US market slides in March

US trailer orders are estimated to come in around the 21,500-mark in March, according to preliminary data by ACT Research – a drop from February but an increase of 45 per cent compared to March 2016.

“Commitments have been delayed this order season, as fleets carefully monitored economic conditions and watched the political winds to determine their confidence regarding capital expenditures,” said Frank Maly, ACT’s Director CV Transportation Analysis and Research.

“Their shift from caution to a more optimistic outlook is evident when you consider net order volumes in each of the last four months has surpassed the same month of the prior year.

“While the 20 per cent decline in net orders from February was a bit more than anticipated, March net orders were up a very solid 45 per cent versus last year. The majority of that strength came from dry vans, which were roughly double last year’s level.”

He added, “The order season normally starts strong in late summer/early fall and closes the first quarter at a more moderate pace. This order cycle has proceeded in almost the opposite pattern. In fact, the longer-term perspective shows the total net orders booked from last September through March is now almost equal to the 2015/2016 order cycle volume.”

Leave a Reply

Send this to a friend