Class 8 orders back off

NASHVILLE, Ind. — After a great opening to 2010, class 8 truck orders fell 9.8 percent in May to 12,903 units for all major North American OEMs.

However, May order levels were still 74.7 percent above the levels of May 2009, reports, FTR Associates.

"There was a spike in Class 8 orders in April, which we believed was un-sustainable in the current environment," said Eric Starks, president of FTR. "FTR’s data shows that preliminary May orders as reported by the OEMs are still above the actual demand dictated by the fundamental issue of excess capacity throughout the industry. Our forecasts for the full year remain below the current annualized figures."