Class 8 orders continued to improve in February

user-gravatar Headshot

Preliminary numbers released this week from FTR Associations shows Class 8 net orders in the month of February rose 4 percent from January.

The total number of net orders, according to FTR’s preliminary data, was 23,011, which is also a 4 percent increase from February 2012. Orders for Class 8 trucks have topped 20,000 every month since October and register at an annualized rate of 263,000 vehicles, says FTR.

FTR’s director of transportation, Jonathan Starks, points to a “modestly robust freight environment” as a driving factor for solid sales.

“In February we saw a year-over-year improvement in orders which is a positive development,” Starks said. “The modestly robust freight environment that we are currently in is being reflected in truck orders as carriers purchase needed replacements. Since we are at the tail end of the typical ordering season we see no indication that the market will get above those replacement levels during 2013.”