Trailer orders fell month-over-month in July, but were up 37% compared to a year ago, according to fictures from ACT Research.

The start of the second half of the year continued to reflect the strength of the first six months, with July net orders of 19,280 trailers, up 37% year over year.

That's a big contrast from July of last year, when orders failed to meet analysts' expectations, coming in at an annualized rate of 201,000.

Year-to-date net orders or up even more over last year, at 179,000 up 44% over the same period in 2013.

This information was included in ACT's most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers.

“Although orders declined 12% month over month, that was in line with seasonal expectations," said Frank Maly, Director – CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT. Maly said that although cancellations have gradually trended upward the last few months, they have not reached a level of concern. Most trailer categories posted cancellation rates in the low-to-mid single digits.

“Long lead times will continue to be the norm, as backlogs currently commit production for the remainder of this year,” he added.

ACT publishes new and used commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market.