But remain very weak

FTR Associates has released preliminary data showing Class 8 total net orders for all major North American OEM's totaling 9002 units in July 2009, an increase of 9.6% over June. This is the second straight monthly improvement, coming on the heels of June's 9.7% increase over May. The figures include orders for the US, Canada, Mexico and Exports. While July 2009 orders were down 37.3% year-over-year, the continued improvement month over month, has increased the annualized order rate to 108,024. Eric Starks, President of FTR said "In early July we expected to see modest improvement in the monthly orders and that has come to pass. However, while the orders are increasing month over month, the annualized rate continues to represent a very weak market for new vehicles. We expect this trend to continue well into 2010."