Today we begin our roundup with a review of the 2025-2026 truck order season. Class 8 orders dipped in August against July but finished the year strong, up 39% against the prior year. What happens in the new order season will be determined by freight, and carriers’ willingness to invest in new EPA 2027 certified or non-compliant engines. We ran through comments of what some carriers are planning, and thoughts from dealers on what to expect. We also touch on Cummins’ new engine brake technology, our August M&A roundup, a quick chat with DOTY Finalist Kelly’s Truck Parts and a longer conversation with Successful Dealer Award finalist California Truck Centers.
Lucas: Hey, everybody. Lucas here for today’s TPS weekly news roundup. I hope you’ve had a great week. We’ve had a great week at TPS. Let’s go ahead and get started.
I’m going begin with truck orders. We closed August truck orders on Monday, and the 2025-2026 order season is ultimately going to be remembered as a good one. FTR reporting over the last 12 months, we have seen over 350,000 Class 8 truck orders. That's up 39% over the same period in 2024 and 2025. It’s unlikely we will be able to duplicate that in 2026 and 2027. We are going be dealing with EPA 2027 engines or the non-compliance penalties for not EPA 2027 engines that are going to be hitting the marketplace. So, are we going to be up 39% in the upcoming order season as compared to last year? Probably not. But there is optimism that the market will maintain its current strength or its stability.
If we see any positive improvements in the freight market, that would be a good sign. Carriers might be more willing to absorb the price increases — anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000 FTR is estimating, depending on if you’re paying a non-compliance penalty or you’re buying a new engine, depending on who your manufacturer is. But if freight is in good shape or capacity continues to tighten, carriers will probably be willing to continue to invest in trucks and that’ll be a good sign for the Class 8 truck market.
So even though we closed the month down from July, we’re up substantially year over year. Up 111% year-to-date through the first eight months of the year compared to 2025. The backlog is, we’re 35,000 units above where the backlog is supposed to be, ACT Research reports. So, really a good spot for truck orders as we head into the new order season.
And we also had some comments as the public comment period for the changes to the EPA 2027 NOx regulations closed last week. We had some comments from manufacturers, from dealers and from carriers about what they think about the changes, whether they’re good or bad for the industry and the impact that’s going to have on your [and] their business. That story is available.
We also had a story on the update of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. That’s been around for several decades. It creates grants and financing opportunities for carriers that want to buy more fuel efficient and cleaner vehicles. So, that’s continuing to move through the House. That’s a good sign.
Also had some interesting stuff. Cummins has a new engine brake, the, the wedge capsule engine brake, they call it. It’ll be available for the X10, the X15, and the B6.7-liter Octane engine. You can check that story out. You can check out the story on the Diesel Emission Reduction Act. Both of those are on the website, as well as the Class 8 truck order news and the EPA 2027 public comments.
A couple other quick things. We had our M&A roundup from August, so if didn’t see who bought who and, and who sold who in August, you can check that story out. We had a questionnaire from Distributor of the Year finalist Kelly’s Truck Parts. Kelly’s Truck Parts down in Texas. If you don’t know anything about that business, check out that questionnaire. We had our first Successful Dealer award finalist profile with California Truck Centers. Great family business out in California. Nearly a hundred-year-old business located in Fresno. Really great story there with the Howard family about how that business has grown and evolved. Check that story out.
A lot of great stuff on TPS this week. Make sure you like and subscribe to these videos so you continue to get them. Make sure you’re subscribed to the website, you’re getting the newsletter, you’re never missing any of these stories.
We hope you have a great rest of your day. We hope you have a great weekend. We hope you have a great Labor Day and we’ll see you next week. Thanks everybody. Bye.
