Class 8 truck orders were just over 24,600 units for March, according to ACT Research’s State of the Industry report.

While seasonally adjusted, this March’s Class 8 orders are the second lowest in 16 months, however, context need to be considered, ACT said.

“A 300,000 unit annualized rate of order placement represents solid support for an industry already sitting on nearly 7 months of unbuilt orders,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “The first quarter represents three of the four weakest sales months of the year. Despite softness in the actual data, on a seasonally adjusted basis, Class 8 retail sales in Q1 occurred at a strong 335,000 unit SAAR.”

Class 5-7 trucks posted 20,800 in net orders for March. These orders represented a 14% improvement year over year, ACT said.