IT MAY NOT BE a record yet, but it appears trailer manufacturers required only 10 months to top 1995 as the most productive year in history.
Thanks in part to three straight months in which the industry shipped more than 30,000 complete trailers per month, manufacturers turned out an estimated 285,322 trailers during the first 10 months of 1998, according to preliminary figures compiled by the U S Bureau of Census. If these estimates are accurate within 5,000 trailers, manufacturers surpassed the 279,144 trailers shipped in 1995, giving the industry a record year by Halloween.
For the second consecutive month, shipments passed the 31,000 mark. For October, manufacturers shipped 31,265 complete trailers, down 1% from the (preliminary) monthly record of 31,570 posted in September. Shipments in October were 51% higher than those of October 1997.
While all of these are preliminary estimates and subject to revision, it appears that the industry is on a pace to ship more than 300,000 complete trailers for the first time. Shipments have averaged 28,532 trailers for the first 10 months of the year. At that rate, the industry would crank out a remarkable 342,386 complete trailers for all of 1998.
The growth has been primarily among dry freight vans. During the first 10 months of 1998, manufacturers shipped 198,268 dry-freight vans-more than all of the trailers shipped during the corresponding period of 1997. However, it also has been a good year for tank trailer manufacturers, with shipments year-to-date up 32%. Other types of trailers, however, were down, including platforms (-12%), dumps (-21%), and auto transporters (-85%).
Truck Sales Up Truck sales continued strong in October, according to figures compiled by the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, with seven out of the eight GVW classifications topping sales from a year earlier.
Class 1 trucks (GVW ratings of 6,000 pounds or less) edged up an additional 2% in October and 3% for the first 10 months of 1998. Dealers sold 379,130 Class 1 trucks for the month and 3,885,134 between January and October.
Class 2 trucks (GVW ratings of 6,001 to 10,000 pounds) were up sharply-29% in October and 19% year-to-date. Customers bought 203,213 Class 2 trucks during the month and 1,667,421 for the first 10 months of the year.
Class 3 trucks (GVW ratings of 10,001 to 14,000 pounds) increased even more. The 10,144 Class 3 trucks sold in October were 168% more than the total for October 1997, and the 83,743 sold during the first 10 months of 1998 were 88% more than the corresponding period of 1997.
Class 4 trucks (GVW ratings of 14,001 to 16,000 pounds) were the one dark spot, declining for the month and year-to-date. Sales totaled 3,647 in October and 36,378 for the first 10 months of 1998.
Class 5 trucks (GVW ratings of 16,001 to 19,500 pounds) had the highest percentage increases-216% from October 1997 and 141% year-to-date. Dealers sold 2,395 Class 5 trucks during October and 20,325 for the first 10 months of 1998.
Class 6 trucks (GVW ratings of 19,501 to 26,000 pounds) more than doubled, increasing 115% from October 1997. Through October, sales for the year were up 68% from the corresponding period of 1997.
Class 7 trucks (GVW ratings of 26,001 to 33,000 pounds) edged up 4% from October 1997 but were down 3% year-to-date. Customers bought 10,746 Class 7 trucks during the month and 94,054 from January to October.
Class 8 trucks (GVW ratings above 33,000 pounds) had a 5% sales increase in October and 17% growth year-to-date. Dealers sold 19,002 and 170,798 for the month and year, respectively.
In other areas: * Intermodal shipments edged up slightly, according to figures compiled by the Association of American Railroads. A 3.1% decline in piggyback trailers almost offset a 3.2% gain in container traffic. Overall, intermodal volume increased 0.7% for the first48 weeks of 1998.