ACT Research announced Tuesday final North American Class 8 net orders totaled 31,751 units in June. The company states that total more than tripled June 2025 and was up 25% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basies.
“Broad tariff uncertainty last year certainly contributed to the easy year-over-year comp, but more importantly, demand for new equipment continues to be buoyed by the sustained and extraordinary momentum of freight rates over the past four months,” says Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT Research. “With freight conditions rapidly improving, tractor orders nearly quadrupled to 22,041 units in June. Vocational Class 8 orders totaled 9,710 units (12,200 seasonally adjusted), increasing 150% year over year.”
He adds like the tractor market, easy comps due to tariffs and poor EPA communication this time last year partly explain the year-over-year rebound for the vocational space. Yet with with AI hyperscalers also spending $15 to $20 billion per week on infrastructure and flatbed spot rates at record highs, demand is certainly not lacking.
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In the medium-duty space, Classes 5-7 orders were up 71% to 21,122 units. Vieth says that total perhaps reflects “continued U.S. economic resilience, particularly among consumers, despite near-record low confidence level, flatlining RDPI, and low savings rates, but more than likely suggesting some level of dealer inventory hedging ahead of EPA 2027.”
