Trailer Orders Soar in September to Highest Level Since 2005
September trailer orders spiked 86.2% from a year earlier and soared to the highest level in nearly a decade, ACT Research reported.
U.S. trailer makers last month received 32,194 net orders, the highest monthly total since January 2005 and the sixth best on record going back to 1990, the firm said. It was also the largest September tally on record.
Last month’s total, which dwarfed the 17,294 orders placed in September 2013, also jumped 29.3% from the 24,894 orders in August.
ACT analyst Frank Maly said the surge in order activity was driven in large part by fleets making their order commitments earlier than usual to secure production slots at a time when manufacturers’ backlogs continue to expand.
Given the industry’s high demand for trailers, many buyers already have been getting in line for 2015 production rather than waiting until November or December, he said.
They know the queue is already pretty full, so they want to make sure they are in place where they want to be,” Maly said. “They don’t want to come too late to the party.”
Through nine months, customers have ordered 230,394 trailers this year, a 50.7% jump from 152,914 in the same timeframe in 2013.
With three months to go, the cumulative 2014 net order total has already nearly matched the 232,153 orders placed in all of 2013.
This year is on pace to be the best for net trailer orders since at least 2006, when orders crested at 283,164, and could surpass that figure if incoming orders remain strong during the fourth quarter.
