Class 8 Sales Jump Year Over Year in February 2026
The fine folks over at ACT Research and FTR Transportation Intelligence have reported tremendous news: the sales of heavy-duty commercial trucks have skyrocketed in the last 12 months.
Details
ACT Research reports that February 2026 saw 46,200 orders, a 156% increase from February 2025. Likewise, FTR reported similar numbers: 47,200 units and an increase of 159% from February 2025 and a 47% increase over January 2026.
“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 reentering the market, the consistency and breadth of recent order activity suggest momentum is now being driven more meaningfully by improving freight fundamentals. Freight volumes and utilization are trending higher, and FTR’s rate forecasts have strengthened,” FTR’s senior analyst of commercial vehicles said in a statement regarding their released numbers.
Conclusion
There is a startling implication on the timing of year-over-year increases happening when comparing February 2025 to its 2026 counterpart: February 2025 was the first full month that the second Trump Administration is in office. Would this suggest a correlation between the trucking industry’s faith in the economy with the transition to a different president? It is possible, but consider this: the last time truck orders were this high was in September 2022, which was the middle of the Biden Administration, so to simply mark it as a political victory or defeat for one side or another does not begin to paint the full picture.
There are likely a multitude of factors coming into play leading to an increase in sales, including higher spot rates as well as fleets wanting to grandfather in the latest models that will not be subject to EPA regulations, of which the Trump Administration has mostly allowed to happen in 2027 despite being penned in the Biden era. To get a bigger picture as to what is going on with this over 150% increase, we will need to see the sales numbers for future months in the year and look back.
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