U.S. trailer orders in September “continue to reflect the early opening to the 2018/19 order season,” according to Act Research. Total trailer net orders of more than 58,000 units were up 52% month over month – and 135% better than this time last year, according to this month’s issue of ACT’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailer Report.

“Following the strongest July and August net orders in industry history, September results were truly epic, posting more than 58,000 trailers,” said Frank Maly, director, CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT Research. “The strength of the early open of the 2019 order board continues to be felt, and the pent-up fleet investment intentions were evident in September’s order pace. Our discussions indicate that order negotiations continue, so there may well be further strength remaining in this early-opening order season.”

Maly noted that despite September’s short production schedule, “the combined impact of red-tag completions and inventory drawdown pushed shipments past the 30,000-unit mark for the month, setting the all-time monthly shipment record and breaking the previous high that occurred just the month before.

“Factory shipments have posted year-over-year gains for 14 of the past 15 months, with the largest percentage improvement occurring in the vocational segments,” he added.

ACT Research publishes new and used commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis, and forecasting services.