ACT Research reports the U.S. trailer backlog grew in November. For the first time in nearly a year, trailer orders outpaced build rates.
Trailer orders were up 23% from October, the company says, but still 4% below November 2023.
"November's trailer orders bring year-to-date activity to 139,100 units, down 34% from year-to-date November 2023's 211,000 bookings, competing against a better 2023 order environment, lingering pent-up demand, and modest supply chain congestion," says Jennifer McNealy, director of commercial vehicle market research and publications at ACT. "Order weakness exhibited in2024 is made worse when viewed relative to 2023's fuller backlogs."
Order intake outstripped build by about 6,700 units, ACT says, expanding the backlog about 11%, sequentially, in November.
"While quotation and order activity have increased seasonally, the challenge is that data continue to tell the story of macro-facing industry segments being particularly hard hit, with OEMs struggling to keep current operations intact, against a much more competitive landscape compared to the past several years as the entire industry competes to book business," McNealy says. "Simultaneously, strong Class 8 equipment purchases continue to oversupply the market, thereby dampening for-hire freight rates and limiting capex for new trailers."
