U.S. Trailer Preliminary Net Orders Surged 75% M/M in September, but Were Off 68% Y/Y and Down 54% YTD

Fleets, while still leaning toward caution, are beginning to set their investment plans for 2020

ACT’s preliminary estimate for September indicated that trailer manufacturers booked 18.5k net orders to their orderboards last month, a 75% surge from August’s subdued net order volume. Volume was 68% below a year ago, while year-to-date, net orders are 54% less than last year. Before accounting for cancellations, new orders were 21.4k, up 45% from August and 64% below last year. Final volume will be available later this month. This preliminary market estimate should be within +/- 3% of the final order tally.

ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report provides a monthly review of the current US trailer market statistics, as well as trailer OEM build plans and market indicators divided by all major trailer types, including backlogs, build, inventory, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and factory shipments. It is accompanied by a database that gives historical information from 1996 to the present, as well as a ready-to-use graph packet, to allow organizations in the trailer production supply chain, and those following the investment value of trailers and trailer OEMs and suppliers, to better understand the market.

“Given that the all-time monthly order record was set last September, a dramatic year-over-year decline was a foregone conclusion. However, the dramatic sequential gain is a significant takeaway. Fleets, while still leaning toward caution, are beginning to set their investment plans for 2020. A softer, but noticeable order season is now underway, as orders last month were the best since February,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT Research. He also noted, “Some churn in the orderboard continues, although it appears that the pace of cancellations did slow last month.”

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