March Class 8 truck orders plummet 66 percent from a year

March orders for new trucks in the heaviest Class 8 weight segment plummeted 66 percent compared with the same month in 2018.

Preliminary orders for Class 8 are 15,700 trucks in March, down 6.7 percent from a month earlier, according to ACT Research.

“March marks the fourth consecutive month of orders meaningfully below the current rate of build,” said Steve Tam, vice president of ACT.

During that four-month period, Class 8 orders have been booked at a 194,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, or SAAR. This is down significantly from 489,000 SAAR for the same period a year earlier, Tam said.

“Even though demand is a shadow of its former self, slowing order intake belies current conditions,” he said. “Admittedly, economic and freight growth are slowing, but both are still growing.”

Final March new truck order numbers will be available in mid-April.