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Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, BY PAUL SCHENCK

• MANAC in St Georges, Quebec, reported production totals down 18% to 5,600 units. Charles Dutil, president, says the diversified mix of trailers produced in their two Quebec plants and the bottom dump plant in Missouri helps to soften the impact of the slowdown in any one industry.

• Heil Trailer International of Chattanooga TN reported the best year in its history, building 4,750 tank and specialized trailers, up 5% from the record year in 2006. Bill Harris, marketing manager, says petroleum and other liquid tank trailers were strong, but the high cube segment of the dry bulk market (cement transports) was soft. In the international market, Heil's Argentina plant also had a record year, as did its plant in Thailand. Kalyn Seibert, Heil's Texas subsidiary building lowbed, drop-deck, and specialized heavy haul trailers, had a good year in support of the oil and gas and energy industries.

• Trail King Industries of Mitchell SD built 3,774 truck trailers in 2007 plus a number of smaller capacity tag trailers. Dollar volume for the company was up because of the mix of orders and the number of high-value trailers, even though the unit count was down slightly. Heavy haul and open deck trailers were strong, as were dumps and live floor trailers, while pneumatics were down. Trail King increased plant capacity during the year, with the start-up of a new 160,000-sq-ft plant in West Fargo ND.

• Strick Corporation is completing a number of changes to move the company out of building commodity trailers and into more high value, customized transport equipment to fit the freight hauling needs of individual fleets. Chairman Frank Katz sees the year ahead as possibly significantly worse, and so looks upon it as an opportunity year — an opportunity to make changes. He says the company is investing heavily in its plants, in a transition that started three years ago. For example, the Berwick PA plant that has been building Cheetah container chassis is starting to build platform trailers, lowbeds, and logging equipment. That plant built 2,166 Cheetah container chassis in 2007 (down 63%), plus 100 flatbeds. The Monroe IN Strick van trailer plant built 3,122 trailers, down 39%. Katz says the goal going ahead is to build 3,000 trailers in each plant.

• Timpte Inc of David City NE sold just over 3,000 bulk hopper trailers in 2007, down less than 3% from 2006. The strong market for agricultural commodities such as corn and soybeans continues for ethanol and plastics production. Ken Allred, president, sees Timpte production staying about the same in the coming year, at least for the first part. The first three of four months are predictable, he says, but beyond that it is difficult to forecast.

• MAC Trailer Manufacturing in Alliance OH produced 2,643 trailers in 2007, almost 3% more than in 2006. The company brought a new 200,000-sq-ft plant online a year ago to build platform trailers, thus freeing up other areas of the plant for dump trailer and refuse trailer production. Mike Conny, president, says the company expanded into the western states with new distributors, and now has nationwide sales coverage. He is looking for another good year in 2008.