Trailer net orders in February, at 20,700 units, were down nearly 31% from January and off 30% year over year. These results were published in the most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers published by ACT Research Co. (ACT).

“The story hasn’t changed much since last month,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT. “Large fleets came to market early, resulting in a front –loaded order season. The decline in net orders sequentially and year over year is due to the tough comp resulting from that early action, not a sign of weakness in the current market.” Maly added that backlogs remain high and the orderboard appears to have started a normal seasonal decline in response to the waning order season. “Solid freight volumes combined with fleets adding capacity as well as replacing tired equipment are major positives, “he added.

ACT is the worldwide leading publisher of new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT’s CV services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as the banking and investment community in North America, Europe and China.