July is seasonally the weakest order month for the trailer industry, and the 14,500 new orders booked for the month confirmed that pattern.


Orders were down 5.9% month over month, reports ACT Research Co.

"The net order picture was a bit stronger than new orders, but still down 2% month over month," said Frank Maly, director-CV Transportation with ACT Research.

"Additionally the decline in orders outpaced the slide in production, resulting in the lowest level of backlogs since last December. July shipments were up 14.8% year over year, although they were down 12.6% from last month," he added.

Maly reiterated that confidence and availability of funds are at the center of the pullback by credit buyers, impacting ongoing trailer order demand.