FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing April Class 8 truck total net orders for all major North American OEM’s at 37,922, a 32 percent increase over March. FTR reports April preliminary orders continue the trend of significant month-over-month increases. March orders were 20 percent above February with the annualized rate for the past three months now at 362,700 units. The figure includes U.S., Canada, Mexico and Exports.
“April preliminary Class 8 net orders obviously reflect very strong demand from fleets for new units,” says Eric Starks, FTR president. “The issue we are wrestling with as we forecast build numbers for this year is whether OE’s and their component suppliers can ramp up quickly enough to produce units concurrent with in-coming orders. There are already some shortages in the supply chain. We are monitoring this closely.”
Final data for April will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service.
