U.S. heavy-duty trailer orders signal a strong start to the 2027 order season. FTR data reported September net orders reaching 43,059 units, the most since December 2022. It’s a 78% jump from August and a 385% increase from September 2025.
ACT Research’s estimate put September net orders at 42,700 units, more than 32,000 units above the same month last year.
Both firms said the year-over-year increase seems like a sharp gain because of the weak 2025 comparison.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, ACT said September orders came in at about 36,700 units — the third best SA order volume in the past 55 months. Net orders rose about 18,000 units or 75% from August. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the increase was less than 9%, or roughly 2,900 units.
“Seasonally speaking, September net orders should have improved sequentially, so the uptick from August was no surprise,” said Jennifer McNealy, director CV market research & publications at ACT Research. “The degree of improvement, however, by historical standards was atypical, continuing the unusual pattern of the 2025-2026 order cycle.”
Orders that should have been placed in September 2025 for the new cycle weren’t placed until December and January, McNealy said, and order placement has gradually picked up since. September’s performance, she noted, built on seasonally strong orders since May.
Why fleets are ordering now
Solid orders in August and September suggest considerable pent-up replacement demand, FTR said, with some modest fleet growth also possible. ACT's read of the market is similar.
The two firms pointed to several factors behind the surge:
- Earlier openings of 2027 order books
- Customers ordering ahead of tariff-related trailer price increases
- Healthier long-term profitability for carriers
- The end of the Class 8 pre-buy
- Regulatory uncertainty ahead of the final EPA 2027 NOx compliance requirements, which could be shifting some near-term capital from power units to trailers
- Sharply tighter driver supply
Motor carriers added more than 8,700 trailers in the second quarter of this year, according to data from RigDig, a company owned by CCJ parent company Fusable.
Dan Moyer, senior analyst, commercial vehicles at FTR, said industry feedback supports the improving outlook. Rising quote activity and more requests for proposals show fleets are becoming more active in equipment planning.
“Trailer leasing utilization remains high while availability has tightened in certain markets, suggesting growing pressure on existing equipment capacity,” Moyer said.
McNealy called the current industry environment "a perfect storm."
“Carriers now have both the willingness and the ability to purchase equipment and are inspired to do so sooner rather than later," she said. She noted carriers are also facing rising prices and untested domestic supply chain that can cause build constraints, longer production queues and delayed deliveries.
“We often make the case that there is a profitability-related component that makes demand somewhat binary. It would appear that the switch has been flipped,” she added.
With orders coming in well above current build levels, ACT expects industry backlogs to rise by about 18,000 units.
Moyer noted that September’s pace may not last, as carriers will probably stay selective with capital as equipment costs remain high. “Elevated equipment costs, trade uncertainty, potential supply chain constraints and competing fleet capital needs could temper the pace of recovery," he said.
