In May, trailer manufacturers continued to swat away most orders, keeping backlogs stable while dealing with supply chain interruptions that jumped from one part to the next.
According to preliminary figures, net trailer orders in May totaled 18,300 units. According to ACT Research, this was down roughly 7% from April but up 111% from the same month last year.
According to FTR Transportation Intelligence, trailer orders totaled 250,000 in the previous 12 months. Trailer orders often fall in May due to seasonal factors.
“We continue to feel there is a reluctance to extend the order board horizon into next year as OEMs continue to tightly restrict order acceptance,” Jennifer McNealy, ACT director of commercial vehicle research and publications, said.
Trailer manufacturers face a difficult ordering environment.
According to two trailer manufacturers, the ordering environment is tight.
“We haven’t seen any cancellations,” said Chris Hammond, Great Dane’s senior vice president of sales. “If a minor cancellation occurs, the space is swiftly filled with another order.”
“We still have customers demanding more equipment than we can construct,” said David Giesen, vice president of sales at Stoughton Trailers. There is tremendous unmet demand, particularly for dry vans.”
Visibility into supply chains should increase later this year, but it hasn’t yet.
“As we approach Q4, OEMs will obtain the essential vision into the future implications brought on by supply chain interruptions and overcome suppliers’ reluctance to commit to 2023 price and lead times,” said Charles Roth, FTR analyst-commercial vehicles.
Great Dane will not open order books for 2023 for some weeks, according to Hammond, “while we manage the supply chain to evaluate capacity modifications.”
Is the supply chain for trailer makers becoming more stable?
According to FTR, supply has improved marginally. That suggests consistent output.
“Under these conditions, OEMs are still demonstrating that they can overcome headwinds and maintain steady production levels while carefully and strategically managing their backlog,” Roth added.
According to Giesen and Hammond, every improvement in the availability of one part leads to a deficiency.
“The supply chain is quite strained.” “Every week presents new issues with shortages and action plans to respond to not having what is required,” Giesen explained.
“We will see improvement in one area only to have another aspect of the supply chain falter,” Hammond added.
