Class 8 backlog order streak is snapped in June, says ACT Research

Following nine months of order backlogs for Class 8 trucks, June saw a less than 1 percent decrease, according to data from ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles.

This marked the second consecutive month of slower order activity, according to ACT, with net orders hitting 21,266 units on a non-seasonal basis, which was 9 percent lower than May’s output. This data was featured in ACT’s most recent State of the Industry report.

“Despite the slowing in new order activity over the last couple of months, it is important to note that the industry backlog continues to be very solid,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT, in a statement. “Cancellations continue to be very low, an indication of the quality of the orders currently booked at the OEMs.”

This decline continues a slowdown that has been occurring since a big order intake in April, caused by some artificial things that were starting to pull demand ahead, said Steve Tam, vice president-commercial sector at ACT, in an interview. Among these “artificial” things are signals from truck OEMs that price increases for parts and components is coming, with discounting starting to cease as pricing is returning their way.

These things all manifested themselves in the form of some type of a price increase, with truckers looking to buy equipment doing so in April, according to Tam.

“Truckers are creatures of habit so their capital investment cycle follows a fairly predictable pattern, which helps us gauge what is going on,” said Tam. “We can expect to see orders remain down at this lower level through at least September and probably October.”