US trailer orders rose almost 47 per cent from August’s pace in September and were up 12 per cent on a year-over-year basis, according to ACT Research.
“While September’s early kick-off to the fall/winter order season was not particularly surprising, the volumes in dry vans and refers were a bit more robust than anticipated, up 46 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively,” said Frank Maly, Director CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT.
“Despite the solid start to the order season, the commercial vehicle segment news is not entirely positive. Tractor volumes have shown weakness, and the softness appears to come from high dealer inventory levels and fleet resistance to extend investment in the current soft freight market.”
Maly noted that for the remainder of 2015, year-over-year comps will be challenging. He added, “A better measure of the industry will be backlogs, where growth will indicate order flow above the current build rates.”