Heavy-Truck Orders Revive in U.S.

Orders in the U.S. for heavy-duty Class 8 commercial trucks grew at least 16% in November, ending 20 consecutive months of decline, according to FTR Transportation Intelligence.

The Bloomington, Ind.-based market research firm estimates that fleet operators ordered 19,300 big rigs last month, up 41% from October and 18% from November 2015. Another firm, ACT Research, calculates year-on-year orders rose 16%.

But volumes were still below normal and could again drop year-on-year this month, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper notes that order cancellations in October were at a 20-year high, mainly because freight volume in the U.S. has been stalled for the past 18 months.

FTR says it anticipates a rising backlog of trucks ordered but not yet assembled, resulting in “pretty bad” production levels this month. ACT estimates full-year Class 8 truck production in the U.S. will drop 12% to 202,000 units in 2016.