Final April Class 8 data show Class 8 orders were down 24% month over month to 24,675 units, ACT Research shows.
"April signifies the beginning of lower order seasonality until 2027 orderboards open in September," says Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT. "Due to last April's Liberation Day impacting orders, year over year comparisons this month are arguably uninformative with month over month comparisons the better metric this month."
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Vieth says the surge in orders seen in the past few months can be chalked up to improved spot and contract rates and regulatory clarity. Vocational Class 8 orders were up 29% to 7,868 units, a slump Vieth says is "unsurprising" given seasonality and last month's historically strong month.
"Total Classes 5-7 orders rose 29% year over year to 16,801 units (17,500 seasonally adjusted), partially on easy comps, but perhaps also reflecting continued consumer resilience despite the war as well as some regulatory-driven dealer inventory stocking," Vieth says.
The data was published in ACT's State of the Industry: North America Classes 5-8.
