Trailer Orders Down 9% in April

Total trailer orders were 10,845 in April, down 9% year-over-year (vs. up 36% year-over-year in March).

Dry van orders were 5,466 in April (vs. 5,067 in March), up 29% year-over-year (vs. down 47% year-over-year in March). Flatbed orders were 977 in April (vs. 1,027 in March), down 50% year-over-year (vs. down 62% year-over-year in March).

Dry van builds were 5,720, down 49% year-over-year (vs. down 45% year-over-year in March). Total trailer builds were 12,360 in April, down 41% year-over-year (vs. down 40% year-over-year in March). Total trailer backlog-to-build ratios improved 22% year-over-year to 6.3x (vs. improvement of 20% year-over-year to 6.3x in March). Dry van backlog-to-build ratios improved 50% year-over-year to 7.8x (vs. improvement of 32% year-over-year to 7.2x in March).

Dry van inventories were 6,081 in April (vs. 6,527 in March), down 36% year-over-year (vs. down 30% year-over-year in March). Dry van inventories are now roughly 450 units lower than they were at the end of the first quarter.

Total trailer cancellation rates were 11% in April (vs. 8% in March), improving 110bp year-over-year (vs. improvement of 370bp year-over-year in March). Dry van cancellations were 13% (vs. 10% in March), improving 570bp (vs. improvement of 490bp year-over-year in March).

“With disappointing first-quarter results out of the TL's and LTL's, as best as we can tell, there's little reason for optimism for trailer demand for the next several quarters,” Bear Sterns said.