COLUMBUS, Ind. — Preliminary net trailer orders in February were down about 10,000 units from January’s 23,300-unit level, a 43% month-to-month decrease.
“Sequentially, a drop in net orders was expected, as the industry transitions from the strongest to the weakest order months of the annual cycle,” said Jennifer McNealy, director CV market research & publications at ACT Research. “Trailer makers now will begin to take fewer orders and start to work down the backlog that grew during the peak of order season at the end of the previous year, which in this year’s cycle started and ended later than usual, as fleet decision-making hesitance into late 2025 delayed the cycle a bit and caused a high-side surprise in January.”
At 13,200 units booked in February, order intake was 26% below February 2025’s level. Seasonal adjustment (SA) at this point in the annual order cycle lowers the monthly tally to 12,300 units. Final February trailer industry data will be available later this month. This preliminary order estimate is typically within ±5% of the final order tally.
“We now question when we will see 20k-plus-unit order intake months again, and how quickly trailer OEMs will build down the still-thin backlog, particularly given concerns about the level of activity in the key freight-generating economic sectors that drive transportation demand,” McNealy said.
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.
