Truck Orders Slump 36% on Emissions Doubts as Teamsters Claim Amazon Foothold

Orders for heavy-duty trucks in North America plunged in October. Fleets held back on purchases amid uncertainty over federal emissions rules and rising operating costs.

Preliminary Class 8 net orders fell to 15,600 units, down 36% from a year earlier and 24% from September, according to FTR. That left October nearly 50% below its 10-year average of about 31,100 units. Orders for the year so far remain up 74% from 2025, after a wave of buying ahead of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2027 emissions standards.

“Orders are increasingly tied to fleet profitability, capital spending priorities, and regulatory certainty,” said Dan Moyer, FTR’s senior analyst for commercial vehicles. Freight rates are strengthening, he said, but “so are costs for fuel, insurance, and labor, pressuring margins and possibly limiting purchases for now.” Moyer said some purchases may be deferred rather than canceled. ACT Research also reported a decline in preliminary October orders.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, meanwhile, said it had organized drivers who move trucks within Amazon.com Inc.’s OIL9 facility in Merrillville, Indiana. The union demanded that the company bargain a contract. It has made similar claims at Amazon sites in Kentucky and Missouri.

“Amazon Teamsters are proud to expand our national footprint,” said Randy Korgan, director of the union’s Amazon division. Amazon said no unionization had taken place and that “the Teamsters are not a certified bargaining representative at a single Amazon facility.”

The National Labor Relations Board shows no election at the Indiana site. The union appears to be relying on a 2023 board precedent that allows a recognition demand based on signed authorization cards. That standard is now under legal challenge.