Class 8 truck orders for March skid 19% M/M, related stocks decline
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U.S. Class 8 truck orders fell in March, both on a Y/Y and M/M basis, according to preliminary data from ACT Research released on Wednesday.
Several stocks related to Class 8 trucks were down, amid a mixed broader market: Cummins (CMI) -5.6%, PACCAR (PCAR) -3.8%, Wabash National (WNC) -3.7%, Eaton (ETN) -3.1%, Allison Transmission (ALSN) -1.9%, J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) -1.0%. 
Orders fell to 19.2K units in March from the 23.6K reported for February. On a Y/Y basis, that was decrease of 10%. On a M/M basis, that was a fall of 19%.
"After coming in stronger than expected last month, SA Class 8 orders fell back within the 15-20K range, and have averaged 19.5K units YTD," Eric Crawford, ACT Research VP and senior analyst, said on the website.
"Given how robust Class 8 orders were into year end and ensuing backlog support, coupled with increasingly cautious readings from the ACT Class 8 Dashboard (-6 on average YTD in 2023, vs. -3 on average from March-December 2022), we have expected SA orders in a range of 15-20k units per month into mid Q3 2023," Crawford added. 
Class 8 truck orders are still significantly below their peak in September of last year, when they peaked at 53.7K units, before starting to fade on broader macroeconomic worries and supply chain issues.
Over the next few months, the Y/Y comparisons are expected to be favorable as supply chain issues have abated.