The industry closed 2016 on a solid note, as December dry van orders were up 26% year-over-year, with reefer orders up almost 140% over 2015. Despite that solid y/y performance, both new and net orders were down 5% from the previous month. Additionally, the impact of higher energy prices was evident in the vocational segments, as flats, dumps, and bulk tanks all posted solid m/m improvement.

December’s order pace was insufficient to offset weaker orders earlier in the year; net trailer orders for the full year were weaker than last year, according to the most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers published by ACT Research Co. (ACT). “For the full year, industry net orders of just under 229k units were down 28% versus 2015,” said Frank Maly, Director–CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT. Maly continued, “Dry vans and reefers, both off 30% to 31% year-over-year, were the major factors in that total market performance, although net orders for every trailer category in our group of ten were down from 2015.”

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. F