COLUMBUS, Ind. — May’s net trailer orders totaled 6,100 units, about 46% lower year-over-year, and 7,650 units below April’s intake.
This is according to ACT Research’s latest State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report.
May’s tally brings the year-to-date net order activity to 68,200 units, 25% lower than the first five months of 2023, with its faster paced order environment, pent-up demand and moderately congested supply chain, ACT reports.
“Seasonally adjusted (SA), May’s orders were nearly 7,200 units compared to a 17,300 SA rate in April,” said Jennifer McNealy, director of commercial vehicle market research and publications at ACT Research. “On that basis, orders decreased 59% month-over-month. Dry van orders contracted 85% year-over-year, while reefers, albeit at low volumes, were still an improvement from last May’s negative net order tally. Flats were 37% lower compared to May 2023.”
McNealy added that total cancellations again oscillated to the higher side of the pendulum’s arc in May.
“The cancellation rate rose to 3.2% of the backlog, from April’s 1.5% rate,” she noted. “Eight of 10 markets remained at or above the 1% mark, with OEMs indicating cancellations from multiple fleets and dealers.”
McNealy said that this capex constrained environment, and with an expensive EPA mandate landing in 2027, fleet willingness to spend on trailers is under growing pressure.
“Coupling these factors and overstocked dealer inventories that are proving harder to move and the absence of a need for carriers to boost trailer-tractor ratios in the short-term, as capacity remains plentiful and spot market volumes and rates remain under pressure from private fleet capacity expansions, and it adds up to a challenging part of the cycle for the US trailer industry,” she said.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
