ACT Research shows final North American Class 8 net orders hit 37,200 units in November, the company said Wednesday.
[RELATED: Trailer orders up in November]
"Given the generationally weak profits experienced by for-hire carriers in 2024, and the relative youth of private fleets, tractor orders of 28,700 units are a high-side surprise," says Kenny Vieth, ACT president and senior analyst. "While some of this month's strong orders likely came from post-election optimism in for-hire, we suspect that private fleets worried about future supply chain disruptions continued as the larger driver of tractor demand in November. Vocational truck orders totaled 8,600 units, another historically strong number, suggesting the vocational market is jumping in the queue ahead of EPA '27 and GHG 3."
Medium duty trucks are down 28% year-over-year to 17,100 units.
[RELATED: ACT: Used truck volumes steady for November]
"Orders have slowed the past three months," Vieth notes. "And that trend is likely to continue as record-high inventories take some air away from new orders."
