FTR Reports Good Preliminary April Trailer Orders That Reflect Continued Seasonal Pattern

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 FTR reports preliminary April trailer orders at 22,000 units, a m/m decline of 20% from March which simply reflects a typical seasonal adjustment.  April 2018 trailer orders were still solid for the month, with a +10% comparison y/y and 21% higher than the excellent year of 2015.  Backlogs will now begin to decline as is typical this time of year.  Trailer orders have totaled 330,000 for the past twelve months.

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Click here to view the latest release and an interactive graph of the Trailer Orders >

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Don Ake, FTR Vice President of Commercial Vehicles, commented, “Most fleets have their orders placed for 2018 and some dry van OEMs are booked solid for the year.  Component shortages are increasing and may prevent all the orders in the backlog from being built this year.  However, there is still capacity available for refrigerated van and vocational trailer orders, and the chugging economy should continue providing increased sales of all trailer types.”

“This is still a decent April for trailer orders.  It is higher than 2015 and signals the market will stay red-hot for a while.  Some orders are already rolling into 2019.  Solid freight growth and high trailer capacity utilization rates mean more trailers are needed to help relieve this capacity crunch and compensate for driver shortages.”

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About FTR
For more than two decades, FTR has been the thought leader in freight transportation forecasting in North America. The company’s national award-winning forecasters collect and analyze all data likely to impact freight movement, issuing consistently reliable reports for trucking, rail, and intermodal transportation, as well as providing demand analysis for commercial vehicle and railcar. FTR’s forecasting and specially designed reports have resulted in advanced planning and cost-savings for companies throughout the transportation sector.