Trailer orders soar in October as OEMs raise intake

A return to normalcy among trailer manufacturers gained momentum in October with order intake 82% higher than September and 168% greater than a supply chain-constricted October 2021.

Preliminary reports show net trailer orders in October were 46,750 units, the highest of the year, according to ACT Research.

ZSFt9sSVNv6C9OR39Se5MZJPJIEtkI 7XoC2pBtMl7kThe pent-up demand for new equipment responded to the full opening of orderbooks. Even as freight demand has cooled, a pandemic-related replacement demand jumped.

‘Increasing nimbleness’ helps OEMs meet demand for trailer orders

“With the supply-chain constraints improving for trailer manufacturers, as well as their increasing nimbleness in meeting and mitigating those challenges, OEMs are more comfortable accepting orders, and this month’s preliminary data demonstrates that,” said Jennifer McNealy, ACT director of commercial vehicle market research.

Backlog-to-build ratios are running above the seven-month mark on average, she said.

“Everything still remains strong,”CEO Brent Yeagy of first-to-last mile equipment developer Wabash told FreightWaves. “What we talked about in the earnings call stands and continues. We’re at $2.3 billion [in backlog]. That is a Q3 record in Wabash’s history. We’ve had no cancellations per se. And we still see 2023 being a good year.”

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Carriers punt on rest of 2022, hopeful for market normalization in ’23

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