Order backlog

Truck order cancellations spike, but not for lack of demand

Anecdotal reports of Class 8 truck orders being canceled started gaining currency in October. Now, the statistics are bearing out the stories. Manufacturer-spiked orders for the past two months are the highest in more than a quarter of a century.

“Between this month’s cancellations and the restatement of October’s volume, we have to go all the way back to Q3 1995 to find a month, or two, to rival current cancellation volumes,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research.

The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-order-cancellations-spike-but-not-for-lack-of-demand

Higher and higher: Used truck price inflation shows no signs of abating

The sky’s the limit. Now find the sky.

That is the ongoing story of used truck prices at both auction and retail for the first 10 months of the year. J.D. Power Valuation Services pegs the year-over-year increase in auction prices at 89.9% — with the gavel dropping on month-over-month increases of 7%.

“The sense of urgency is as strong as ever in the auction lanes, with buyers continuing to pay record pricing for desirable trucks,” Power said in its monthly Guidelines newsletter covering October.

P...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/higher-and-higher-used-truck-price-inflation-shows-no-signs-of-abating

Fall in May Class 8 truck orders masks underlying demand

Class 8 truck orders dropped significantly in May, obscuring strong underlying demand that cannot be met because of an already huge production backlog and supply chain constraints frustrating attempts to build more.

“We’re talking about the worst supply chain environment since the end of World War II,” Don Ake, FTR Transportation Intelligence vice president of commercial vehicles, said during a webinar Thursday. “We  never expected it to get this bad. We have over 25 components experiencing late...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fall-in-may-class-8-truck-orders-masks-underlying-demand

March Class 8 orders of 40,000 add to dizzying industry backlog

Demand for new Class 8 trucks continued at an elevated rate in March even though many of the 40,000 bookings have little chance of being filled until 2022 because of a growing backlog and supply chain shortages.

Compared to a year ago when the first wave of COVID was shutting down manufacturing around the world, orders were up 422%. (That is not a typo.) They were down 10% compared to February, according to ACT Research.

Orders for Class 5-7 medium-duty trucks rose 19% over February. Demand was...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/march-class-8-orders-of-40000-add-to-dizzying-industry-backlog

Truck Talk: Trailer troubles edition

This week, we’re looking at how trailer industry leader Hyundai Translead is coping with a raft of supply chain issues preventing it from taking full advantage of demand, mixed signals on the Tesla Semi and some other electrification buzz.

An imperfect storm

You might think that trailer makers would be thrilled with month after month of strong orders. A bigger backlog is good, right? That’s not necessarily the case. We talked this week with Sean Kenney, chief sales officer at Hyundai Translead,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-talk-trailer-troubles-edition

Workhorse electric delivery van builds lag as backlog swells

Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) built just seven trucks in the fourth quarter as its underdeveloped production systems and supply chain issues continued to hold down the electric maker’s progress even as orders have grown sevenfold compared with a year ago.

“We are facing various supply chain challenges, both internal and external,” CEO Duane Hughes said on the company’s Q4 earnings call Monday. “Given our backlog, we cannot sacrifice future build volume for current-year production. Scaling up...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/workhorse-electric-delivery-van-builds-lag-as-backlog-swells

Dana books half of $700M backlog from electrification contracts

Dana Inc. (NYSE: DAN) lost $31 million in 2020. But a $700 million book of new business — half in electric powertrains — should drive profit margins higher even as spending rises.

The maker of drivelines for internal combustion engines and integrated electric powertrain systems points to several new contracts boosting its profit margin to 12% by 2023. They include an electrified powertrain for a medium-duty chassis for Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. Production begins in the third quarter. 

Maum...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/dana-books-half-of-$700m-backlog-from-electrification-contracts

Q4 trailer orders break record as December bookings stay strong

Preliminary net trailer orders in December exceeded 40,000 for the fourth consecutive month. The October-to-December volume was the highest ever.

Orders have surged since bottoming out at near zero in April because most manufacturing was shut down because of the first wave of COVID-19.

Trailer orders have surged since bottoming out at near zero in April because most manufacturing was shut down because of the first wave of COVID-19. (Source: ACT Research)

However, increased demand for consumer...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/q4-trailer-orders-break-record-as-december-bookings-stay-strong

Trailer orders dip in November but strong demand continues

New trailer orders dipped in November after two near-record months. But even with the pullback, the September-November total added up to the second-best three months in industry history.

“The last few months have been extremely strong for demand and order intake,” Dave Giesen, vice president of sales at Stoughton Trailers, told FreightWaves. “The backlog is filled into Q4.  We will wait for the supply chain to catch up before we continue quoting as this is a long way out.”

After the COVID...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trailer-orders-dip-in-november-but-strong-demand-continues

August trailer orders post best month since October 2019

The continuing rebound for new trailer orders in August aligns with a three-year high in spot freight rates. The coronavirus pandemic leads consumers to buy more goods than services.

FTR Transportation Intelligence reported preliminary U.S. net trailer orders jumped 49% over July posting the strongest activity since October 2019. August orders were 174% above a weak August a year ago.

Trailer orders for the last twelve months now total 191,000 units, FTR said. While encouraging, it pales in...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/august-trailer-orders-post-best-month-since-october-2019

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