The cancellation rate of trailers continues to backslide with January taking a turn for the worse at 3.2% from an already high rate of 1.7% in December, according to ACT Research.
Seasonally adjusted, January’s orders fell to 12,400 units from 15,400 in December. On that basis, orders decreased 28% month-over-month, said Jennifer McNealy, CV Market Research & Publications at ACT Research. Several markets led the way, including dry vans at 4.2% backlog and lowbeds at 1.5%, she added.
“Clearly, with markets swimming in capacity, no one needs a higher trailer-to-tractor ratio.”
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It comes down to weak carrier profits, said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT.
“Additionally, some trailer segments are impacted by specific economic markets," he said. "For example, softer oil prices are trailer-type specific and responsible for tank trailer weakness. There has also been a pullback in power-only brokerage, which is a driver for dry van demand.”
