Dry van demand up over 200% last month

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Commercial trailer net orders were up 165 percent in March compared to the same month last year, according to ACT Research.

Commercial trailer net orders have posted year-over-year growth for six consecutive months, four of which have been in excess of 100 percent.

The latest release of State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers, ACT noted widespread improvement, confirms year-to-year growth in all of the nine trailer segments.

Dry vans, the volume leader, are rebounding strongly with a year-to-date growth in net orders of 233 percent. Reefer vans, which generally performed best during the recession, continue to gain, with growth of 63 percent.

The improving orders pushed total trailer backlogs to its highest level in 18 months, which will support a gradual increase in production rates, says ACT.

"The trailer manufacturing industry seems to be recovering from the deep slump it has been in for the past two years," said Steve Tam, vice president, commercial vehicle sector with ACT Research. "The stretch of stronger months has come during the normal peak season for trailer orders, so the industry is being cautious about ramping up production too rapidly to ensure growth is sustainable."