ACT Research announced Friday its preliminary estimate for March 2019 net trailer orders is 15,600 units.
“It appears that the industry entered a bit of a holding pattern in March, as order volume declined significantly from both the previous month and this time last year. Net orders dropped 35 percent from February and were approximately 48 percent below a year ago,” says Frank Maly, ACT’s director of commercial vehicle transportation analysis and research.
“Although current backlogs consume the majority of available build slots this year, particularly in the dry van and reefer segments, we continue to hear that OEMs are reluctant to fully open the 2020 order boards. Their concerns center around materials and component pricing, which would obviously have measurable impact on future pricing.”
Maly adds that while some fleets appear to be willing to extend commitments, others might be waiting, monitoring current market conditions. Also worth noting, given extended backlogs, Maly says OEMs are pushing to deliver trailers as quickly as possible.
“Preliminary information indicates production crossed the 30,000 unit mark last month for only the second time in industry history,” he says.
