Trailer Orders Down in December

ACT Research

ACT Research: Preliminary U.S. Trailer December Net Orders Were 26,600 Units; 2021 Closes On A Softer Note

COLUMBUS, IN – (Trailer Technician) – Preliminary reports show trailer net orders closed on a softer note, with OEMs booking 26.6k units in December. That was 17% lower than November and 40% below the previous year’s volume. Final December results will be available later this month. This preliminary market estimate should be within +/- 3% of the final order tally.

ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report provides a monthly review of the current US trailer market statistics, as well as trailer OEM build plans and market indicators divided by all major trailer types, including backlogs, build, inventory, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and factory shipments. It is accompanied by a database that gives historical information from 1996 to the present, as well as a ready-to-use graph packet, to allow organizations in the trailer production supply chain, and those following the investment value of trailers, trailer OEMs, and suppliers to better understand the market.

Trailer Orders December 2021

“After a very conservative path from April through August, OEMs cautiously began to accept additional orders in September. That careful posture continued through the remainder of the year. OEMs continue to balance staffing and supply-chain challenges as they seek to ramp production volumes to better fulfill fleet equipment demands,” said Frank Maly, Director CV Transportation Analysis and Research of ACT Research. He added, “Even with the lower December order volume, preliminary results point to month-over-month growth in industry backlog as the year closed, and it appears that 2022 production slots are now committed through August, at current build rates. This preliminary report puts the full-year 2021 net orders at almost 248k trailers, down about 17% from 2020. The decline is entirely the result of supply-chain and staffing issues, as OEM output continues to trail actual fleet demand.”

ACT Research is recognized as the leading publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis, and forecasts for the North America and China markets. ACT’s analytical services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as banking and investment companies. ACT Research is a contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and a member of the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Panel. ACT Research executives have received peer recognition, including election to the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics, appointment as Consulting Economist to the National Private Truck Council, and the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Economic Indicators’ Most Accurate Economic Forecast over a four-year period. ACT Research senior staff members have earned accolades including Chicago Federal Reserve Automotive Outlook Symposium Best Overall Forecast, Wall Street Journal Top Economic Outlook, and USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters. More information can be found at www.actresearch.net.

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