Trailer orders reached 18,900 units in June, according to data tracked by research firm FTR Transportation Intelligence, rebounding from May with a month-over-month improvement of 12% and posting a 58% increase over June 2016 order levels.
Overall, trailer orders now total 261,000 units for the past twelve months with production rising a “surprisingly” 5% from May primarily for dry van and refrigerated units, noted Don Ake, FTR’s vice president of commercial vehicles.
“The trailer market had a fantastic month in June. Production was the highest since July 2015,” he said in a statement. “Orders did not fall all much from the respectable numbers posted in March and April. Backlogs are dropping, but that’s due to the high build rates rather than lower orders.”
Ake added that medium and small fleets are ordering trailers as the spot freight market remains hot, while larger fleets are taking delivery on orders placed months ago as stronger freight growth starts to occur.
“Replacement demand for dry van [trailers] continues and flatbed demand has begun to take off,” he pointed out. “The trailer market continues to exceed expectations in 2017.”
