VIEW CART (FTR Reports North American Class 8 Orders for January Drop 26% M/M to Lowest Since October 2016
02.06.19 | FTR
TweetFTR reports preliminary North American Class 8 orders for January 2019 dropped 26% M/M to the lowest since October 2016 at 15,600 units. This year’s January order activity was down 67% versus last year and is the worst for the month since 2010. The low Class 8 order number was not entirely unexpected, as the great majority of fleets already have all their orders in for 2019 and don’t need to place any more orders for a while. Backlogs are expected to fall, but should remain over 70% higher than a year ago. Class 8 orders for the past 12 months have now totaled 402,000 units.
Click here to view the latest release and an interactive graph of the Class 8 Orders >
“This is more of a resting point than a turning point. There is an enormous amount of orders in the backlog. The key will be how many of these trucks get built and when. The fundamentals of the economy and freight growth remain solid, so there is no reason to panic. The production rates the first few months of the year will be a better indicator of Class 8 demand than current orders are. We do expect the cancellation rate to remain elevated, as fleets move their orders around in the backlog. Order rates are expected to remain suppressed for a few months, but build rates and retail sales are forecast to climb. “
Final data for November will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service. To contact FTR, send an email to [email protected] or call (888) 988-1699 ext. 1 and follow us on Twitter @FTRintel.Click here to view a sample report >
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.
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