The key factors for success in North American horse-trailer manufacturing will increasingly be differentiation and more user-friendly specification processes for the final units, according to a new report by Research and Markets.
The report says living-quarter trailers have become the growth product in this segment, due to the customization of each unit. Bumper-pull units are easy to produce, but have the lowest sales price and therefore are less profitable for manufacturers and dealers. Additionally, gas prices directly affect the type of frame preferred and purchased by customers.
Horse-trailer manufacturing is still a very regional market, with only Universal Trailer Corporation -- after the merger of the Featherlite, Exiss and Sooner brands -- being the only major national group on the market. SVN believes there are significant opportunities for consolidation in the marketplace, but with relatively few barriers to entry, there will always be unforeseen competitors entering this segment.
This report displays the estimated unit production and sales for each manufacturer within the bumper-pull, gooseneck and living quarter horse trailer markets. Production shares are broken out by region to reflect the local/regional geographic nature of the business.
Numerous players manufacture products in each of the three horse trailer categories researched in this report-bumper-pulls, goosenecks, and living quarter trailers. Based on the approximate number of final units, this application represents an activity of around $700 million in North America.
For more information visit www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/