Nearly 44,000 net orders were posted in December, the second strongest month on record for the trailer industry, according to the most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers published by ACT Research Co. (ACT). For total year 2014, net orders were 359,000, up nearly 55% over 2013.

“The industry orderboard has reached a level not seen in almost 20 years,” said Frank Maly, Director – CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT. “The last four months of 2014 all rank in the top 10 net order months in history. As we look forward into 2015, strong orders, long backlogs, solid freight volumes, a healthy economic outlook, an old fleet, and rising trucker profitability have combines to lay the groundwork for the best trailer market since the late 1990s.”

ACT is the worldwide leading publisher of new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT’s CV services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as the banking and investment community in North America, Europe and China.