This is What Heavy-Truck Manufacturers Face After a 19-Month Order Collapse to Historic Lows

by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street

“The recovery is expected to be slow and uneven. It has not started quite yet based on the weak Class 8 orders in May.”

The last three months have been catastrophic for segments of the trucking business, after an already tough period that started in late 2018. In May, orders for Class 8 trucks – the heavy trucks that haul much of the goods-based economy across the US – plunged 37% from the low levels in May a year earlier, and by 81% from May two years ago, to 6,600 orders, according to estimates by FTR Transportation Intelligence today.

In April, orders for Class 8 trucks had collapsed by 73% to 4,000 units, the lowest in the data going back to 1996. In March, orders had plunged by 52% to 7,400 trucks, the lowest since 2010:

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