New and net trailer orders climbed in October, driven both by Dry Vans and Reefers. Even with October’s rebound though, orders are still behind from last year by a wide margin, according to the most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers published by ACT Research Co. (ACT). A significant bias of fleet investment towards trailers lingered into October, with the ratio of net orders of trailers-to-tractors hitting its highest monthly level since 2010.

“Dry Van net orders were over 2.5x September’s level, providing the majority of the October growth,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT. Maly continued, “Even with that surge, Dry Van net was down over 30% y/y. Those stats reflect the mix of short-term improvement and the dramatically lower order volumes being placed this order cycle.”

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.