FTR Reports North American Class 8 Orders Continue at Record Levels in August

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FTR reports that preliminary North American Class 8 orders for August hit another all-time high of 52,400 units, just surpassing last month’s total by 300 orders.  Class 8 orders were again exceptionally strong in the U.S. market, with most OEM’s racking up great order months. Orders were even m/m and up 153% y/y. Orders continue their hot streak in 2018. Six of the top twelve order months ever, have occurred in the first eight months of this year.  North American Class 8 orders for the past twelve months have now totaled 477,000 units.

Carriers continue to scramble to get enough trucks on the road to handle the robust freight growth.  The surging economy and vibrant manufacturing sector are stretching the logistics system to the limit. In some markets, goods are moving slower due to supply chain gridlocks, necessitating even more trucks to deliver goods.

 

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Click here to view the latest release and an interactive graph of the Class 8 Orders >

Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles, commented, “The good news is, it appears the supplier shortage issues that significantly slowed production earlier this year, have been largely abated for now. However, the supply chain remains tight, and fleets and dealers continue to place large orders to lock down build slots in 2019.”

“Fleets are ordering early and often and orders this plentiful indicate fleets are highly confident the flourishing freight market will persist for a while. Current economic and manufacturing data point to a strong start to 2019. FTR does expect some easing to occur in the second half of next year.”

Read Don Ake's recent blog post exploring Class 8 Orders: Bottleneck In The Supply Chain Is An Economic Threat > 



About FTR
For more than two decades, FTR has been the thought leader in freight transportation forecasting in North America. The company’s national award-winning forecasters collect and analyze all data likely to impact freight movement, issuing consistently reliable reports for trucking, rail, and intermodal transportation, as well as providing demand analysis for commercial vehicle and railcar. FTR’s forecasting and specially designed reports have resulted in advanced planning and cost-savings for companies throughout the transportation sector.