ACT Research, a publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer and bus industry data, has released May’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailer report.
According to the results, May net US trailer orders of 19,445 units were virtually unchanged compared to April, down just 0.8 per cent – but were 93 per cent higher compared to May last year.
ACT Research Director, CV Market Research & Publications, Jennifer McNealy, said heavy vehicle orders are progressing along well.
“Order placement remained choppy in May, with dry vans, up 32 per cent m/m, and bulk tank, 42 per cent m/m higher, responsible for the total industry uptick,” she said. “OEMs continue to negotiate with fleets, and that effort is building a large group of staged/planned orders that are not yet officially posted to the backlog.
“Once OEMs gain sufficient confidence in their availability to open 2023 production slots, expect a surge of orders to be ‘officially’ accepted.
“The industry has normally not been willing to push commitments past 12 months, nor open a new calendar year this early in the preceding year, but recent years, including the pandemic-battered 2020/21, have been anything but normal.
“We expect some OEMs to begin considering longer orderboards, with appropriate cost/price protections.”
ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report provides a monthly review of the current US trailer market statistics, as well as trailer OEM build plans and market indicators divided by all major trailer types.