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Friday, March 29, 2024

Class 8 Orders Reach Volume Never Before Seen

 

FTR reports preliminary North American Class 8 orders for May continue to show exceptional strength, coming in at 35,200 units. This was the third highest May on record. Orders have averaged over 40,000 units for the past six months; volumes never seen before in the industry.

Fleets are ordering in huge numbers attempting to keep up with burgeoning freight demand. North American Class 8 orders for the past twelve months have now totalled 386,000 units.

Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles, commented “This is the tightest capacity crunch ever. Long-time veterans in this industry are saying this is the best freight market they have ever seen. Fleets cannot add capacity fast enough and as long as the economy and manufacturing are going great, this capacity crisis will continue.”

“There is a shortage of truck parts and components, so OEMs have been slow to deliver. This just exacerbates an already bad situation. Fleets are now grabbing every available build slot, hoping to get some more trucks by the end of the year. Some orders now are even spilling into the first quarter of next year. It is a red-hot market.”