FTR: Class 8 orders flat in October

Net orders for North American Class 8 trucks totaled 13,800 units in October 2016 as a “significant cleanup of long-term, excess, orders by one OEM” weighed on ordering activity, according to freight transportation analyst FTR.    Net orders for North American Class 8 trucks totaled 13,800 units in October 2016, according to the latest preliminary figures from freight transportation analyst FTR.
   The October order activity was roughly flat compared with September, but FTR noted net order numbers for the month were negatively impacted by a “significant cleanup of long-term, excess orders by one OEM.”
   Adjusted to exclude this backlog cleanup, net orders would have been closer to 21,300 units, according to FTR, which would have been the highest monthly order activity since December 2015.
   Class 8 truck orders have totaled 188,000 units in the last twelve months.
   “The adjusted number of 21,300 was fueled by the big fleets placing their requirement orders for the first half of 2017,” FTR Vice President of Commercial Vehicles Don Ake said in a statement. “This indicates the freight markets are stabilizing and the fleets are confident enough to replace older trucks.
   “FTR expects medium-sized and smaller fleets to wait until after the election to place most of their initial 2017 orders,” he added. “Once that uncertainty has been lifted, it should help the equipment markets and the general economy. Monthly orders will likely hover around the 20,000 unit mark in November and December.”