FTR Associates on Friday, May 4, released preliminary data showing April Class 8 truck total net orders at 16,877 units, the lowest number since September 2010 and 55 percent below the same month a year ago. Preliminary order numbers are for all major North American OEMs. April orders continue the downward trend in Class 8 orders for 2012, with annualized units for the past three months now at 234,600.

“A four-month trend is certainly significant, and it is causing many in the industry to question their assumptions of growth for 2012,” says Eric Starks, FTR president. “Now that we are through the typical ordering season, we expect orders to remain in the sub-20K level through the summer months. If the truck OEMs don’t scale back their build plans for the second half of the year, then we are likely to see a more significant payback once we get into 2013.”