November net orders for commercial trailers declined 27 percent from a strong October performance, but posted a 73 percent gain over November 2008, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT), the premier source of analysis in the market for commercial trucks and trailers.
In the latest release of State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers, ACT indicated that a large portion of the year-over-year gain was due to modest order cancellations this year compared to a large number of cancellations at the onset of the financial crisis last year. Growth in net orders was strong in the two largest trailer categories, dry and reefer vans, with each posting triple-digit gains from November 2008.
“While we were happy to see the above trend orders in October, our sense was that given the continued oversupply of equipment and relative lack of freight, the jump in orders was unsustainable,” said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research. “On a more positive note, factory shipments remained above production levels, reducing inventories to a four-year low.”