Trailer net orders fell 30% month-over-month and 36% year-over-year, according to the most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers published by ACT Research Co. (ACT).
“The 2015/16 order season ended not with a bang but a whimper, not entirely surprising given the dramatic front-loading this order season,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT. “Long backlogs helped encourage fleets to make quick decisions and although cancellations increased sequentially, the rise was relatively small and appeared to be a selective adjustment to commitments rather than any widespread movement.”
He added that seasonal patterns project March to be the backlog peak, but this season’s orders came so early that the backlog peak actually occurred in December 2015.