For the third consecutive month, slumping shipments of van trailers have dragged down total trailer shipments as compared with figures for 1999.
Shipments of trailers of all types in the first eight months of the year, as reported by the Truck Trailer Manufacturers’ Association, using figures collected by the Bureau of Census, totaled 159,451, which was 14.7% below the 186,945 shipped in 1999.
However, only van trailers and tank trailers showed year-to-year declines.
Shipments of van trailers were down 21.9% with 115,529 compared to 147,993. In the first seven months, vans were down 10%, and in the first six months, they ran 8.9% behind 1999.
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