In September, trailer orders improved over 100% month-over-month to between 28,127 and 28,300 units, ACT Research and FTR reported.
September’s Class 8 order number is not a true indicator of 2022 truck demand, FTR’s Don Ake said, because OEM are delaying entering order until the health of the supply chain improves.
Given the ongoing kinks in the global supply chain and the rise in domestic freight demand, OEMs won’t catch up with demand until 2023, according to FTR's Don Ake. That’s why FTR’s equipment outlook calls for pent-up demand to continue into 2022 — and possibly into 2023.
In place of FTR’s cancelled in-person 2021 Transportation Conference, FTR will host a virtual conference beginning Sept. 13.
Economic growth and freight rates are expected to remain solid well into 2022, according to transportation analysis firm FTR, but the struggle to find drivers is expected to continue to plague the industry.
With fleets "desperate for new dry vans," trailer makers continue to struggle to increase production rates to meet high demand in the face of supply chain, staffing, and material shortage issues.
FTR announced that it has cancelled its 2021 FTR Transportation Conference due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
North American Class 8 orders in July were between 25,800 to 26,500 units, virtually unchanged compared to June’s orders.
Stronger freight rates would have pushed FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index to a third straight record, but those gains were offset by a swing in diesel prices. Still, conditions were robust.
While trailer orders in June came in above their weak May numbers, orders have continued to soften compared to 2020 order numbers.
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