New Class 8 truck orders declined in June for a fourth consecutive month, but industry backlogs remain well above prior-year levels, ACT Research reported.
North American truck makers received a total of 19,900 net orders last month, down 26% from 26,729 in the same month a year ago and a 3% decline from 20,533 in May, according to ACT’s preliminary data.
“ACT Research believes the recent order decline is a reflection of meaningfully larger backlogs rather than any structural change in demand,” ACT President Kenny Vieth said.
He said orders have slowed in large part because the industry’s 2015 manufacturing capacity is nearly full. At the end of June, truck makers were probably down to about 30,000 open build slots for the remainder of the year, Vieth said.
This year’s production capacity began to fill up rapidly in the fourth quarter of 2014, when many fleets placed orders earlier than usual to secure desirable timing to take delivery of new equipment.
In the first half of the year, Class 8 orders have totaled 154,700 units, down 8% from 169,000 in the first six months of 2014, ACT said.
Meanwhile, research firm FTR reported that preliminary Class 8 orders stood at 19,624 units in June, down 25% from a year ago and a 2% decline from May.
“The drop in orders is not cause for concern at all,” FTR Vice President Don Ake said. “Fleets right now are evaluating their 2016 requirements, and quoting activity by the OEMs has just started. Class 8 orders will remain rather subdued until the fall order season kicks in this October."
