United States Trailers

Trailer Demand Signals Are Fragmented, Lagging, and Difficult to Interpret

1. Orders, builds, shipments, and backlog each describe different parts of the cycle — and they rarely align.

This creates disconnects when teams attempt to interpret whether demand is strengthening or weakening.

2. Trailer demand varies dramatically by segment.

• Order cycle

• Backlog health

• BL/BU ratio

• Cancellation patterns
  

Without segment clarity, companies risk misreading demand for specific product lines.

3. Backlog and BL/BU ratios can look healthy or unhealthy depending on build rates.

This can lead to false confidence or unnecessary alarm if looked at in isolation.

4. Freight conditions influence trailer demand with a lag.

ACT's Freight Composite shows how freight volumes rebalance ahead of — or behind — trailer orders.

Carrier profitability swings can suppress or accelerate new trailer orders independent of freight volume.

5. External indicators like registration data lag the true cycle.

Registrations reflect units already delivered into service, making them a late indicator compared to OEM-reported net orders, backlogs, and build rates.

ACT’s report solves this by grounding market analysis in OEM-direct, real-time production and order activity.

ACT’s Monthly Trailer Market Report

The State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report gives you a unified, third-party–validated, and deeply detailed view of the entire U.S. trailer market — across OEMs, across segments, and across time horizons.

This is your dependable monthly guide to understanding cycle momentum, demand health, and production dynamics.

WHAT’S INCLUDED — A COMPLETE MONTHLY VIEW OF THE TRAILER MARKET

✔ Summary Observations

Each report opens with clear interpretation of:

• OEM sentiment

• Order trends

• Backlogs

• Build pacing

• Cancellation activity

• Inventory changes

• Freight and carrier health
  
  

✔ Trailer Industry Market Statistics

For each segment and the total industry, the report details:

• Current month

• Year-to-date

• Month-over-month comparisons

• YoY comparisons

• 3M/3M comparisons

• Annualized periods

Metrics include:

• Net orders

• Cancellations

• Backlog levels

• Build volumes

• Inventory

• Shipments

• BL/BU ratios

These tables are the heart of OEM operations, supplier planning, and fleet demand tracking.

✔ Industry Graphs

Including:

• ACT U.S. Freight Composite

• Carrier Net Income

• Trailer Net Orders (historical trend)

These contextual indicators show how freight, profitability, and trailer demand interact through the cycle.

✔ Build, Backlog, BL/BU & Cancellation Trends

Monthly charts reveal:

• Build trajectory and YoY change

• Total industry backlog movement

• BL/BU ratio across cycles

• Cancellation activity as % of backlog

These visuals help stakeholders spot cycle inflections early.

✔ Segment Dashboards: Detailed Views by Trailer Type

Each major trailer category includes:

• Net orders

• Backlogs & BL/BU ratios

• Build trends

• Cancellation rates

• Multi-year cycle charts

• Units-per-day build pacing

• OEM plan vs. actual context

Segments covered:

• Dry Van

• Reefer

• Flatbed

• Dump

• Liquid Tank

• Bulk Tank

• Lowbed & Grain/Commodity trailers

• Total trailers

These dashboards make the report especially useful for:
OEM sales teams • Supplier capacity planning • Investors • Analysts • Component manufacturers • Dealers.

✔ OEM Build Plans — 2024 & 2025

ACT consolidates OEM-reported build plans into monthly and quarterly projections, giving you forward-looking visibility into production expectations.

This supports:

• Capacity planning

• Materials procurement

• Staffing decisions

• Sales and revenue forecasting

WHY ACT: THE INDUSTRY’S MOST TRUSTED TRAILER DATA

OEM-direct, third-party validated

All data is sourced directly from trailer manufacturers — making it authoritative and consistent.

Segment-level clarity

Every major trailer type is covered, with detailed dashboards.

Cycle-aware analysis

ACT doesn’t just report data — it explains what’s happening and why.

Credibility you can trust

ACT is a contributor to Blue Chip Economic Indicators and the WSJ Economic Forecast Panel — an unmatched sign of analytical rigor.

WHO USES THIS REPORT — AND WHY

OEMs

Plan production, evaluate demand, and track segment trends.

Suppliers & Tier-1/Tier-2 Manufacturers

Align capacity and material purchases with OEM build patterns.

Fleets & Leasing Companies

Evaluate market conditions affecting trailer availability and pricing.

Dealers & Remarketers

Forecast inventory needs and track cycle turning points.

Investors & Financial Institutions

Monitor market health, carrier profitability trends, and future trailer demand.

Logistics & Freight Analysts

Integrate trailer ordering patterns with freight and rate models.