Preliminary North American Class 8 orders post strong annual gains in February

Preliminary North American Class 8 net truck orders turned in another solid batch of numbers, for the month of February, according to data issued earlier this week by freight transportation consultancy FTR and ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles.

FTR reported that preliminary February North American Class 8 orders—at 44,000 units—was up 3% compared to January and up 209% annually. This marks the fifth straight month FTR has reported that orders topped the 40,000 mark, with orders over the previous 12 months coming in at 338,000 units. What’s more, FTR reported that this tally represents the second-highest order number on record for February.   

FTR officials said there is intense pressure on freight hauling capacity in order to get more trucks into service, adding that the supply of new trucks is limited due to component and part shortages.  And, in response to that situation, it noted that fleets continue to place orders in elevated volumes to try to acquire as many tractors as possible.

“There is tremendous pent-up demand for trucks,” said Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles for FTR, in a statement. “There are severe bottlenecks in the supply chain involving computer chips, wiring harnesses, and a whole host of various parts. OEMs are under intense pressure to deliver as many vehicles as they can, as soon as they can. The tight capacity has caused spot rates to spike from already elevated levels. Contract rates are rising also. Therefore, fleets have plenty of cash to spend. They desperately need trucks, so they are ordering at near-record levels. The supply chain is so dysfunctional right now and there are so many parts affected, it is difficult to predict when the logjam breaks loose. The vaccine should help component manufacturers find more workers. There are also lengthy waits at the ports causing delays in imported parts.”

ACT data: February preliminary North American Class 8 net orders came in at 43,800 units, according to ACT’s data. This represented a 4% increase compared to January’s 42,200 units and a 212% annual gain.

“Beyond warmer inflation numbers, there is much to like in the current stream of economic data that indicate broad-based economic activity. As has been the case over the course of this pandemic period, economic growth is being driven by the goods-producing sectors of the economy,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT President and Senior Analyst, in a statement. “Consumer spending on goods, a red-hot housing market, a reaccelerating manufacturing sector, and pent-up inventories combine to provide very good visibility to near- to mid-term freight trends. Contract freight rates are at record levels, as are spot rates, after seasonal adjustment. Without injecting stimulus or infrastructure into the discussion, there is a lot to like about freight, the carrier profit outlook, and by extension the commercial vehicle demand landscape.”