According to this month’s issue of ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report, three months into 2026 and the US trailer industry remains mired in the same challenging environment in which it operated throughout 2025.
“Demand for trailers improved in March, but demand was weak across Q1. Carrier profits, although benefitting from an uptick in freight rates and a tightening driver pool, remain low, with government policy and geopolitical instabilities keeping customers cautious. With equipment demand fundamentals transitioning in Q1, net order intake in March jumped to 18,800 units, up more than 42% from February. This brought the Q1’26 order tally to 55.4k trailers, about 9% less than were ordered during Q1’25,” said Jennifer McNealy, Director–CV Market Research & Publications at ACT Research. “Cancellations gyrated throughout 2025, before returning to a more subdued rate to start 2026. March’s rate of 2.3%, as a percentage of backlog, returned the industry cancellations to ‘elevated’ territory from the middle of the acceptable range reported last month. Unlike the last few months, though, data in March showed high cancellations in nearly all segments.”
“After a one-month hiccup in February, net orders again outpaced build in March, but this time it wasn’t by enough to pump much lifeblood into the anemic backlogs,” McNealy continued. “Backlogs grew 3% sequentially, or about 2.2k units, bringing the Q1-ending BL to 76.4k units, or 23% lower than the Q1’25-ending, 99.3k-unit trailer backlog. The backlog-to-build ratio was 4.7 months at the end of 2026’s first quarter.”
State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers Report Overview
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. It is accompanied by a database that gives historical information from 1996 to the present, as well as a ready-to-use graph packet, to allow organizations in the trailer production supply chain, and those following the investment value of trailers, trailer OEMs, and suppliers to better understand the market.
ACT Research Overview
ACT Research is recognized as the leading publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis, and forecasts for the North America and China markets. ACT’s analytical services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as banking and investment companies. ACT Research is a contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and a member of the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Panel. ACT Research executives have received peer recognition, including election to the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics, appointment as Consulting Economist to the National Private Truck Council, and the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Economic Indicators’ Most Accurate Economic Forecast over a four-year period. ACT Research senior staff members have earned accolades including Chicago Federal Reserve Automotive Outlook Symposium Best Overall Forecast, Wall Street Journal Top Economic Outlook, and USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters. More information can be found at www.actresearch.net.
Additional Resources
Preliminary net trailer orders in March were 18,800 units. March orders were up about 5,600 units from February’s 13,300-unit level, a 42% month-to-month increase. While up sequentially, orders were 14% below March 2025’s level. Seasonal adjustment (SA) at this point in the annual order cycle provides little adjustment to the monthly tally, dropping the volume incrementally to 18,700 units. Final March trailer industry data will be available later this month. This preliminary order estimate is typically within ±5% of the final order tally.
“A sequential drop in net orders is typically expected, as March traditionally ushers in the weakest months of the annual order cycle,” said Jennifer McNealy, Director CV Market Research & Publications at ACT Research. “That said, this year’s cycle seems to have been delayed a few months, as the order upticks that should have started in September or October of last year didn’t actually happen until December. Regardless the timing, we have entered the period of the year in which trailer makers typically receive fewer orders and start to work down the backlog that grew during peak season.”
McNealy concluded, “Given accelerating freight rates and rising carrier confidence, we now question whether more high-side surprising order intake months will happen, or whether traditional Q2 order weakness will prevail as fleet decision-makers continue to hesitate about placing trailer orders while accelerating Class 8 tractor purchases instead in 2026. Additionally, concern is mounting about how quickly trailer OEMs will build down the still-thin backlog, particularly given concerns about the level of activity in the key freight-generating economic sectors that drive transportation demand and high petroleum prices that weigh on purchasing decisions for both consumers and fleets.”
- Cancellation Rate as a % of Backlog: 2.3%
- Backlogs: grew 3%
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