Sales and orders for new trucks and trailers hit lowest point of year in October

U.S. sales of new, Class 8 trucks hit their lowest month of the year in October, according to data received from Omdia . Manufacturers reported sales of 14,690 to the agency, down 9.5% from September sales of 16,228. It was the fourth consecutive month of declining sales. Compared with October 2024, new truck sales declined 29.6% and for the year to date, sales are running 11.5% behind last year’s with the gap widening every month.

The ongoing freight recession is likely the biggest reason for the sluggish sales. Ken Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research  explained, “We tracked the publicly traded truckload carriers and, for most of the past two years, their net profits have been pegged at around 3%. To put that into context, we have to go all the way back to 2009 to find a period of worse profitability.”

The ending year of the two-and-a-half year “great recession,” when the government bailed out the automotive industry and put in place a $787 billion fiscal stimulus package was 2009. Today, the economy isn’t in recession, but freight rates certainly are and they have been for quite some time.

Rising cost of new

While carriers are finding it difficult to fund new equipment purchases, the cost of new trucks continues to rise. A November 17 article by Johnnie Martinez II published in Equipment Finance News  stated that the price for the average new commercial truck reached $183,950 in November, an increase of 25.3% over prices a year ago.

Orders for future deliveries of new trucks are down, too. Orders for October are typically strong as manufacturers open up ordering for the new model year in late August or early September.

According to FTR Transportation Intelligence, preliminary North American orders for Class 8 trucks totaled 24,300 units. As expected, orders were up 18% from September orders. Compared with October 2024, however, orders fell 22%, marking the tenth consecutive month of annual declines. According to FTR, over the past 10 years October has seen average orders of 31,198 trucks.

“Combined net orders for September and October are 32% below year-ago levels, highlighting persistent weakness in freight fundamentals and limited carrier profitability.” Dan Moyer, senior analyst at FTR said. “In the meantime, fleets are focusing on cost control and asset utilization over growth, delaying a meaningful rebound in equipment demand until economic and market conditions stabilize.”

Trailers are not any better

Conditions aren’t any better for manufacturers of trailers. FTR reported net orders of 15,916 trailers in October, up a whopping 77% from September doldrums but far below average October sales of 37,116 units. Order cancellations are up, too, according to ACT’s Director of Commercial Vehicle Market Research and Publications, Jennifer McNealy.

“October’s cancellation rate, as a percentage of backlog, was a more subdued 1.3% verses last month’s overstated 5.6%,” she said.

McNealy reported that the trailer build backlog remained at 3.3 months. In January, the industry reported a backlog of 7.5 months, but that number shrinks as production outpaces new orders.

The used Class 8 market isn’t faring any better. According to ACT’s State of the Industry, U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks report for October. Same dealer retail sales declined 4.9% in the month.

“October is typically the third best sales month of the year, running nearly 8% above average,” said Steve Tam, vice president.

The ACT report showed sales declined 6% from October 2024 levels, with the average price 1% lower and the age of the average used truck sold increasing by 6%. The average retail price for a used, Class 8 truck in October was $55,300.

Manufacturer breakdown

Freightliner lead the way in new truck sales for October, reporting 4,738 units moved. That number represented a decline of 12.5% from September and a 39.7% decline from October 2024 sales. For the year-to-date, Sales of 61,995 are 14.1% behind last year’s pace and the company has lost 1% of its share of the market.

Tiny Western Star isn’t so tiny anymore, reporting sales of 876 for October. That total is down 7.6% from September and down 21.6% from October 2024, but for the year-to-date, the company has sold 9,704 trucks, up 5.3% from it’s 2024 pace. Western Star’s market share has grown to 5.5%, up 0.9% from last year.

Volvo was the only manufacturer to report a sales increase for October with sales of 1,544, up 31% from September’s 1,497. Sales are down 16.1% compared with October 2024, and for the year-to-date, the company lags 24.1% behind its 2024 pace. Volvo’s share of the new truck market has fallen by 1.4% from last year’s 10.2%.

Mack, a Volvo subsidiary, reported 1,332 trucks sold in October, down 2.3% from September and down 12.2% from October 2024. For the year-to-date, however, Mack sales have increased by 12.2% over last year as they have gained 1.8% of the market to rise to the current 8.5%.

International reported sales of 1,697 for October, a decline of 5.2% from September and down 33% from October 2024. In 2025, the builder’s sales of 19,504 is running 8.7% behind sales for the first ten months of 2024 and it has gained 0.3% of the new truck market.

Peterbilt reported 2,250 Class 8 trucks sold in October, down 9.0% from September and down 27.9% from October 2024. The company has sold 27,117 units in the first ten months of 2025, down 13.9% from last year’s pace. Peterbilt’s share of the Class 8 market stands at 15.5%, down 0.4% from its 2024 share.

Kenworth sales are similar, with sales of 2,237 in October, a decline of 12.3% from September and down 25.8% from October 2024. Year-to-date, Kenworth sales of 26,882 are running 11.9% behind its 2024 pace. Their share of the Class 8 market stands at 15.3%, down 0.1% from last year.

Sales of trucks and trucking equipment are likely to continue their downhill trajectory as freight rates remain at rock-bottom levels. In the long run, however, lower sales point to reduced capacity for the trucking industry, increasing shipper competition for available trucks and nudging rates upward.

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.

Credits