Orders for commercial vehicles rise in the USA

North American Class 8 truck orders rose to 42,700 units in December 2025, representing a 16% increase compared to the previous year. The complete industry data for December, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-January.

Carter Vieth, Research Analyst at ACT Research, explained that after a prolonged period of stagnant freight rates and uncertainties due to political and regulatory frameworks, demand for new vehicles increased again in December. „A more stable economic backdrop, increasingly aging vehicle fleets, and certainty about rising costs and new technologies in 2027 were, in our opinion, the reasons for this sudden shift in sentiment,“ said Vieth. He added that while the fundamental conditions in transportation are thin, they are improving, and the December Class 8 numbers may represent an overestimation of the actual improvement.

The report differentiates market indicators by Class 5, Classes 6-7, and Class 8, presenting various activity-related metrics such as backlog, production, inventories, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and retail sales. Additionally, Classes 5 and 6-7 are subdivided into trucks, buses, motorhomes, and step-van configurations. The Class 8 market is divided into trucks and tractors, both with and without sleeper cabs.