FTR Reports Preliminary North American Class 8 Net Orders for May Were Above Expectations, Rising 9% M/M to 13,600 Units
Bloomington, IN – (Trailer Technician) – Class 8 orders came in above expectations in May, reversing the recent downward trend by rising nearly 9% from April levels to 13,600 units. This was relatively in line with the same time last year as orders were only off 2% year-over-year. While the number was above expectations, the level of order activity continues to be below replacement demand levels. Total Class 8 orders for the past 12 months have equaled 298,700 units.
Eric Starks, chairman of the board, commented, “With essentially all the build slots accounted for in 2023 and 2024 slots not yet open, a low level of activity in orders was no surprise. In fact, there was an expectation that the number could move below 10,000 units. Sub-10,000-unit order months are still possible over the summer. No surge in order activity would be expected until the OEMs open build slots for 2024, which would likely be August at the earliest.
“Fleet demand for equipment does not appear to be waning as they still want to take delivery of new equipment. Strong backlogs are keeping build demand strong, and FTR doesn’t anticipate any negative impact on build activity due to the recent order activity.”
Preliminary orders may be estimated and are subject to revision when FTR releases final data mid-month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service. To contact FTR, email sales@ftrintel.com or call (888) 988-1699 ext. 1.
The FTR Transportation Conference held annually in September in Indianapolis is a unique event bringing together every aspect of the freight transportation world into one place. For more information, visit http://www.ftrconference.com
About FTR
For more than 30 years, FTR has served as the industry leader in freight transportation forecasting for the shipping, trucking, rail, intermodal, equipment, and financial communities in North America. FTR’s experts, with over 250 years of combined experience in the transportation industry, provide quantitative analysis with historical and modal-specific insights. FTR’s reports, data, commentary, and insights help clients evaluate market risks, identify new opportunities, and make informed decisions.
FTR is the only company with a complete set of freight data for all modes of transportation with detail at the 3 Digit STCC commodity level. FTR tracks and forecasts 200+ unique commodity groups both quarterly and annually using their proprietary Freight•cast U.S. freight transportation model. FTR’s Transportation Conference held annually in September in Indianapolis is a unique event bringing together every aspect of the freight transportation world into one place. For more information www.FTRconference.com
To learn more about FTR visit www.FTRintel.com. Follow us on Twitter @FTRintel and connect with us on LinkedIn! To contact FTR, call 888-988-1699 or email info@ftrintel.com