Preliminary net trailer orders in September were 42,700 units, more than 32,000 units higher than last September’s order intake. While appearing meteoric, it’s important to remember that the 311% Y/Y gain is against a very easy 2025 comparison. Seasonal adjustment takes the month’s volume to 36,700 units, the third best seasonally adjusted order volume in the past 55 months. So, while net orders were up 18,000 units, or 75% sequentially on a nominal basis, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the rise was less than 9%, or about 2,900 units from August’s seasonally adjusted order intake. Final September trailer industry data will be available later this month. This preliminary order estimate is typically within ±5% of the final order tally.
“Seasonally speaking, September net orders should have improved sequentially, so the uptick from August was no surprise,” Jennifer McNealy, director – CV market research and publications at ACT Research, said. “The degree of improvement, however, by historical standards was atypical, continuing the unusual pattern of the 2025-2026 order cycle. Orders that should have been placed in September of 2025, for the new cycle, weren’t placed until December/January, and as the season continued so did the gradual uptick in order placement, in general. While comparisons were outsized, in seasonal terms, September’s performance built on seasonally strong orders since May.”
McNealy concluded, “ACT Research continues to hear that the dramatic spike in U.S. trailer orders is a four-fold event: customers ordering ahead of tariff-related price increases, healthier long-term profitability conditions for carriers, pent-up replacement demand and a sharply tighter driver supply. The current U.S. trailer industry environment is a perfect storm: Carriers now have both the willingness and the ability to purchase equipment, and are inspired to do so sooner rather than later, as they also face rising prices and an untested domestic supply chain that could cause build constraints, lengthier production queues, and delayed deliveries. We often make the case that there is a profitability-related component that makes demand somewhat binary. It would appear that the switch has been flipped. Coming in well above current build levels, industry backlogs are expected to rise by around 18,000 when full industry data are reported.”
