Orders for heavy-duty Class 8 vehicles posted a 15% increase in August over August 2009 and an even better performance in the three months ending Aug. 31, according to ACT Research.
“The summer months tend to be seasonally low order months for Class 8 vehicles, but this summer has seen a stabilization of orders at a more material rate compared to the trough of 2009,” said Steve Tam, vice president-commercial vehicle sector. “Net orders were especially strong for the Mexico market, likely due to increased manufacturing and trade. It is possible Mexico is benefiting from some ‘re-shoring’ of manufacturing that previously occurred overseas.”
Net orders for the three-month period improved to 40,033 Class 8 vehicles, a 42% increase over the same three months in 2009. The numbers were reported in ACT’s State of the Industry: Class 5-7 Vehicles report.
Medium-duty sales also increased. Class 6-7 net orders improved 27% in August compared to August 2009. Class 5 truck orders showed a 126% gain year-over-year. Class 6-7 bus orders were also strong, increasing 159% in August compared to July 2010.
