Commercial truck orders up in February, but still weak

COLUMBUS, Ind. -- Class 8 net truck orders surged 20% in February, both from the previous month and year-over-year, but ACT Research warns not to get too excited.

There were 7,900 Class 8 units ordered in February, according to the latest State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles report issued by ACT Research. However, February 2010 and 2009 were still among the weakest months on record, the industry analyst points out.
Medium-duty Classes 5-7 net orders followed a similar path, up 12% year-over-year.

"The implementation of the EPA2010 emission mandate continues to hold down orders in the near term," said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT. "Looking at orders by geography confirms this as the non-mandate markets - Mexico and exports - are performing relatively well while Canada and the US continue to be weak."

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