Net orders of commercial trailers were 21,990 in February 2011, a 25% increase from January, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT). Factory shipments in February posted a 105% gain versus the same month last year.
The latest State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers, published March 24, shows the positive industry performance was broad-based. ACT’s analysis notes that all nine trailer categories have posted year-to-date gains for both net orders and shipments year over year. Of particular note was the performance in the Dry Van segment, where on a year-to-date basis, net orders are up over 90% and shipments are up almost 225%.
“The ramp-up in orders that we’ve been tracking has continued into 2011. Year-to-date, total net orders are up over 87 percent compared to 2010,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst with ACT Research. “Shipments are up an even stronger 116 percent when compared to the first two months of 2010. Strong orders and rising backlogs set the stage for solid industry performance during 2011.”