Preliminary data indicates that orders for Class 8 heavy trucks fell to 4,000 units in April, according to FTR, a freight transportation forecasting firm. The orders were the “lowest in the modern era,” it said, dating back to 1996.
Orders were off 44 percent from March, and declined 73 percent from the same period a year ago. Orders for the past 12 months total 160,000, FTR said.
Fleets are delaying ordering trucks until the economic uncertainty over the Covid-19 crisis abates, according to FTR. Fleets also canceled a significant number of orders that were scheduled for near-term deliveries. FTR expects orders to rise in May to around 10,000 units. “OEM production was shut down for most of April, yet order activity endured,” said Don Ake, VP commercial vehicles, in a prepared statement. “There still are a few fleets that need new trucks. We expect retail sales to be somewhat higher than expected in April.
“The industry received a shock right along with the economy due to the virus response,” he said. “Fleets will remain extremely cautious going forward, but we expect orders to modestly increase as the freight markets recover. We have already seen some signs of life in refrigerated freight and expect improvement in dry van freight soon. The industry recovery will begin in May, but it will be gradual, just like the overall economy. “
Final data for April will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service.
Source: FTR
