After a record year for orders in 2018, fleets and dealers are holding back on placing many new trailer orders, a situation that analysts say could improve in the fourth quarter.
Class 8 truck manufacturers are beginning to pare production as the backlog of record orders from 2018 shrinks and new orders continue to be slow.
Greenhouse gas regulations are the sticks and incentives are the carrots in driving the heavy-duty truck and commercial vehicle industry to embrace electrification.
Class 8 truck orders fell again in August as fleets stayed on the sidelines while taking delivery of a record number of heavy-duty trucks ordered in 2018.
Payback for a record run of new trailer orders last summer continued in July with fewer than 10,000 new orders placed, a dramatic drop from the same month in 2018. Typical during summer months, low orders suggest a possible return to normal order patterns after an overheated second half in 2018.
U.S. rail carloads no longer appear to be following the lead of broader economic indicators. Why? Look to concerns about rail service reliability and trade uncertainty as answers.
