New U.S. trailer orders of 11,300 were down 27 percent month-over-month, but after accounting for cancellations, net orders slid to 6,000 units, down 42 percent from May and down 70 percent from June a year ago. Year-to-date net orders are 43 percent below last year, according to this month’s issue of ACT Research’ State of the Industry: U.S. Trailer Report.

“This is the weakest monthly net order volume since September of 2009, and is very disappointing since some OEMs indicated that they actually opened 2020 orderboards last month,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT Research. “Given that dramatic net order softness, it appears that fleets were not particularly willing to take quick advantage of the opportunity, and while conversations indicate that many deals are being discussed, fleets now seem to be in a more contemplative frame of mind than they were earlier in the year.”

Additionally, Maly said, “Perhaps the industry will see some traction with July results, but lower freight volumes and lackluster rates appear to be foretelling a market that may not generate strong demand for extensive equipment investment.”

Used Truck Prices Rise, Unit Sales Fall

The average price of total used Class 8 trucks in June was virtually flat, gaining just 2 percent month-over-month. Longer term, prices were up 10 percent year-to-date and 6 percent higher compared to June of 2018, according to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research.

The report also indicated used Class 8 same dealer sales volumes fell 10 percent M/M, 26 percent year over year and 18 percent year-to-date compared to the first six months of 2018. On a month-over-month basis, average mileage dropped 2 percent, while average age was down 5 percent.

“Dealers are reporting that used truck sales have slowed and appear to be slowing to even lower levels than what is currently being sold,” said Brian Armstrong, Information Systems Manager at ACT Research. “Many are reporting that there has been some downward adjustment of prices, but they are still good, and despite slower sales and lower truck values, sales remain strong and prices are higher for a given age and mileage level than what would normally be expected.”

The report from ACT provides data on the average selling price, miles and age based on a sample of industry data. In addition, the report provides the average selling price for top-selling Class 8 models for each of the major truck OEMs – Freightliner (Daimler); Kenworth and Peterbilt (Paccar); International (Navistar); and Volvo and Mack (Volvo).