Mar 24, 2010 9:49 AM

Net orders for heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles rose to 7,900 units in February 2010, up 20% from January 2010 and also from February 2009, according to ACT Research Co.

In the latest release of the State of the Industry: Classes 5-8 Vehicles, ACT acknowledges the comparisons to prior month and prior year look impressive, but noted those two months were among the weakest on record. When viewed through a wider lens, the February net orders are still well below normal levels and consistent with expectations. The last of the pre-EPA2010 mandate build slots were filled in December. Medium-duty Classes 5-7 net orders showed similar trends, posting an increase of 12% from February 2009.

“The implementation of the EPA2010 emission mandate continues to hold down orders in the near term,” said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT. “Looking at orders by geography confirms this as the non-mandate markets—Mexico and exports—are performing relatively well while Canada and the United States continue to be weak.”