Trailer orders released by A.C.T. came in better than expected for February 2008, with total trailers up 12% and dry vans up 27%.
Total trailer orders were 23,674. Dry van orders were 15,451 (vs. 10,038 in January). Flatbed orders were 1,069 in February (vs. 363 in January), down 38% year-over-year (vs. down 78% year-over-year in January).
Dry van builds were 6,489, down 39% year-over-year (vs. down 41% year-over-year in January). Total trailer builds were 12,142 in February, also down 39% year-over-year (vs. down 40% year-over-year in January). Total trailer backlog-to-build ratios improved 5% to 6.4x (vs. deterioration of 2% year-over-year in January). Dry van backlog-to-build ratios improved 9% year-over-year to 7.0x (vs. deterioration of 1% year-over-year in January).
Dry van inventories were 7,317 in February (vs. 6,009 in January), down 29% year-over-year (vs. down 32% year-over-year in January). Dry van inventories are now roughly 1,600 units higher than they were at the end of 2007.
Total trailer cancellation rates were 1% in February, improving 450bp year-over-year (vs. deterioration of 200bp year-over-year in January). Dry van cancellations were also 1% in February, improving 450bp year-over-year (vs. improvement of 80bp year-over-year in January).