North American Class 8 truck orders roared back in December, jumping to their highest level in more than three years as fleets moved to lock in equipment amid easing regulatory uncertainty, according to new data from FTR Transportation Intelligence.
Preliminary net orders for Class 8 trucks and tractors totaled 42,200 units in December, up 108% month over month and 21% year over year.
The Class 8 orders are also well above the 10-year December average of roughly 29,000 units. The total marked the strongest monthly order intake since October 2022, with on-highway equipment accounting for most of the year-over-year gains, FTR said.
Despite the strong finish to the year, FTR cautioned that the broader market remains under pressure. Cumulative orders for the 2026 order season, which began in September, are still down 22% year over year, underscoring ongoing freight softness and restrained capital spending among fleets.
FTR attributed much of December’s spike to improved policy clarity following recent guidance on tariffs and emissions rules. Section 232 tariffs on Class 3-8 trucks that took effect Nov. 1 proved less severe than initially feared, while expectations that the Environmental Protection Agency will revise elements of its 2027 NOx rule helped reduce regulatory uncertainty.
Those clarifications emerged late in the year, helping explain why orders surged in December rather than November, the firm said.
FTR analysts warned that the rebound does not yet signal a full demand recovery.
“Despite greater policy clarity, freight demand remains soft, fleet profitability is constrained, and capital spending discipline persists amid rising costs,” Dan Moyer, senior analyst of commercial vehicles at FTR, said in a statement.
“As a result, December’s order strength likely reflects the release of deferred orders along with the early stages of a modest EPA 2027 NOx pre-buy rather than a broader demand inflection. A more durable recovery in equipment demand will require a sustained improvement in underlying economic and freight market conditions.”
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