Class 8 truck orders for North America increased in July for the second consecutive month, but were still down 37.3% compared to July 2008, according to FTR Assocs.
Heavy-truck orders for the U.S., Canada, Mexico and export totaled 9,002 units last month, a 9.6% increase over June orders, the industry analyst group reported. That followed a 9.7% increase in June orders over May.
The two-month improvement has brought the annualized Class 8 order rate up to 108,024 units, according to FTR.
“In early July, we expected to see modest improvement in the monthly orders, and that has come to pass ,” said Eric Starks, the group’s president “However, while the orders are increasing month over month, the annualized rate continues to represent a very weak market for new vehicles. We expect this trend to continue well into 2010.”
