Trailer Orders Surge

Net orders of commercial trailers rose to 21,990 in February, a gain of over 25 percent from January, according to ACT Research. The commercial vehicle industry analysts also reported solid factory shipments in February, posting a 105 percent gain versus the same month last year.

The positive industry performance was broad based. ACT's analysis notes that all nine trailer categories have posted year-to-date gains for both net orders and shipments year over year. Of particular note was the performance in the dry van segment, where on a year-to-date basis, net orders are up more than 90 percent and shipments are up almost 225 percent.

"The ramp-up in orders that we've been tracking has continued into 2011. Year-to-date, total net orders are up over 87 percent compared to 2010," said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst with ACT Research. "Shipments are up an even stronger 116 percent when compared to the first two months of 2010. Strong orders and rising backlogs set the stage for solid industry performance during 2011."