North America class 8 truck orders in December decline 50% from 2022 peak

Despite the drop, ACT Research views the December data as a robust end to the final four months of the year.

Class 8 truck orders in North America have declined 50 percent in December from its peak in September, according to data from FTR Transport Intelligence.

Overall class 8 truck orders for December stood at 28,300 units, compared to the September peak of 56,500 units. Orders when compared to November were down 18 percent, while on a year-on-year basis, total orders were up 21 percent.

For the full 12 months of 2022, overall class 8 orders stood at 3.23 lakh units. The full-year figure comfortably surpassed the industry expectation of 2.44 lakh units. Despite the drop, ACT Research views the December data as a robust end to the final four months of the year.

The firm says that the month-on-month decline might suggest some demand weakness, but it is factoring in the year-end seasonal uptick in orders, which began a month ahead of schedule. While North American truck orders recovered in September and October, weakening US economic outlook is likely to hurt underlying truck demand, brokerage firm Jefferies wrote in a note on December 5. In a note released today, Jefferies further said that the Indian auto sector is poised to deliver strong stock returns in 2023 as demand is recovering from its worst slowdown in decades.

However, it has an underperform rating on Bharat Forge with a price target of Rs 555. Bharat Forge was recently in the news when its step-down subsidiary 'JS Auto' has entered into a business transfer agreement with Indo Shell Mould Ltd. (ISML) for acquiring their special economic zone (SEZ) Unit in Tamil Nadu's SIPCOT, Erode. Shares of both Bharat Forge and RK Forgings are recovering from their opening lows.

While Bharat Forge trades 0.6 percent higher at Rs 862.6, RK Forgings trades little changed at Rs 255.45.