July Class 8 orders jump

Net orders for Class 8 trucks in July posted another big year-over-year increase, continuing a recent trend. According to FTR, preliminary data showed orders at 29,516 units, a 71% increase over July 2013 and the second-best July on record.

Class 8 orders have now had 18 consecutive months with year-over-year increases. Class 8 orders for the latest six-month period through July annualize to 325,000 units, the firm said. “July is typically the weakest month of the year for orders, but the market is actually gaining strength in the summer. This is the third straight month of order increases.  Orders for the last 12 months have been 312,000 units, so production should catch up at some point,” said Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles.

Final data for July will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service.