Preliminary Class 8 truck orders decrease in May

FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing May 2010’s Class 8 truck total net orders for all major North American OEMs at 12,903 units, a 9.8% decline from April.Although May orders slowed from the previous month, year-over-year comparisons show a 74.7% improvement over May 2009. The annualized rate of 154,836 units for May orders virtually equals the previous three-month annualized rate of 154,120 units. The figure includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, and exports.

Eric Starks, president of FTR, said, “There was a spike in Class 8 orders in April, which we believed was unsustainable in the current environment. FTR’s data shows that preliminary May orders as reported by the OEMs are still above the actual demand dictated by the fundamental issue of excess capacity throughout the industry. Our forecasts for the full year remain below the current annualized figures.”