At 25,200 units in October, NA Class 8 net orders fell 45% short of year-ago October's 46,000 orders. Said Kenny Vieth, ACT's president and senior analyst, "Remember that October 2014 was the second-best ever Class 8 order month, so the year-over-year comparison was a tough one. Likewise, the 6,000 unit sequential gain from September to October of this year can be explained by seasonality. When seasonally adjusted, preliminary Class 8 net orders were down 3% from September."

Classes 5-7 net orders continued strong in October. For the month, NA medium duty vehicle net orders were 22,000 units. “Despite tough comparisons, down 1.8% year-over-year and 0.3% month-over-month, both are within the margin of error for preliminary industry data,” said Vieth. Because October is historically the year’s strongest month for medium duty orders, seasonal adjustment lowers October’s net order volume to 19,300 units.

Source: ACT Research