Industry-wide dry van inventories improved 26% sequentially in December from November, and are now roughly 800 units higher than they were at the end of the third quarter 2006, according to figures released by A.C.T.
“Directionally, industry-wide total trailer orders were at the high end of our range,” Bear Stearns said in a release, “though dry van orders were a little light. Industry-wide dry van builds and factory sales were also solid in December.
“Total trailer orders were 22,876 in December (vs. our 20,000-22,000 forecast), down 25% year-over-year (vs. up 14% year-over-year in November). Dry van orders were 13,049 in December (vs. 17,916 in November), down 14% year-over-year (vs. up 39% year-over-year in November). Flat bed orders were 2,162 in Dec. (vs. 1,899 in November), down 31% year-over-year (vs. down 31% year-over-year in November).
“Dry van builds were 11,217 in December, up 9% year-over-year (vs. up 14% year-over-year in Novembe). Total trailer builds were 20,911 in December, up 10% year-over-year (vs. up 12% year-over-year in November). Dry van backlog-to-build ratios deteriorated 4% year-over-year to 5.3x (vs. down 5% year-over-year in November). Total trailer backlog-to-build ratios deteriorated 11% year-over-year in December to 5.9x (vs. down 5% year-over-year in November).