Trailer makers feeling worst of recession

NASHVILLE, Ind. — Freight demand is so weak in North America that the trucking industry as a whole probably "doesn’t need any new trailers at all."

That’s what Eric Starks, president of FTR Associates, recently told the members of the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA) at their annual meeting.

Trailer production will continue at current depressed levels through the end of 2009 before beginning a very slow recovery in the latter half of 2010.

Production this year will likely only reach 70,000 units industry-wide. And Starks expects the number to improve only modestly to 89,000 units in 2010.

In a presentation, Starks laid out the forces underlying the struggles of the trailer industry, such as a large over-supply of trailers that continues to drag on new trailer demand.

Several large trailer manufacturers have been hit hard of the current downturn, namely Wabash which is reporting steep losses and Trailmobile, which has had its Canadian production plant ideled since last winter.

FTR’s complete North American Truck and Trailer Outlook Report is available to subscribers. Go to www.ftrassociates.net or call 888-988-1699, EXT 41 for more information.