Class 8 orders topped 40,000 units for a third consecutive month in December at 44,060, and classes 5-7 orders reached their highest monthly volume since 2008 at 22,964 units. 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.
Said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s President and Senior Analyst, “For the year, 380,200 net orders were placed, up 42 percent from 2013, as class 8 orders have topped expectations for eight consecutive months. The Q4 order volume of 130,900 units constitutes the strongest three-month stretch since a prebuy-inflamed Q1’06 when 140,000 net orders were booked.” Vieth said that while classes 5-7 orders were not as robust as the recovery experienced by Class 8, the medium-duty market also experienced a very good 2014 with a particularly strong ending. “For the full year, Classes 5-7 net order totaled 223,250 units – the best since 2006,” said Vieth. “The order improvement was broad based, with trucks up 15 percent, buses up 23 percent, and RVs up 17 percent. The only negative was step vans, which saw order decline 12 percent.”
