Trailer manufacturers had another year of growth in 2005, just not the meteoric rise the industry experienced in 2004.
After double-digit growth in 2004, shipments rose 8% in 2005, according to figures compiled by ACT Research of Columbus, Indiana.
Manufacturers shipped 253,963 complete trailers last year, compared with 235,953 in 2004. Flatbeds led the way with a 22% increase from the previous year. According to ACT Research, the industry shipped 25,573 platform trailers in 2005.
ACT Research also published figures for van trailers and a single category for all other trailers, including dumps, tanks, and auto transporters. Vans, by far the largest category, were up almost 6% on the year. Manufacturers shipped 180,846 vans in 2005, an increase of almost 10,000 trailers from 2004. All other types of trailers totaled 47,544 units, up 9% from prior-year levels.
“It took a bit longer than normal this fall, but incoming orders got on the right track moving through the fourth quarter,” says Kenny Vieth, a partner at ACT Research.
Vieth reports that the fourth quarter started slowly, which he believes was the result of several factors, including economic uncertainty and higher energy prices. But trailer demand ended the quarter on a high note as orders rose to an 11-month high--31,300 units in December. “Because of a strong seasonal component in order placement, order activity in the fourth and first quarters goes a long way toward setting the tempo of build through the year,” Vieth says. “Historically, industry backlogs rise in those two quarters before being built down in quarters two and four. “With the 2007 emissions mandate on the horizon for Class 8 trucks, we anticipate that capital spending by truckers in 2006 will be focused on tractors, rather than trailers. We think this activity will put a cap on trailer U.S. trailer shipments this year. We anticipate that shipments in 2006 will be flat to up slightly from 2005's 254,000 unit U.S. trailer shipment total.