Used truck dealers continue to characterize business as "good" or even better than expected, although maybe not quite as strong as they had hoped, according to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research.
September is typically the second-weakest order month of the year for Class 8, so modest activity was expected. Class 8 net orders were 19,018 units. Meanwhile, the medium duty market was able to mostly offset a sharp pullback in bus orders to net 16,745 units in orders. 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 Classes 5 through 8 vehicles for the North American market.
Although commercial vehicle orders slipped month over month in June, there was still good news to be had. Class 8 net orders fell below 20,000 units for the first time since last September at 18,830 units.
Class 8 orders remained above 20,000 units for a seventh consecutive month in April, rising to their second-highest volume in sixteen months. April Class 8 net orders totaled just over 23,200 units.
The used truck market enjoyed a second consecutive month of improved volumes in March. The retail market was flat compared to February, while the wholesale market contracted. However, the auction market roared back to life in March, growing 126 percent, giving the overall market a 4-percent boost month over month.