August commercial vehicle orders of Class 8 models shot up to their highest level since November of 2008, but were still down 30 percent year over year
, according to the recently released State of the Industry report by ACT Research.

New Class 8 orders saw a 15 percent improvement over July, but high cancellations during the month brought net orders down, ACT reports.

Within the medium-duty Class 5-7 segment, net orders gained 75 percent from last year, a reflection of large bus orders and strong pullback in cancellations, ACT says. The number varied widely by vehicle type. Medium-duty truck orders were at a five-month high, but down 26 percent from August 2008. Buses and step-vans posted very strong net orders in August, but ACT says there is little evidence that those types of numbers will continue.

"Even though hauling capacity has been coming out of the market, through below replacement level retail sales and strong exports of used equipment, Class 8 overcapacity remains an issue limiting near-term demand, " said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT. "While order activity has begun to make modest strides, there is no suggestion that demand is poised for a sustained break-out above replacement level volumes any time soon."

More info: www.actresearch.net.