From Tire Review

FTR Associates reports that November Class 8 truck orders for all major North American OEMs totaled 26,005 units, a 38 percent increase over October and the highest monthly order level since May 2006.

November marked the fourth consecutive month-over-month increase in orders, FTR said, and equates to an annual rate of 198,510 units.

The figure includes U.S., Canada, Mexico and exports.

“We were expecting a normal seasonal increase in orders to a level between 22,000 and 25,000 units,” said FTR president Eric Starks. “The November number came in slightly above those expectations. This can be chalked up as a win for the industry. The fact that truckers are willing to start ordering equipment is certainly a good sign.

“It is clear that we are in a recovery period for the new truck equipment market,” he said, “but we still harbor concerns regarding the durability of the current surge. We do know that leasing companies and large fleets were instrumental in pushing the orders higher. What we are not seeing are the smaller and medium size fleets participating at the levels we would normally expect during a recovery.”