Class 8 booked 28,150 net new orders in December, while Classes 5-7 posted 22,450 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.

Steve Tam, ACT’s Vice-President Commercial Vehicle Sector, noted that the Class 8 commercial vehicle market finished the year with a bang. He said, “Most notable was the U.S. Class 8 sleeper tractor segment, which had its best production and sales year in history.” Tam added, “Carriers anxious to take advantage of more fuel efficient trucks, spurred by strong freight rate growth in the first part of the year, get the nod as the drivers behind the story.” Tam commented, however, that 2016 is expected to be a different situation. He explained, “Faced with excess freight hauling capacity and slowing freight growth, freight rates have softened to the point where many truckers are now taking a wait-and-see approach before committing to more new equipment.”

Concerning medium duty, Tam said, “Class 5 build and sales were the highlights of 2015, setting a record for the best year ever. Classes 6-7, on the other hand, failed to register in the top 10, with 2015 arriving in 13th place.” He added, “The class 5-7 market closed 2015 on a high note, with orders up more than 4% compared to 2014.”

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.