The second quarter of 2009 continues to show slight improvement for commercial trailer manufacturers as May net orders came in at levels above the dramatic lows experienced in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, according to the latest State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report issued by ACT Research Co., LLC (ACT).
Although May net orders were still off 37 percent from the prior year, through two months the second quarter is already ahead of the total net orders posted in each of the previous two quarters.
“Order improvement and an increasing backlog from continued low production levels are both positives,” said Gayatri Deshpande, research analyst with ACT Research. “However, there are still significant headwinds in the economy and the industry that will challenge new demand for the remainder of 2009.”