Preliminary North America Class 8 net order data show the industry booked 43,600 units in October, up 1.9 percent sequentially from September, but only 21 percent from year-ago October, compared to recent year-over-year gains such as the 181 percent recorded in July, according to ACT Research.

“October marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the current cyclical surge for Class 8 orders, making year-over-year comparisons narrow appreciably,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst. “Through year-to-date October, Class 8 orders totaled 440,700 units. In the 12 months ending October, a 12-month record 510,900 units have been booked. In 2018, October had the third-strongest order seasonal factor. As such, actual data receives a substantial haircut when seasonally adjusted. On that basis, October’s order intake drops to 37,800 units, down 26 percent from September.”

About medium duty orders, Vieth commented, “Trendy medium duty order activity continued in October, with activity dipping modestly below short and long-run averages. Over the course of the past six and 12 months, orders have averaged 24,000 and 24,900, respectively. October’s preliminary NA Classes 5-7 net orders were up 19 percent (year over year) but down 4.9 percent (month over month). October is typically a strong month for medium duty orders, so season adjustment drops the month’s intake to an 11-month low 22,100 units.”

Complete industry data for October, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT in mid-November.