Trailer Orders Stay High in November

Trailer orders last month continued at a record-setting pace, with November expected to wind up the fifth best month in industry history, according to preliminary numbers from ACT Research.

Trailer orders are projected to hit 43,600 units for November as fleets continue to buy more equipment to match demand. Dry vans order have been the hottest segment with November ranking as the third best order month for the trailer type behind only September and October of this year.

“Trailer orders continued to set records in November. Led by dry vans, OEMs saw the highest November order volume in history,” said Frank Maly, ACT’s director of commercial vehicle transportation analysis and research.

The continued strength in ordering indicates that fleets have ambitious investment plans for the upcoming year with backlogs for trailer production already extending into the third quarter of 2019.

“We show the industry’s total order board closed November at nearly 239,000 trailers," said Maly. "That’s the highest level on record, breaking the previous mark set in December 1994.

“As is the norm, dry vans and reefers [backlogs] are both out longer," he added, "actually extending into the fourth quarter of 2019, while vocational trailer categories have shorter, but still very robust horizons.”