In a month that saw all trailer categories gain in orders from the previous in month, August also posted a 24 percent increase in net trailer orders month to month, according to data released this week by ACT Research.
The number of net orders, 15,780, is also the best order month this year since April.
However, despite the month to month gains, backlogs in the month actually were down, says ACT’s Frank Maly, director of commercial vehicle transportation for ACT. Moreover, the backlog is down 13 percent year over year.
“While all of the month-over-month decline was seasonal, the industry is now at the lowest backlog-to-build ratio since January 2010, suggesting increased downwards pressure on build rates,” Maly said, “While we expect minimal change in production rates over the next few months, orders beyond Q3 will be the key determinant of build in Q4.”
