The current state of the commercial vehicle market is thriving. The market continues to show its ability to weather challenges as interest rates spike feverishly, according to the most recent State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 report by ACT Research.
This follows in line with the trucking industry’s historic ability to remain resilient in the face of economic challenge. It has been projected by experts that in the case of a 2023 recession, the industry will continue to remain robust with it being an essential workforce for American economy and society.
The resiliency of the Class 8 market will continue the trend of the industry being a place of strength and resolve.
When the orders for Class 8 CMVs in October are placed against those orders placed in September, the October records are notably high. Eric Crawford, who works as ACT Research’s vice president and senior analyst, is confident that the CMV market will continue to succeed despite outside economic conditions.
“For now, business activity in the truck industry rolls on, seemingly unphased by higher interest rates,” he said. “That said, we expect this dynamic to shift in 1H’23, as the Fed continues its aggressive push to subdue inflation. Cracks in the economy are becoming more evident: The impact of higher rates has begun to slow activity in the housing sector, and large layoffs have started in the tech sector.”
He made sure to point on the consistent and continued strength of the order activity for Class 8 CMVs. Taking a broader scope, he spoke to the numbers for medium duty (MD) and heavy duty (HD) trucks in the Class 8 market.
“MD and HD net orders were both robust, each notching their second strongest month of the year, both on a nominal as well as seasonally adjusted basis,” Crawford said. “That said, September was the strongest month of the year, so both took a step down sequentially in October.”
