Preliminary North American Class 8 Net Orders for February Surge to 47,200 Units
FTR reports North American (N.A.) Class 8 truck/tractor preliminary net orders skyrocketed 47% month over month (m/m) and 159% year over year (y/y) to 47,200 units – the highest order total since September 2022 and the third straight month of 20%+ y/y order growth. The result was also well above the 10-year February average of 24,991 units. While the on-highway market made up the bulk of the increase, both on-highway and vocational markets contributed significantly to the m/m and y/y growth in orders. Orders have totaled 258,466 units over the last 12 months.
The 2026 order season (September 2025-February 2026) is now up slightly at 4% y/y growth, a notable improvement from the double-digit declines earlier in the cycle. The steady narrowing of the y/y deficit in recent months and strengthening freight conditions suggest that the market is not only stabilizing but also transitioning into the early stages of a cyclical recovery.
Risks persist, including the durability of the freight recovery, still-high financing costs, the potential for tariff or regulatory shifts, and – especially – geopolitical risks such as the new conflict in the Middle East. However, aside from those risks, the sustained and increasingly freight-driven strength in orders reinforces the case that underlying demand is firming more decisively as 2026 progresses.
