August Sees Boost in Trailer Orders
The final numbers on August net trailer orders show a significant increase over the previous month that still fell slightly below expectations.
Transportation industry analyst FTR reported a total of 14,000 units ordered for the month which was up 48% from July. However, July was a terrible month for orders and compared to August 2015, orders were actually down 48%.
“Overall, it was not too bad for a month of August for the trailer industry,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “New orders were at the highest level in six months.”
New orders were at the highest level of the past six months however, the impact was mitigated by a high number of cancellations as OEMs clean placeholder orders out of the backlog.
While fleets were expected to start placing orders for 2017 in August, lower than expected numbers seem to indicate that next year will be slow. In its own analysis of August’s trailer orders, ACT Research remarked that there seemed to be a lack of enthusiasm for new orders than previously expected.
“Overcapacity, lackluster year-over-year fleet financials for Q2, and minimal expectations for improvement in freight rates are generating investment plan headwinds,” said Frank Maly, director of commercial vehicle transportation analysis and research at ACT Research. “After several years of solid and ever-earlier order placement, expect this order cycle to be less robust and straggling.”
Related: The 2016 Trailers Update
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