Paccar is projecting North American truck orders to keep pace with last year.
In North America, Class 8 retail sales for the industry in 2023 were 297,000 units, according to an earnings presentation — in line with a 270,000–310,000 unit projection from January 2023.
This year, that projection is slightly reduced to 260,000–300,000 units, per an earnings report.
“In 2024, the U.S. economy is projected to expand within the truck sector, the vocational less than truckload and medium-duty segments are experiencing strong demand and customers are benefiting from the superior performance of new Kenworth and Peterbilt truck models,” CEO Preston Feight said on an earnings call last week.
That’s in line with independent analysis. Research firm FTR recently noted an annualized run rate in North America of 302,000 orders based on the past six months and a three-month annualized rate of 362,000 units.
Deliveries for Paccar, however, are forecast for Q1 2024 to be 48,000 units globally, down from 51,000 in the first quarter of last year.
Major markets in North America aren’t slated to have a slowdown in orders, and Paccar sees “good order intake and good visibility,” Feight said.
In contrast, Europe is slated to have a 15% to 20% decline in registrations, he suggested, following a record high.
While contract and spot rates struggle, forward-thinking carriers are continuing to buy trucks and also taking into account new emissions standards for 2027 models, Feight said.
