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In December, Class 8 truck orders for all major North American manufacturers totaled 25,247 units, down 3 percent from November’s volume, according to FTR Associates. Net order activity for the fourth quarter, including business in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as exports, annualized to 280,324 units, FTR said.
 
“Order activity for December came in on the high side of expectations and supports our view that production and sales will continue to accelerate during 2011,” said FTR President Eric Starks in a prepared statement. “Freight demand will need to remain solid in early 2011 to maintain this strong order activity for Class 8 units.”

Current order activity primarily is driven by fleet owners’ need to replace aging trucks, he said.