The commercial vehicle industry faces an ‘everything’ shortage
In the release of its Commercial Vehicle Dealer Digest, ACT Research reported that the setup for the entire commercial vehicle industry remains unchanged, noting that industry capacity remains range-bound across a broad front of supply-chain constraints. The report, which combines ACT’s proprietary data analysis from a wide variety of industry sources, paints a comprehensive picture
Used Class 8 retail sales volumes and prices rose YTD in October
According to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research, used Class 8 retail volumes (same dealer sales) were 6% lower month-over-month. Longer-term volumes were down 20% y/y, but up 13% ytd. Average prices were 3% higher compared to September, 54% more expensive than in
Making sense of the 2021 trucking market and what might be ahead
Well, that was one trucking year. While the pandemic brought dark times in 2020, trucking was a bright spot. Trucks kept rolling, fleets kept delivering and the country and economy chugged along in an alphabet soup of letter-shaped recovery. Who could have guessed that 2020 would just be a prelude to the market madness of
Truck driver availability starting to improve
The latest release of ACT Research’s For-Hire Trucking Index, with October data, showed a decrease in volumes, pricing, and productivity, with capacity up slightly and with a lower but still-healthy supply-demand balance. The ACT For-Hire Trucking Index is a monthly survey of for-hire trucking service providers. ACT Research converts responses into diffusion indexes, where the
Commercial vehicle supply constraints, inflationary ramifications remain front-and-center
According to ACT Research’s recently-released Transportation Digest, the front-and-center concerns of the commercial vehicle industry at the moment are supply chain constraints, as well as the inflationary ramifications that flow from them. The report, which combines proprietary ACT data and analysis from a wide variety of sources, paints a comprehensive picture of trends impacting transportation
Trailer manufacturers challenged by material supplies, pricing, staffing
According to this quarter’s issue of ACT Research’s Trailer Components Report, component and material availability continue to be a significant problem for trailer manufacturers, and the issue is widespread, not contained to any small group of parts and materials. “In addition to supply-chain constraints, workforce availability and reliability are both mentioned as challenges for trailer
Trailer orders comparatively slower in October
October net U.S. trailer orders of 17,405 units fell more than 38% from the previous month and were nearly 69% lower compared to October of 2020. Before accounting for cancellations, new orders of 19.6k units were down almost 40% versus September, and 66% lower than the previous October, according to this month’s issue of ACT
Used truck prices expected to continue climbing
Preliminary used Class 8 volumes (same dealer sales) decreased 3% month-over-month and dropped 24% y/y in October. That said, through the first 10 months of the year, activity is 4% higher compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest preliminary release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used
Commercial vehicle challenges are supply, not demand, driven
According to ACT Research’s latest State of the Industry: NA Classes 5-8 Report, with total Classes 5-8 build rates flat sequentially and essentially stuck at the year-to-date average, the supply-demand setup for the entire industry remains unchanged: Despite rock-solid demand metrics across the spectrum of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle types, industry capacity remains range-bound across
Preliminary U.S. net trailer orders for October at 16,700 units
October preliminary net trailer orders of 16,700 units were down approximately 40% from September and off 70% from the peak order month last year, according to ACT Research. This preliminary market estimate should be within +/- 5% of the final order tally. ACT Research’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report provides a monthly review
Commercial market outlook unchanged, automotive sees chip improvements
According to ACT Research’s latest release of the North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook, the setup for the entire commercial vehicle industry remains unchanged from its recent trends, strong demand and constrained supply, but major automotive CEOs recently reported that they believe the semiconductor shortage bottomed in the September-October period. “Despite rock-solid demand metrics across the
Trailer orders grow as orders open, fall below last year
Trailer orders rose nearly 126% from the previous month, but were more than 45% lower compared to September of 2020, according to the latest numbers from ACT Research, which has 28,127 units for the month. Before accounting for cancellations, new orders of 32,400 units were up almost 140% versus August, but 38% lower than the
