Supply-chain concerns still linger, and some trailer manufacturers reporting that they see “no short-term improvement in sight,” according to this quarter’s issue of ACT Research’s Trailer Components & Raw Materials Forecast.
While most trailer makers continue to see demand exceeding capacity through the end of 2023, some fleets are taking a wait-and-see attitude and splitting orders to hedge their bets for later in the year, the report noted.
“January OEM business conditions, including 2023 demand expectations and labor, were on-par with December, overall, with a bias toward the ‘better’ side of the pendulum for labor but concerns about demand and the material supply chain on the minds of respondents,” said Jennifer McNealy, director-CV market research and publications at ACT Research. “Demand overall remains robust, and cancellations are low, but we are hearing that some orders are being made to replenish dealer stock, rather than going directly to fleet customers.”
ACT Research’s U.S. New Trailer Components & Materials Forecast provides those in the trailer production supply chain, as well as those who invest in said suppliers and commodities, with forecast quantities of components and raw materials required to support the trailer forecast for the coming five years. It includes near-term quarterly predictions for two years, while the latter three years of the forecast are shown in annual details.