Anyone who doubts the U.S. economic recovery is building muscle should talk to a truck salesman. Net orders for the Class 8 trucks that literally keep the economy in motion were “phenomenal” in October, FTR Associates said this week, nearly breaking an all-time record.

FTR released preliminary data showing October 2014 North American Class 8 truck net orders at 45,795 units. That made October the second highest order month ever recorded, with orders rising 87 percent month-over-month and 76 percent year-over-year, FTR said.

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