North American Class 8 orders for January hit 17,700, a 9.9% increase from the same period a year earlier, and notching the first year-over-year gain since October 2018. Some industry analysts see this as the beginning of a welcome calm period after two years of steep highs then deep lows in heavy-duty orders. In January 2019, Class 8 orders reached 16,105; and for the full year totaled 180,951.
