While November net orders for commercial trailers were down 27 percent from October, orders were up 73 percent from a year ago, a reflection of modest order cancellations this year

, according to ACT Research.

This year's cancellations were minimal compared to the large number of cancellations last year, during the initial phase of the financial crisis. In the latest release of ACT's State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers, ACT found that dry and reefer vans had a strong month, with each posting triple-digit gains from November 2008.

"While we were happy to see the above trend orders in October, our sense was that given the continued oversupply of equipment and relative lack of freight, the jump in orders was unsustainable," said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research. "On a more positive note, factory shipments remained above production levels, reducing inventories to a four-year low."

More info: www.actresearch.net