Preliminary Class 8 order numbers look promising for November, but tariff uncertainty adds risks as 40% of Class 8 trucks for the U.S. market are currently built in Mexico.
ACT Research and FTR Transportation Intelligence reported strong September Class 8 net orders as OEM order books open up for next year.
A recent FTR Transportation Intelligence conference highlighted continued poor freight market conditions that are forcing fleets to do more with less.
A recent ATA Driver Compensation Study shows median truckload driver salaries are up 10% in two years despite the poor freight market.
J.B. Hunt announced the completion of 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles in a collaboration with autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics and Bridgestone Americas.
Trucker Path released its annual Highest-Rated Major US Trucking Corridors results. The I-90, I-5 and I-44 corridors took top spots in parking availability, truck stop ratings and fuel prices.
CVSA International Roadcheck is Tuesday through Thursday. Its focus is on tractor protection systems in addition to alcohol and controlled substance possession.
New Class 8 truck orders in April up from a year ago, down from March.
Class 8 new truck orders were down in March, but the research firms that track them did not see it as significant.
The overcapacity of on-highway trucks would look worse without underlying support from Mexico and strong vocational demand.
A report released Monday by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) examines the costs and potential impacts associated with California’s push for zero-emission vehicles. This report is a companion to a December 2022 ATRI report titled “Charging Infrastructure Challenges for the U.S. Electric Vehicle Fleet.
Trailer orders are returning to pre-2020 normal rates, even with a 38% month-over-month decline in November.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday published a notice in the Federal Register that the state of Florida is seeking an exemption to the CDL testing regulation pertaining to skills testing.
Class 8 truck orders hit a 14-month high in November, surpassing 40,000 bookings amid a mired freight market.
On Wednesday the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a report that examined causes and impacts of predatory heavy-duty towing. The report defined predatory towing in which “a T&R [towing and recovery] company egregiously overcharges, illegally seizes assets, damages assets by use of improper equipment, or illegitimately withholds release of a truck, trailer, and/or cargo.”
Specialty trailer equipment got a boost in October as overall orders rose, but dry and refrigerated vans didn’t keep pace.
Fleets waited two years for back-ordered Class 8 trucks. Now largely met, demand has shifted to replacement needs.
With 2024 orderboards open, Class 8 truck orders hit their highest level of the year in September and suggest fleet optimism.
Class 8 truck orders rose in July, but they are still in the summer doldrums and trail replacement demand.
Class 8 orders in June remained muted as manufacturers focused on reducing their backlogs of unbuilt trucks.
May’s Class 8 truck orders rose, but a truer measure of manufacturing health is the industry’s still-elevated backlog-to-build number.
Load board fraud is gaining attention after The Wall Street Journal reported Truckstop, a leading load board provider, found reports of fraud increased 400% from Q4 2021 to Q4 2022, the highest level since 2004, when it began tracking the data. This article prompted Craig Fuller, CEO and founder of FreightWaves, to write an article on Tuesday arguing for massive load board providers to take greater responsibility for instances of fraud that take place on their platforms.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is holding its annual International Roadcheck next Tuesday through Thursday.
Skimpy orders of Class 8 trucks in April mean little because OEMs have lots of backlogged orders to build and bill.
It has been just over a year since Craig Fuller, CEO and founder of FreightWaves, wrote an article titled “Why I believe a freight recession is imminent,” published March 31, 2022, in which he predicted the U.S. trucking market was heading toward a significant downturn.
Truck manufacturers booked about 19,000 Class 8 truck orders in March, a manageable load that lets them whittle away at backlogs.
Class 8 truck orders defied estimates of flattening in February as fleets show they still have money to spend.
On Tuesday, FreightWaves interviewed Werner Chief Information Officer Daragh Mahon about the company’s recent partnership with Samsara, diving into how AI and updated legacy systems are transforming Werner’s 8,500-truck fleet.
FTR Transportation Intelligence expects a competitive truck market and port activity shift to put pressure on rail intermodal in 2023.
Class 8 truck backlogs enter 2023 in healthy shape despite three consecutive months of lower orders after a record September.
