Class 8 Truck Orders
Class 8 Truck Orders in March 2025
Class 8 Truck Orders
March 2025 Update
As of March 2025, the Class 8 truck market continues to normalize following a period of elevated ordering activity in late 2024. Order volumes remain moderate, with fleets maintaining a more selective approach to capital investment. For-hire carriers are still cautious, influenced by tight freight margins, elevated interest rates, and long-term planning around upcoming emissions regulations. In contrast, vocational demand has held steady, driven by infrastructure projects and municipal spending that are less sensitive to freight cycles.
Class 8 Truck Orders Snapshot
Preliminary North American Class 8 net orders for February 2025 totaled approximately 16,500 units, showing a modest increase from January. Seasonally adjusted, orders settled around 14,700 units, continuing a pattern of steady, but restrained, activity. Fleet behavior suggests a focus on maintaining existing equipment and managing costs rather than large-scale fleet expansion. While near-term order levels are off the highs of late 2024, backlogs remain manageable, and build slots are available for those looking to replace aging assets.
“With steady vocational demand, cautious fleet spending, and available build slots, the industry’s challenge in 2025 may not be production capacity, but aligning finished vehicle output with slower-moving for-hire replacement cycles and evolving regulatory requirements.”
Kenny Vieth
President & Senior Analyst
To learn more about the current dynamics in the commercial vehicle industry, check out the State of the Industry reports. And to see what ACT forecasts will happen in the Class 8 market over the next few years, check out the North America commercial vehicle forecast.
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