COLUMBUS, Ind. — According to this month’s issue of ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report, net trailer orders in July reached nearly 15,700 units, representing a 16% sequential increase and a 94% jump over July 2025’s levels.
Despite July typically being the weakest order month of the annual cycle, order activity outperformed seasonal expectations, while the industry’s backlog remained virtually unchanged from June and grew more than 13% year-over-year.
“Trailer quotation activity has been brisk, with many in the industry noting that orderboards for 2027 are opening earlier than usual, even as pricing for next year remains unsettled due to tariff-related uncertainty,” said Jennifer McNealy, director–CV market research & publications,” ACT. “With 2027 orderboards opening earlier than normal, net orders continue to surprise to the upside, and while build rates have slowed in line with seasonality, the backlog-to-build ratio has climbed to the 5.0-month threshold, committing the industry into the fourth quarter. Cancellations, meanwhile, have moderated to within the acceptable range, indicating a more stable environment compared to the volatility seen over the past two years.”
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.
