Class 8 truck orders drop 26% in June

Investment advisor BB&T said despite the year-over-year decline, the heavy truck orders were “in line with seasonal weak expectations.”    Class 8 heavy truck orders in June dropped 26 percent to 19,900 compared with June 2014 and 3 percent compared with May 2015.
   Investment advisor BB&T said in a recent note that despite orders being the lowest since September 2013, “Class 8 generally were in line with expectations.” BB&T attributed the decline primarily to high industry backlogs and a limited number of new build slots remaining in 2015.
   Order numbers in June represent the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year decline after year-over-year orders increased 25 months from February 2013 through February 2015.
   “In general, orders typically remain strong from Oct-Mar/Apr, but by May-Sept order rates typically decline seasonally (July tends to be the slowest month), and it’s not unusual to see several months around 16K-18K,” noted BB&T.
   Looking forward, the firm expects Class 8 orders could drop further in July and August – to about the 15,000-unit range – before rebounding to around 20,000-22,000 units in September. By October, said BB&T, “we could see orders exceed 30K-35K again if slots for 2016 are filling up at that point.”
   Medium-duty (Class 5-7) truck orders fell 3 percent year-over-year and 26 percent from May to 14,600 units, the lowest level since January 2013.
   “Over the past 11 months, medium-duty orders have averaged 19,184 [units], so a slowdown in June, which is the second weakest month (July is the weakest) was not totally unexpected,” said BB&T.