Class 8 orders ended the year with the second-best order month in six years as Class 8 net orders rose to 30,293 units. When seasonally adjusted, December's orders were the best since April and resumed the strongest order trend that has been observed since August. Meanwhile, demand for medium-duty vehicles remained a study in consistency: There were only 3,000 units separating the best and worst order months of 2011, with December falling in the middle of the range. This updated status of the North America commercial vehicle market was included in the State of the Industry report, recently released by ACT Research Co. (ACT). The report covers Class 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.

"We think November's drop in Class 8 orders was circumstantial, rather than fundamentally derived," said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT. "Part of the order drop in November was a significant spike in cancellations. To that end, part of December's net order strength was a plunge in cancellations to their second-lowest level in 2011," he added.

Source: ACT Research