Medium and heavy vehicle orders diverge

COLUMBUS, Ind. September net orders of heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles were 15,231, up 37 percent from September of 2009, according to ACT Research Co.

In the latest release of the State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles, ACT further reported that the seasonally adjusted net orders for September were the second highest monthly total for the past two years.

"Not only was September the second best order month, the uptick in orders occurred in what is typically a below average month, said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst.

"Apply September’s seasonal factor, and Class 8 net orders occurred at a nearly 200,000 unit annual rate. This level of orders is a continuation of the steady increase in demand we have seen building since early this year."

Even as Class 8 orders moved higher, medium-duty classes 5-7 orders moved in the opposite direction.

A fall-off in school bus orders in September was the primary driver of both sequential and year over year declines in Classes 5-7 vehicle net orders, down 27 percent from September 2009.

When looking at just the truck piece of the classes 5-7 market, September net orders were up 17 percent from a year-ago.