Consensus: Trailer shipments to remain strong

Feb. 18, 2016

No one expects record trailer production every year, but the consensus of industry representative believes that the industry will remain strong for the next couple of years.

Following a record year, trailers are expected to moderate—but remaining at historically high levels.  FTR counts 305,300 trailers that were built in 2015.  The company expects to see that total slip to 279,000 trailers this year and 240,000 in 2017.

During its recent virtual seminar, FTR shared its thinking about what the future holds for the trailer industry.  The company also reported what 32 industry leaders believe will happen:

• Consensus of the industry representatives believes that 2017 will be a better year than FTR is forecasting.  Fleets are expected to continue buying trailers at or above the replacement rate through 2017.

- The most recent quarterly survey indicates the consensus is noticeably more optimistic in early 2017.

However:

• All forecasts anticipate trailer production falling in 2016.

• The further into the future, especially by mid-2017, the greater the range of variance grows. 

•  2017 trailer production is expected to be weaker than it will be this year.