Orders of medium-duty vehicles in Class 5 to 7 increased 10% to 16,900 in August and rebounded to a three-month high, according to ACT Research.

The move higher was not suprising, as early summer months typically show a softening of truck ordering. However, the trend is showing that medium-duty vehicle demand "has moderated," said Kenny Vieth, ACT's president and senior analyst.

"Despite rising 10% from July, orders failed to reach year-ago levels for a third time in the past four months, dropping 5% from year-ago August," Vieth said.

Despite slower orders in recent months, Class 5-7 net orders are running 3% ahead of year-ago order levels through August. Year to date, Class 5-7 net orders have been booked at an annualized rate just over 231,000 units, Vieth said.