February net U.S. trailer orders of 12,700 units were down 15 percent month-over-month and 45 percent below the previous year. Before accounting for cancellations, new orders of 14,800 were down 12 percent versus January, according to this month’s issue of ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailer Report.

“The conservative investment posture of fleets continued into February,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT Research. “As dire as those figures are, they were highly pre-COVID-19 driven. Now, we are operating under some of the most unusual and unexpected market conditions in history.”

Maly continued, “Lower freight volumes and rates were already impacting fleet financials, as well as the need and ability to invest in equipment. While freight volume may have skyrocketed, if you are carrying the correct goods for the correct sales channels, for many fleets the shuttering of restaurants and retail locations may have pushed operations to the sidelines.”

He commented, “Recent discussions indicate that order placement has virtually disappeared, as fleets begin to assume their version of ‘shelter in place’ with regards to equipment investment.”

ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report provides a monthly review of the current US trailer market statistics, as well as trailer OEM build plans and market indicators divided by all major trailer types, including backlogs, build, inventory, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and factory shipments.