Orders placed with U.S. factories for business equipment rose in May for a second month, indicating companies continue to make longer-term investments despite high borrowing costs.

No need any longer to wonder about pent-up demand for Class 8 trucks, North American Class 8 orders in September surged past 53,000 to set an all-time high and nearly doubled those of a year earlier, ACT Research reported.

U.S. trailer orders in July roared ahead compared with a year earlier but slumped compared with earlier months this year, ACT Research reported, citing trailer makers’ final data.

A rosy supply chain arriving this holiday season to release handcuffed truck makers and reward fleets awaiting new trucks would certainly be a great gift to the industry — well, maybe next year.

North American Class 8 orders in September dropped 11.8% compared with a year earlier, ACT Research reported, as truck makers struggled to match pent-up demand amid a badly out-of-kilter supply chain and a production schedule that continues to defy typical certainty.

North American Class 8 orders in May fell below 7,000, ACT Research reported, an uptick from April’s historic low as industry analysts said progress will be slow as long as COVID-19 remains a major concern.

If 2018 was one big party for the trucking and freight business, 2019 was the day after the party.

For those still wondering about the state of the commercial vehicle market in the United States, ACT Research during a webinar Sept. 11 delivered a forecast that conditions continue to deteriorate and that pullback in build rates for heavy-duty trucks and trailers is “imminent.”

North American Class 8 orders in August continued to mimic fleets’ wait-and-see attitude as orders again fell below replacement level and plunged 79% from the all-time record set a year earlier, ACT Research reported.

North American Class 8 orders in April fell below 20,000 units for the fourth consecutive month, FTR reported.