COLUMBUS, IN – North American truckers ordered about 25,605 Class 8 trucks in May, the highest number for May since 2006, according to industry forecasters.

According to FTR, Class 8 orders have had year-over-year increases for 16 months in a row.

Backlogs remain at very high levels and OEMs will continue to increase build rates in response to this growing demand. Class 8 orders for the latest six month period through May add up to about 343,000 units.

“The recent order activity confirms that the market has some real strength. We do expect Class 8 orders to slow down in the summer as generally is the case, but they will remain above last year’s levels,” said Don Ake, FTR VP of Commercial Vehicles.

Kenny Vieth, ACT Research’s president and senior analyst agreed: “Class 8 orders in May rose four percent month over month and 14 percent year over year. When seasonally adjusted, May was the strongest order month for Class 8 since February.”

North American Classes 5 to 8 totaled 41,900 units in May, according to ACT data. 

“Since last October, when the current period of stronger orders began, total NA Classes 5-8 net orders have been booked at a 547,200-unit annual rate,” Vieth said.

But Classes 5 to7 cooled in May to their lowest level since last December.

“Classes 5 to 7 net orders fell 27 percent month over month and 10 percent year over year. The month-over month number was against a tough comparison, since April’s orders were the best since early 2006,” Vieth said.

ACT provides commercial vehicle services to all major truck and trailer manufacturers and suppliers in North America, as well as in China. Banks and investors also use their market research and forecasting.