Net orders for commercial trailers declined 2% in July from June levels, the fourth straight monthly decline this year, says ACT Research Co. (ACT).
When combined with solid trailer production volume during July, industry backlogs slipped 4% month-over-month.

Industry backlog of 93,600 units at the end of July was up 97% compared to July 2010, according to the latest State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers, published by ACT this week.

"Given the industry's normal seasonal business patterns, the pace of orders is expected to slow further in the third quarter," said Frank Maly, ACT's director of commercial vehicle transportation analysis and research. "Current activity is tracking to those expectations.

"Order volume should begin to build again during fall and winter. Significantly, cancellations continue to be low. That denotes a solid backlog, and that's a positive indicator for the industry through the rest of 2011 and into 2012," added Maly.

ACT, in Columbus, Ind., publishes reports on new and used commercial vehicles, production and other industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market.