Ask for a written, comparable quote before changing your truck budget. In a fee-free US example, financing US$10,000 less at a fixed 8% annual rate over 60 months reduces the payment by about US$203 a month—2.43 cents per total mile at 100,000 miles a year. That is a hypothetical financing difference, not an observed discount.
The new number is orders, not truck prices
ACT Research’s November 4 release puts preliminary October 2026 North America Class 8 net orders at 13,500 units, down 45% from October a year earlier. ACT expects final October results in mid-November.
The release covers North America as a whole; it does not give separate US and Canadian counts. Net orders measure equipment ordering, not retail prices, freight volumes or the discount available on a particular truck. A smaller order count alone cannot establish that waiting will get you a better deal.
What US$10,000 less financed would change
Consider two hypothetical US quotes for otherwise comparable equipment, each with US$20,000 down. Hold the fixed annual interest rate at 8% and the term at 60 monthly payments. Assume no fees, taxes, balloon payment or trade-in; in this fee-free example the annual rate equals APR. These are calculation inputs, not current truck prices or financing offers.
| Item | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Truck price | US$120,000 | US$110,000 |
| Down payment | US$20,000 | US$20,000 |
| Amount financed | US$100,000 | US$90,000 |
| Fixed annual rate / term | 8% / 60 months | 8% / 60 months |
| Monthly payment | US$2,027.64 | US$1,824.88 |
| Total interest over 60 months | US$21,658.37 | US$19,492.53 |
| Payment per total mile at 100,000 miles/year | 24.33 US cents | 21.90 US cents |
Using unrounded payments, Quote B reduces monthly debt service by US$202.76. Across 60 payments, the difference is US$12,165.84: US$10,000 less principal plus US$2,165.84 less interest. Both quotes require the same cash down.
Payment is a cash-flow requirement, not the truck’s full operating cost or accounting expense. Principal repayment, interest and depreciation are different. Insurance, fuel, maintenance, downtime and resale value can change the purchase decision even when one payment is smaller.
Compare the written deal before choosing
- Request the same specification, delivery timing, warranty and itemized out-the-door price from each seller. Compare actual written offers rather than treating the order headline as a discount.
- Check amount financed, down payment, contractual interest rate, APR, fees, total payments and any balloon or prepayment terms. If fees make APR differ from the contract rate, use the lender’s payment schedule to reconcile the estimate.
- Run each offer separately in the semi-truck loan calculator. Its mileage input is monthly: 100,000 annual miles is about 8,333.33 per month; 60,000 is 5,000. It rounds the displayed payment to whole dollars and payment per mile to two decimal dollars, so small differences may look coarser than this table.
- Compare the payment at a plausible slow-month mileage level, then add operating costs and the cash you need to retain. A cheaper quote on different equipment is not automatically the better business choice.
Canadian readers can use the same amortization arithmetic with consistently Canadian-dollar inputs and actual local loan terms. This article’s dollar figures are USD, not a Canadian price estimate or currency conversion. ACT’s regional order count is not a Canada-specific result.
Sources & method
- ACT Research: Regulatory Uncertainty Drives October Class 8 Order SlowdownChecked November 5, 2026. Preliminary October North America net orders; final results expected mid-November. This rolling page may change with the next release. No dealer-price or individual-loan conclusion is taken from it. Published November 4, 2026.
- TruckMargin semi-truck loan calculator and methodologyMethod checked November 5, 2026. Payment = principal × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)^(-n)], with r = 0.08/12 and n = 60. Original hypothetical: 100,000 versus 90,000 USD principal. Table uses unrounded results before rounding; tool display is coarser. The article does not use the tool’s published rate bands as a current offer.
Published November 5, 2026. For a correction, use the contact details on our About page and include the article URL and figure in question.