North American Class 8 net orders dropped 35% year-over-year, ACT Research says, as economic uncertainty stalls business planning.
"Economic uncertainty, fueled by the current administration's policy/behavior, has largely stalled business planning," says Carter Vieth, research analyst. "Tractor orders of 11,200 units are down 42$ year-over-year, which is likely attributable to private fleets stopping capacity additions after two years of strong demand, coupled with still weak for-hire carrier profitability."
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The vocational truck market is also down 19% year-over-year.
"While we began the new year bullish on the vocational market, with EPA '27 on the horizon and $2 trillion in new stimulus money paving the way for infrastructure and construction growth, the political winds haven't so much shifted as sheered in the opposite direction," Vieth says. "Stimulus money is frozen and significant changes to EPA '27 are now in play. These changes, if followed through, are headwinds to vocational demand."
Medium-duty units decreased 13% year-over-year to 16,000 units. High inventories are weighing on the market, ACT says, and slowing orders over the last four months.
