ACT: Trailer orders surge 79% in October

New orders of dry van commercial trailers more than doubled in October from the prior year, leading total net orders of commercial trailers to a 33-month high, according to ACT Research Co.

Eight of nine trailer categories tracked by the company increased year over year.
 
In its latest State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers, ACT noted net orders increased 79 percent over last year to 17,126 units. The strong inflow of orders pushed manufacturer backlogs up by more than 5,000 units.
 
“The strength in October orders was widespread, but was clearly led by a surge in demand for dry van trailers,” said Kenny Vieth, president and partner of ACT Research. “October was only the second month since early 2007 that dry van net orders broke above what ACT considers to be the dry van replacement level, meaning carriers are just now starting to work towards catching up on their replacement cycle.”