Solid Class 8 orders in November still marked the second straight month of decline as backlogs grow and supply and labor issues persist.
Sólidos pedidos en noviembre, pero las reservas caen tras el récord de septiembre
Uncertainty in the supply chain and commodity price vagaries are stretching out trailer orders beyond traditional cycles.
Rail service levels are impacting trucking intermodal growth plans. At a Deutsche Bank transportation conference on Tuesday, J.B. Hunt noted that intermodal demand remained strong but poor rail service appears to be creating a bottleneck.
When the 2023 orderbooks for trailers finally open, the suppressed booking numbers will flip in a hurry, but that isn’t happening yet.
Fleets are holding off on Class 8 truck orders because supply shortages continue to delay acceptance of 2023 bookings.
A common theme during the downward swing in the cyclical freight market cycle is the movement of owner-operators in and out of large fleets.
Consulting firm FTR Associates says the freight transportation markets will find support amid a still-growing manufacturing sector, despite perceived softness in the U.S. economy.
Cautious OEMs allowed the smallest number of trailer orders so far this year, pushing back bookings until late summer.
Don’t expect the restrictions that truck manufacturers are imposing on Class 8 order intake to last. There’s too much at stake.
Trailer makers continue to push away orders as supply chain issues in different areas vex production amid stable pent-up demand.
Class 8 truck orders fell in May for seasonal reasons and because manufacturers kept a tight lid on bookings.
War, pandemic shutdowns and supply chain woes resulted in a nearly 60% month-over-month decline in trailer orders in April.
Class 8 truck orders fell to a seven-month low in April as manufacturers continued to restrict bookings over supply chain uncertainty.
Seeking to avoid the embarrassment of canceling fleet orders last year, truck manufacturers are keeping a tight lid on bookings.
Trailers relegated to storage units are being cleaned up and hooked up to return to service as fleets wait out the supply chain crisis.
Manufacturers kept the screws tight on new Class 8 truck orders in February as a lack of supply chain visibility maintained stable backlogs.
Trailer orders in January achieved equilibrium with the months of unbuilt orders as fleets and manufacturers operated in an ongoing parts supply shortage.
It took a delicate dance by truck manufacturers and fleets in January to keep Class 8 orders from adding to the industry’s huge backlog.
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Worker outages and parts shortages becoming status quo for beleaguered trailer manufacturers.
Like the doorman at a posh nightclub who decides who gets in, truck manufacturers are choosy about what Class 8 orders they’ll accept.
In today’s newsletter: Enterprise carriers race to innovate; Component shortage delays electric vehicles; ATRI top truck bottlenecks of 2021. Enterprise carriers race to innovate by embracing new technologies and partnerships […]
Supply chain disruptions are far from over for trailer manufacturers, meaning November’s order rebound is probably not sustainable.
With order backlogs exceeding 14 months, manufacturers are accepting few new orders, frustrating fleet demand.
Volatile prices for steel and components lead trailer makers to make pricing a last-minute decision.
October was another month of “why bother” as fleets desperate for new Class 8 trucks held off adding bookings to a morass of back orders.
Elevated steel prices are driving railcar owners to scrap outdated equipment, according to a Greenbrier manager.
2022 could be a busy year for the Surface Transportation Board if it decides to tackle a number of long-standing, hot-button issues.
Trailer makers have connectivity advancements in the pipeline as they navigate supply shortages hampering production.
Order books are open, but demand planning for 2022 and 2023 began months ago and bookings are filling fast.
Look behind soft June trailer orders for the real story of what’s happening in a constrained equipment market.
Fleets still want and need trucks but move to sidelines until manufacturers open their order books.
The refrain for fleets remained the same for trailer orders in May: Why book what you can’t get?
Declining Class 8 truck orders in May are deceptive. Fleets would order more but they are holding off because it might take a year to get them.
Consulting firm FTR expects railcar orders and deliveries to grow as North American railcar utilization increases amid growing volumes and owners seek to scrap less-utilized cars.
Microchip shortages and skyrocketing commodity prices make it unlikely that any of the 33,500 new Class 8 trucks ordered in April will be built this year.
