Class 8 total net orders for all major North American truck manufacturers totaled 7,935 units in April, down 9 percent from March, according to FTR Associates. The figure includes orders for the U.S., Canada, Mexico and exports.
FTR said the weak April orders, which represent an annualized rate of 95,220 units, were down 57 percent from April 2008.
“We don’t see any near-term increases in Class 8 order activity because the fundamentals of the trucking industry today don’t support that,” said Eric Starks, president of FTR Associates. He said the data doesn’t forecast any significant improvement in Class 8 equipment demand.
March sales were 31.8 percent higher than February.
