New Numbers Wipe Out '98 Trailer Sales Record
Revisions by the Bureau of the Census have wiped out an apparent record set for trailer shipments in 1998, while new reports showed January 2000 shipments trailing those in the same month a year earlier.
The estimated report for full-year 1998 had 343,865 units being shipped, which would have made that year an all-time record by a hefty margin. However, the revised figure, as calculated by the bureau in its March report, shows manufacturers sending out 277, 419 units, which is below the 1995 figure of 279,144, still the record year.
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The Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association reported that total trailers shipped in January were 21,510, down 6% from the 22,893 reported in January 1999. However, both the 1999 and 2000 numbers are subject to further revision over the actual amount of shipments, which are used by the industry as a surrogate for sales figures.
The TTMA uses Bureau of Census figures in order to maintain consistency in reports of industry activity. However, the figures first reported are always estimated and will often be revised. In the past, these revisions have almost always been downward.
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