Trailer orders edged back toward trend in March, but the crush of orders in recent months leaves manufacturers addled by supply chain issues struggling.
Potential service disruptions from the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger could be a key issue explored by regulators reviewing the merger, FTR says. The consulting firm also projects favorable market conditions for intermodal rail and carloads in 2021 and into 2022.
Trailer makers cannot keep up with demand, pushing out delivery times while navigating supply chain bumps.
Class 8 truck orders have exceeded 30,000 a month for six consecutive months, more bookings than in the previous 18 months combined.
After four straight months of near-record orders, trailer bookings took a breather in January as some manufacturers slowed taking reservations.
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Parts shortages and supply chain issues could push planned Q1 production into spring as robust orders continue in January.
2020 was supposed to be a year when trailer orders dropped after racing ahead of Class 8 tractor reservations. Even with practically no orders in April, annual trailer bookings blew away early-year predictions.
Consumer goods demand, recovery in manufacturing and shortage of drivers combine to create profits that fleets spend to upgrade and expand truck capacity.
Orders for new trailers dipped in November but the total bookings in the last three months are still the second highest in industry history.
Concern over the supply chain for wood and aluminum components to build new trailers adds to consumer goods-driven demand that pushed equipment orders over 50,000 for a second straight month in October.
Fleets placed 52,000 preliminary orders for new trailers in September, the third-highest month in history as pandemic-driven consumer goods demand continues unabated.
Cash from higher spot rates and replacement orders led September Class 8 truck orders to their highest monthly total since October 2019
The continuing rebound in trailer orders is in line with three-year high in spot freight rates as consumers buy more goods than services.
Record freight rates led to another solid month of Class 8 truck orders despite a pandemic, a presidential campaign and social unrest.
Despite economic uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, freight demand drove July Class 8 orders to their highest levels in six months.
U.S. rail traffic is still facing double-digit percentage declines amid trade uncertainties and the coronavirus pandemic.
Preliminary orders for Class 8 trucks in June rebounded to a four-month high, following a rapid improvement in freight rates.
Class 8 orders in April plummeted to their lowest level since September 1995 as the COVID-19 pandemic froze new bookings and led to postponing near-term deliveries.
Order cancellations and only essential replacement bookings dropped new trailer orders to just 6,500 units in March. Separately, Wabash National announced a two-week suspension of production and cash-conservation moves.
The coronavirus pandemic resulted in half as many year-over-year orders in a month when comparisons were expected to be easy. With truck makers suspending production, even the paltry bookings will go into backlog.
Now in sync with lower tractor orders after equipment ordering binge, trailer bookings recorded their softest February since the Great Recession as coronavirus concerns gave fleets another reason to stay out of the market.
Jim Blaze writes about the outlook for intermodal rail in 2020.
Already feeble orders of new tractors took another hit in February as uncertainty over the business impact of the coronavirus kept fleets out of the market.
A slower year of trailer production is expected as the equipment backlog waiting to be built fell in 11 of 12 months in 2019.
Trailer orders move up and down but the overall industry is ending a decade of growth that is just beginning to slow.
Preliminary orders for new Class 8 trucks tumbled again in November after one month of improved bookings, new evidence that a slowing manufacturing economy is sapping all but critical replacement demand.
Preliminary orders for new trailers met expectations in October reached their highest level in 11 months, upholding expectations for a good, but not great 2020.
The traditional ordering season for new Class 8 trucks opened in October with the highest activity in 11 months. Still, the number of orders placed was the weakest for an October since 2016 — and 51% below October 2018.
Great Dane is gathering all the key issues trailers can have into an integrated platform to make it easier for drivers and fleets to see when something is amiss.
Trailer orders in September were the highest since February, suggesting another strong year of production in 2020.
Preliminary Class 8 retail sales for September set an all-time record, but large fleet deliveries likely inflated the results that erased the previous record set in December 2006. Meanwhile, the backlog of trucks waiting to be built is falling, which is leading to layoffs..
Preliminary September orders for Class 8 trucks improved over August but remained stagnant as fleets delayed booking new equipment in the face of ongoing trade tensions slowing swaths of the manufacturing economy.
