Class 8 commercial vehicle orders presented a glimmer of hope in July, reaching its highest level since November of last year, despite orders still being down 38 percent year over year
, according to ACT Research's State of the Industry report.

All three North American heavy-duty markets saw increases during the month, with Mexico at 11-month highs and Canada coming off lows posted early in the year. While the U.S. reached a peak for the year, a boost in cancellations brought net orders back in line with the recent run rate.

Meanwhile, medium-duty truck orders were 51 percent below levels from last year, a reflection of cancellations due to the General Motors exit from the market, ACT says.

"It's hard to get excited about order numbers that are very weak by historical standards, but still better than the extremely weak numbers of past months," said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT. "On a positive note, inventories continue to decline. When demand eventually comes around, inventories will not be an impediment to higher production."

ACT publishes commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market.

More info: www.actresearch.net.