US research company, ACT, is estimating US trailer orders to come in around the 36,300 unit mark in November, nearly doubling October's orders.
“Net trailer orders rebounded strongly in November, as the industry entered the core of its order season. Order volume was the highest of the year, and the best since last November. Three factors contributed to the solid performance,” said Frank Maly, ACT’s Director of CV Transportation Analysis & Research.
“Dry van orders were more than double that of October and nearly equivalent to last November. Cancellations, which we measure as a percent of backlog, appear to have slid to the lowest rate since May. Finally, recent energy price increases appear to have helped liquid and bulk tank order volumes post both month-on-month and year-on-year improvement.”
Maly added, “Despite the month-over-month surge for total trailer orders, volume still trailed last November by roughly seven to eight per cent while year-to-date volumes are down over 30 per cent.”
According to ACT Research, the final November volumes will be available later this month. The company’s methodology reportedly allows it to generate an early estimate of the market that should be within +/- five per cent of the final order number.