Trailer orders for July came in at 9,000 units, up 61 percent from June’s total, but 68 percent below July 2018, according to FTR’s preliminary report.
FTR says trailer orders continue to show weakness during the summer months after experiencing a record run in the second half of last year. Van fleets already have their orders in for 2019 and have not started ordering yet for 2020. Although production currently remains robust at near-record levels, some easing of build rates is expected as backlogs fall significantly to where they were at the start of 2018. Trailer orders for the past 12 months now total 324,000 units, FTR reports.
“Orders should stay subdued in August but start to revive in September as fleets determine their needs for next year. The environment remains uncertain with freight growth slowing and the tariff situation in flux,” says Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles.
“The July order volumes continue to demonstrate a possible return to normalcy in the equipment markets. The low total is representative of a typical slow summer order month,” Ake says.
