Preliminary truck orders remain weak in June
July 5, 2012
Preliminary N.A. class 8 truck net order data dropped once more in June after a small uptick in May. Orders for new vehicles have fallen in five of the last six months. Orders show that just 16,200 units were booked in June, 8% lower than May. This is below the recent low of 16,900 in April and is the lowest level since 15k were ordered in September 2010. Orders continue to remain well below year-ago levels, dropping 23%.
The year-over-year comparison improved modestly as we have now surpassed the height of the surge in orders in early 2011. Still, 2012 orders for Class 8 trucks continue to disappoint with annualized rates dropping as orders come in well below 2011. For the three-month period including June orders annualize to just 203,000 units.
Truckers are operating in a modestly positive environment, but not strong enough to elicit higher demand for expensive new vehicles. Growth in freight volumes and rates slowed noticeably during late 2011 and into 2012. Despite expectations that both will improve as we finish 2012, equipment markets will have to contend with the effects of last year’s slowdown. With the driver supply moderately tight and freight demand healthy, but not surging, fleets are not adding capacity to their truck fleets. Most are simply holding pat and replacing necessary equipment.
Additionally, truck manufacturers continue to build at rates well above incoming orders. This will eventually lead to a significant reduction in new truck output.
- Source: FTR Associates
- This is the preliminary net orders data only. The final data is released after the 15th of the month.
- The data is for total N.A. This includes U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Export data
- The market indicator data includes all major North American truck builders.
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