Class 8 net orders were 35,226 units in January and Classes 5-7 posted 18,712 net orders. These results were published in the latest State of the Industry report, recently released by ACT Research Co. (ACT). The report covers Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.

Said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst, “To put some context on Class 8 order strength, January marked the fourth consecutive month in which orders were booked above a 400,000 unit seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), the eighth consecutive month with orders booked in excess of a 345.000 unit SAAR, and the twelfth time in the past 13 months that orders have exceeded a 300,000 unit SAAR.”

Concerning medium duty, Classes 5-7, Vieth said that the market continued to gain traction in January, with net orders posting double-digit gains compared to year-ago levels for the fourth time in the past five months. “The improvement was broad based,” he said, “with trucks, buses, and RVs all posting strong performances.”

ACT is the leading publisher of new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT’s CV services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, and worldwide banking and investment companies.