FTR reports preliminary North American Class 8 net orders for August jumped 98% m/m to 21,400 units. Most OEMs began placing a limited number of orders for the first quarter of 2023. It appears OEMs have returned to the pattern of the first quarter of this year when orders averaged 21,100 units. It is expected that orders will continue to rise next month as additional orders are booked for Q1 deliveries. Bookings were down 46% y/y versus a robust August last year.

Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles for FTR commented, “The good news is that the traditional summer order slump has ended a month early this year. OEMs felt the need to start filling in their Q1 production schedules for their prime customers. The supply chain is still cogged so they still are unable to book all the commitments they still have.”

“It is interesting that August order totals are so close to the January-March numbers earlier this year. Just like then, OEMs must be careful not to overbook, with the supply chain still not showing much progress. However, order totals are expected to jump in the coming months when all OEMs fill in all the first quarter build slots. The needs of the fleets still greatly outnumber the production capacity of the OEMs under the current restrictions.”

“The economy has slowed down and freight growth has eased, but there is still a significant amount of pent-up demand due to the persistent supply chain delays. Some fleets have run their trucks well past their planned replacement cycles and desperately need new trucks. The industry has responded well to the supply shortages but will need an increase in production in 2023 to begin to balance out.”

Final data for August will be available from FTR later in the month as part of its North American Commercial Truck & Trailer Outlook service.