September sales of Class 8 truck and trailer sales continue downward trajectory

Evidently the old adage “the third time’s the charm” is not holding true for the U.S. Class 8 truck and trailer market. Sales of Class 8 trucks continued their downward slide in September, coming in lower than the previous month for the third time in a row.

According to data received from Omdia, formerly Wards Intelligence, manufacturers reported U.S. sales of 16,228 trucks in September — down 9.2% from August and down a whopping 25.6% from September 2024 sales.

Year-to-date sales that were just 5% behind last year’s pace as of June are now 9.4% behind, and that gap is expected to widen.

Mack and Western Star are the only major manufacturers to sell more trucks this year than in 2024, with Mack sales increasing by 13.9% while Western Star sales grew by 9.0%. Volvo sales have declined by 24.9% from last year’s pace, the largest drop of the reporting OEMs.

In the monthly “North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook” publication for September, Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst for ACT Research, explained why.

“Carrier profitability remains under pressure, inching closer to Year 4 of the for-hire market downturn,” he wrote. “The group of publicly traded TL (truckload) carriers’ aggregated margins in Q2 were near 2008 recession levels.”

Federal funding freeze

Vieth also mentioned funding freezes and the impact on vocational truck sales — units destined for dump, trash, concrete and other operations.

Money appropriated by Congress during the Biden presidency has been held up by the Trump administration in an effort to reduce costs.

“Vocational inventories are just off record levels, and backlogs are currently at five-year lows,” Vieth said. “Steep production cuts have already occurred to help alleviate backlog pressure.”

Manufacturers are loath to build more trucks that they can’t find buyers for.

New truck orders: Mixed bag

September brought a mixed bag for North American orders for new trucks.

According to a release from FTR Transportation Intelligence, preliminary net orders for new Class 8 trucks in September totaled 20,500 units.

That’s a 60% increase over August, but that’s not unusual. Manufacturers typically switch over to the new model year in late August or early September, and most customers would rather wait a month to order 2026 model year trucks.

The real difference is evident in a comparison to September 2024 orders.

This September, orders declined 41% from September 2024, marking the ninth straight month of order declines. According to FTR, the 10-year average for September is 29,499 units. September 2025 fell well short of that mark.

The tariff factor

Dan Moyer, FTR’s senior analyst of commercial vehicles, blames the Trump administration’s tariffs for much of the decline.

“The news has already rattled fleets, OEMs, and suppliers coping with weak demand, rising costs and fragile supply chains. The tariff adds to an already difficult trade environment,” he said. “Some fleets are likely to delay or cancel orders, boosting demand for used trucks as operators extend vehicle lifecycles.”

ACT Research reported final North American Class 8 orders of 20,666 in its “State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8” report for the month. That’s a decline of 44% from September 2024.

“That was the weakest September since 2019 as tariffs, carrier profits, and regulatory limbo continue to drive industry uncertainty,” said Carter Vieth, a research analyst at ACT.

Trailer orders trailing

Ordering was subdued in the trailer market, too.

An FTR release reported U.S. trailer orders of 10,142, a decline of 19% from September 2024 order levels — and well below the 10-year September average of nearly 30,000. What’s more, one out of every four orders already on the books was cancelled by the buyer as carriers continue belt-tightening in response to difficult conditions.

Moyer cited tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper — in addition to increased tensions with China — as factors driving up the cost of new trailers even as carriers struggle for profitability.

“Many fleets are delaying replacement, extending equipment life cycles and slowing or stopping expansion,” Moyer said.

Good news for the used truck market

As carriers curtail their spending on new trucks and trailers, the used truck market is seeing increased activity.

According to ACT’s “State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks” publication for September, the number of retailed used trucks increased by 6% over September 2024 sales, with the average reported price climbing by 3%. Average miles on trucks sold decreased by 4%, while the average age increased by 5%.

“The market did outperform historical seasonality, which called for a 3% month to month decrease,” said Steve Tam, ACT vice president. “September brought the usual end-of-quarter volume explosion for auctions, which jumped 51%.”

Closer to balance

As the number of trucks available to haul freight gets closer to balance with available freight, the process may be accelerated by recent efforts by the federal government to restrict the issue of CDLs to non-domiciled drivers, as well as the crackdown on drivers who can’t pass English proficiency tests.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates the rule changes could reduce available drivers by 200,000 or more in the next two years, effectively removing their trucks from fleets, at least until new drivers can be hired and trained.

OEM performance

As for sales of new Class 8 trucks, Freightliner was in the lead for September, reporting sales of 5,413 units. That number was down 14.7% from August and down 33.5% from September 2024 sales. For the year to date, Freightliner sales are down 10.9% compared to the industry average of 9.4%.

International reported sales of 1,790 in September — down 25.1% from a strong August and down 33.8% from last September. For the year to date, however, International is just 5.5% behind its 2024 sales pace through nine months, besting the industry average.

At Paccar, Kenworth’s 2,552 sold in September represented an increase of 4.1% from August sales but a 19.6% decline from September 2024 sales. Peterbilt’s 2,473 sold was 8.9% behind August sales and 19.9% behind sales in September 2024. For the year, Kenworth sales are 10.4% behind last year’s pace and Peterbilt’s are 12.3% behind.

Volvo’s September wasn’t as bad as others, with sales of 1,497 — down just 2.7% from August. Compared to last September, however, sales dropped 40.5%.

Mack sales of 1,552 were 3.1% better than August sales 32.9% better than September 2024. Western Star sales of 948 were 3.5% better than August but down 5.8% from last September.

Expected rate cuts by the Federal Reserve could lower the cost of credit, possibly spurring a few more purchases, but for the most part new truck sales are expected to continue their downward trajectory.

Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.

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