Trailer Orders * USA - Take a big bounce

Ringwood,NJ,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -Nov 24, 2010: -- Net orders of dry van commercial trailers topped 17,126 units in October, according to data tracked by ACT Research Co., an order level 79% higher than the same month in 2009. This helped push trailer manufacturer backlogs up by over 5,000 units... Kenny Vieth, partner and president of ACT, added that order growth in the commercial trailer market is across the board and not limited to just dry van models, as eight of the nine trailer categories tracked by ACT posted year-over-year growth... Vieth added that sales of commercial trailers also experienced a far steeper drop off over the last several years compared to trucks, meaning that average equipment age is far higher. For example, while the average age of Class 8 trucks in U.S. fleets is now 6.5 years – the highest in 30 years – U.S. fleet dry van trailers now average 8.5 years... That higher average age is a direct result of a far more acute drop in sales, according to ACT, as trailer sales as a whole dropped to 79,432 units in 2009 – a nearly 50% drop from 144,377 units in 2008 and an over 75% decline from 277,398 units sold in 2006... (Photo from fleetowner: trailer orders big bounce)