Preliminary Trailer Orders Stay in Mid-20,000 Range for February

Trailer orders for the past 12 months now total 386,000

FTR reports preliminary trailer orders for February at 24,000 units, -9% m/m and -27% y/y.  February was the third month in row that trailer orders were in the mid-20,000’s as some van OEM’s are basically solid out for 2019, with few build slots left open. Dry van fleets that need trailers this year are grabbing whatever build slots they can find, regardless of their historical brand preference. Vocational trailer demand remains stable, but down from the strong order rates a few months ago.  

Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles, commented, “The decent February order volumes mean that backlogs should only decline modestly during March.  The trailer market continues to show surprising resilience despite the moderation in economic and freight growth. The current strength of the trailer market is good news for the general economy. It indicates fleets expect sturdy freight demand to continue throughout 2019.”

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