Class 8 orders surged in February as trucking conditions continue to improve and fleets begin to gain confidence to place orders ahead of EPA27 emissions-related price increases.
And pricing improvements in the U.S. spot market are proving to be sticky, with flatdeck rates reaching muti-year highs.
Class 8 orders exploded in February
Truck buyers returned in droves in February, placing 47,200 orders, the highest monthly order intake since September 2022.
That’s a 47% jump from January’s tally and up 159% year over year, according to FTR. It also marks the third straight month of 20%-plus year-over-year growth and was well above the 10-year February average of 24,991 units.
February’s strong order numbers pulled the 2026 order season to 4% above last year’s levels.
But FTR warns risks remain, including: the durability of the freight recovery; still-high financing costs; the potential for tariff or regulatory shifts; and geopolitical risks.
“February’s very solid year-over-year increase in net orders extended the firmer tone that has been building since late last year. While a portion of demand still reflects previously deferred replacement purchases re-entering the market, the consistency and breadth of recent order activity suggest momentum is now being driven more meaningfully by improving freight fundamentals,” said Dan Moyer, senior analyst, commercial vehicles, FTR.
“Freight volumes and utilization are trending higher, and FTR’s rate forecasts have strengthened. Also, improved clarity around tariff-adjusted pricing and EPA27 NOx regulations is reducing policy-related hesitation and giving fleets greater confidence to advance capital plans. Order patterns increasingly suggest a structured replacement cycle and forward-looking fleet planning rather than short-term catch-up buying, underscoring healthier underlying demand.”
ACT Research counted 46,200 units ordered on the month.
“With onerous EPA27 cost increases on the horizon, an aging fleet, and growing confidence that the winter run-up in freight rates will remain sticky, Class 8 order strength continued in February,” explained Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT Research.
“February’s intake represents the eighth best order month in the 530 months ACT Research has been collecting data. The higher EPA27 cost estimates, coupled with an improved carrier profitability outlook, may partly explain February’s high-side surprise, as dealers and large fleets have even greater incentive to find the budget for equipment now rather than later. Arguably, the most important factor to the order turnaround has been the sustained run-up in spot rates that started in late November.”
Spot rates stay strong
And more good news on the spot market, as the week ended Feb. 27 showed dry van and reefer rates stabilized at highly elevated levels versus comparable weeks in recent years, according to Truckstop.com.
Flatbed rates continued to rise and are near their highest levels since October 2022. Truckstop.com and FTR attribute improvements in industrial production and the surge in data center construction.
“The latest week clearly featured some strength due to a winter storm in the Northeast, but weather will become a less significant factor in the coming weeks,” Truckstop.com reported. “Even so, seasonal growth, along with ongoing capacity pressures, will likely keep spot rates elevated. It seems that the major weather disruption may have caused a rapid reset in spot rates, which would have otherwise changed more gradually this spring. If so, the market impact of January’s winter storm could be like that of Hurricane Harvey in September 2017.”
Total load activity reached its highest level since July 2022. Since load postings exceeded truck postings, the Market Demand Index increased to 151.1, marking the highest point since March 2022.
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