According to ACT Research’s recently released Transportation Digest, Class 8 retail sales and build remain at cycle highs, but signs are multiplying that the market momentum will start declining during the second half of this year. At the same time, net trailer orders in March were the weakest order volume since July of 2017, as many OEMs continue to be unwilling to fully open 2020 orderboards.

The report, which combines ACT’s proprietary data analysis across a wide variety of industry sources to paint a comprehensive picture of trends in transportation and commercial vehicle markets, also suggests that U.S. economic growth in 2019 remains positive, with growth decelerating from last year’s vigorous pace and expected to average 2.5 percent this year.

“The key message that has dominated our Class 8 outlook for months remains unchanged: The heavy-duty market is now at the inflection point we have been anticipating,” said Steve Tam, ACT’s Vice President. “Regarding other commercial vehicle segments, we saw medium-duty orders rebound in April, after a particularly weak March, while same dealer sales of used Class 8 equipment enjoyed increased activity in the short run, up 25 percent month-over-month.”