COLUMBUS, Ind. — Preliminary net trailer orders in August were 24,200 units, up about 8,600 units from July, a 55% month-to-month increase, and more than 16,000 units higher than August 2025., according to ACT Research.
“Seasonally speaking, August net orders should have improved sequentially, so the uptick from July was no surprise” said Jennifer McNealy, director CV market research & publications, ACT. “The degree of improvement, however, by historical standards was atypical. Typically, July is the weakest net order month of the annual ordering cycle, as fleets have made their decisions for current-year needs and OEMs start to build down the backlog. That said, this year’s cycle has been anything but ordinary. The order cycle that should have started about this time last year was delayed due to ongoing weakness in freight rates and policy-driven uncertainty. With freight rates and carrier profits on the mend, August orders are on track to be the best since last December and the second best in the past 30 months.”
Still a Tepid Environment
While appearing meteoric, it’s important to remember that the 193% y/y gain is against 2025’s very tepid environment. Seasonal adjustment (SA) at this point in the annual order cycle takes the month’s volume to 33,700 units, the second best seasonally adjusted order volume in the past 43 months. Final August trailer industry data will be available later this month. This preliminary order estimate is typically within ±5% of the final order tally.
“Regardless of the timing, the increased order activity is certainly welcome, and although premature in terms of 2027 order timing and the opening by OEMs of next year’s calendars, does match with anecdotal information we’ve received that orderboards opened early amid relatively few build slots available for the remainder of this year,” McNealy said. “Despite this turning of the tide, caution remains a strategy for some trailer purchasers. Rates have risen in 2026, but the past few years have been hard for carriers, and now the challenges of growing pent-up demand and higher maintenance costs and downtime remain as counter-weights to their new equipment purchase decision-making process. ACT Research continues to hear that the unseasonable spike in US trailer orders is a three-fold event: customers ordering ahead of tariff-related price increases, healthier long-term business conditions, and pent-up replacement demand.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
