ACT Research on Wednesday released its preliminary estimate for May net trailer orders is 17,850 units, a 14 percent drop month-over-month but still positive overall number considering historical trends.
“That was actually better than expected since historic order patterns call for decline in excess of 20 percent in May,” says Frank Maly, ACT’s director of CV transportation Analysis and Research. “The major May story is the continuation of the 2016/17 order season momentum. After a very slow start last fall, orders have been up year-over-year every month since December, with both April and May posting year-over-year gains of 25 percent or better.”
ACT preliminary information shows that dry vans were the major contributor to the solid May performance.
“Dry vans, while off month-over-month as history projects, were up almost 50 percent versus last year. Flatbeds, dumps, and tanks also posted solid y/y results last month,” Maly says.
Final May volume will be available later this month. ACT says its methodology allows the company to generate a preliminary estimate of the market that should be within +/- 3 percent of the final order tally.
