TRUCKING INDUSTRY ANALYSTS SEE NEW TRAILER ORDERS UP 15% IN APRIL

At 15,800 units, trucking industry analysts at FTR said U.S. trailer net orders for April met expectations, with activity up 15 percent month over month, but down 12 percent year over year. The industry forecaster said its data registers last month as the weakest April since 2010. Orders have totaled 289,000 units for the last 12 months, and backlogs are now down 7 percent year over year.

Meanwhile, ACT Research said its preliminary estimate for April showed net trailer orders in the country at 17,200 units, which it said would be nearly a 15 percent increase from March 2016 and about 5 percent below the same month last year.
ACT said it has developed a methodology to generate a total U.S. trailer industry net order estimate that should be within plus or minus 5 percent of the final order number.
FTR said dry van orders rebounded in April after a weak March, but were still at the second lowest total for the year. Refrigerated van orders were down month over month and the lowest since 2013, with flatbeds orders similar to March. April order activity for liquid tanks and dump trailers was weak during April. There was minimal change in trailer build daily rates, which have remained fairly steady through the first four months of the year.
“The trailer market is slowly moderating and beginning a transition period,” said Don Ake, FTR’s vice president of commercial vehicles. “Orders have been weak for two consecutive months, and the start of the traditional summer order slump is still two months away. Backlogs remain excellent, so no major adjustment to production is expected for a few months. Cancellations were elevated for the second straight month, and this is usually an indication the market will begin cooling soon.
“Dry vans and refrigerated vans continue to sustain the trailer market. Fleets are profitable, and they are using some of these profits to replace units that were not able to be replaced during the Great Recession,” Ake said. “Refrigerated freight is still robust, driving the need for new and replacement units. The dump trailer market is being boosted by increased road construction.”
May 19, 2016,http://www.truckingnewsonline.com/

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