Trailer Orders End Year With Sequential Jump

Preliminary net data for December showed a 5% year-over-year increase to 25,300 units. (Western Trailers)

U.S. trailer orders in December improved substantially from the previous month, and also improved over the prior-year level, according to ACT Research.

Preliminary net data showed a 5% year-over-year increase to 25,300 units. The results also marked a sequential boost of 112% to close out what has been a fairly mixed year overall. Seasonally adjusted volume at this point in the annual order cycle lowers the tally to about 18,600 units.

“Sequentially, a slight uptick in net orders was expected, as December is usually the second-strongest order month of the annual cycle,” said Jennifer McNealy, director of commercial vehicle market research for ACT Research. “That said, preliminary data showed new vehicle demand for power units jolt awake in December, and those same factors of a firmer economic foundation, December’s weather-induced spike in freight rates, increasingly aged fleet and some level of tariff-related clarity are also in play for trailing equipment demand.”

ACT Research data also showed that net orders in the fourth quarter totaled 53,400 units, bringing the total for 2025 to 172,100 — about 6% more trailers than were requested in 2024.

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“Sequentially, a slight uptick in net orders was expected, as December is usually the second-strongest order month," says ACT Research's Jennifer McNealy. (ACT Research) 

“While a better year than 2024, concerns about the level of economic activity that drives transportation demand, still weak although improving for-hire carrier profitability and uncertainty about future government policies remain as challenges to stronger trailer demand in the near term,” McNealy said.

Western Trailers also ended the year with a bump in activity. The trailer manufacturer reported that order volumes were up 13% compared with the prior year after an influx of quotes. The company also made some gains on selling stocked equipment during the month.

“It’s coming along much better than it was,” said Dan Taylor, director of sales at Western Trailers. “We’re still a little bit below what a normal year would be. We’re still not as good as a normal year. But good considering where we were, considering where we’ve been in order volume. I think where the economy has been, there’s a lot more optimism. Our customers seem to be more optimistic.”

Taylor pointed to flatbed customers in particular. They have held off on getting replacement trailers but are now reaching the point where they no longer can kick the can down the road. Taylor expects to see more customers reach that point in the year ahead. He also has heard that there have been slight improvements in terms of market fundamentals.

“From what they’re telling me, rates are starting to stabilize a little bit,” Taylor said. “Not anything earth shattering. But then also … I think there’s some COVID hangover out there in the rates that we’re able to get. Those COVID years were really good to trucking, and I wonder if some people still have those years in mind, those profit years.”

Taylor added that these customers are essentially holding on for the next big freight market upswing. But he expressed doubt over whether that is obtainable given the pandemic years were historically high.

He points out, however, that market conditions have not been uniform across the board, and that some niche customers are seeing more activity.

“We’re starting to see, in some of the niche stuff we do, there’s jobs out for bid,” Taylor said. “Some of the refuse contracts are coming up for bid. People seem more optimistic about that, wanting to get the job, and generally that takes new equipment. So that’s good for us, for the trailer builders.”