Class 8 Orders Rise 28%, Reach Highest Total in 14 Months
North American Class 8 orders in February reached a 14-month high as they cleared 23,000, and exceeded expectations, analysts said.
Net orders were 23,200, up 28% from 18,078 a year earlier, ACT Research reported. In December 2015, orders hit 28,150, according to ACT.
February’s gain “was only the third positive year-over-year comparison in the past two years,” Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president, said in a statement.
“Weak orders in 2016 and an improving economy should make positive year-to-year comparisons a monthly occurrence as we move through 2017,” he added.
Expectations were for orders to be about 18,000, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Jamie Cook in a note to investors, and so the February total is “particularly strong.”
