Trailer Orders Gain 7.4% Year-Over-Year, ACT Reports
Trailer orders in July totaled 20,313 units, which continued to top the 2014 pace but trailed well behind a very strong June result, ACT Research reported.
The July total was 7.4% higher than the same month of 2014 but fell 27% short of the June total of 27,831. The June result was the strongest for that month in more than two decades and signaled a shift in ordering patterns by fleets as manufacturing backlogs mounted.
FTR, which also compiles equipment order reports, counted 20,400 units ordered last month.
“While total net orders were off 27% [month to month], the majority of that decline was dry van-related, a response to the unusually strong dry van volume in June,” said Frank Maly, director of commercial vehicle transportation analysis and research at ACT. “Dry vans and flatbeds drove most of the slight jump in cancellations that occurred in July, with the flatbed shift reported to be the response to dealers bringing their inventories more in line with current demand.”
Maly said ACT believes that demand for some trailers could soften as energy price declines persist.
“Lower prices will continue to dampen exploration as well as the accompanying equipment investment,” he said in a statement, while noting that the overall trailer market will be the strongest since the late 1990s.
According to ACT, the trailer manufacturing backlog mounted to nearly 155,000 units last month, or 37% more than the same month of last year.
“The month-over-month decline was particularly impacted by a drop in dry van orders following some large fleet orders placed in June,” FTR’s report said.
FTR also said there are signs that tank and flatbed orders are slowing.
