Mixed picture in June for dry vans

July 28, 2006
Dry van orders continued to soften more than Bear Stearns expected seasonally -- 7,137 in June (vs. 8,606 in May), down 23% year-over-year (vs. up 60% year-over-year in May), according to figures released by ACT. However, dry van inventories improved 22% sequentially in June from May, and are now actually lower than they were at the end of the first quarter. In addition, dry van builds and factory sales were up 12% and 16%, respectively.

Dry van orders continued to soften more than Bear Stearns expected seasonally -- 7,137 in June (vs. 8,606 in May), down 23% year-over-year (vs. up 60% year-over-year in May), according to figures released by ACT. However, dry van inventories improved 22% sequentially in June from May, and are now actually lower than they were at the end of the first quarter. In addition, dry van builds and factory sales were up 12% and 16%, respectively.

Total trailer orders were 16,193 in June (vs. our 17,000-19,000 forecast and 17,090 in May), down 21% year-over-year (vs. up 37% year-over-year in May).

"Seasonally, orders should continue to trend down from here for the remainder of the summer," Bear Stearns said. "Flatbed orders were up 45% year-over-year (vs. up 89% year-over-year in May).

"Cancellations remained healthy in June, coming in at 5% for both total trailers and dry vans. Since May 2005, cancellations remain at historically low-end levels, yielding a firm backlog."

Dry van builds were 14,525 in June, up 12% year-over-year (vs. up 6% in May).