as current bloated MD truck inventories weigh on new orders.”

State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 Overview

ACT’s State of the Industry: NA 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.