Trailer Sales Could Rise in ‘04 Because of Driver HOS Change

railer makers could see a jump in sales next year as motor carriers buy more trailers to offset anticipated productivity losses caused by new federal rules regulating driver work time, industry officials said.

With the new rules restricting driving time, carriers said they would need more equipment to allow drivers to drop their trailers to get around loading and unloading delays.

The hours-of-service change “is going to add to trailer sales next year . . . . [Fleets] will need to utilize trailers better and add [some] so they can drop them off rather than have drivers wait for loading and unloading. We are expecting that will impact sales favorably,” said Tom Czapka, vice president of business development at trailer maker Great Dane.