Twice as Many Trucks Are Being Ordered in 2014

www.chinatrucks.com: Around 17,000 Class 5 to 7 trucks are expected to be ordered in January in North America, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT). Class 8 orders are expected around 34,700 units.

“The past four months have seen three of the top five order months this cycle for Classes 5 to 8,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst with ACT, which publishes new and used commercial vehicle data and market analysis. The report covers Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.

Even though twice as many trucks were ordered in December 2013 than both November and December 2012, in January of this year, Class 8 orders rose 9 percent. When compared to January 2013, there were 51 percent more Class 8 trucks ordered in January 2014. 

“While the order trend has accelerated, it should be noted that this is the time of year in which Class 8 orders tend to be strong: Typically, orders accelerate in the fourth quarter and remain elevated into the second quarter before falling sharply in the third quarter,” Vieth said. “If industry build transpires as expected, Class 8 backlogs are expected to have posted a nice gain in January.”

After a pause in December, medium-duty orders returned to trend in January. Net orders were up 13 percent from December and 31 percent compared to last January.

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