Q1 2020 began as many industry experts expected and ended with pandemic-driven uncertainty. As businesses across North America scrambled to conserve cash, trailer OEMs felt the sting. As of March 2020, OEM van backlog was at its lowest point since 2013. Inventory swelled to its highest seasonally-adjusted point on record. March also saw the most cancellations in a single month since June 2000. It was the fewest March orders since 2009.
After a record setting year in 2019, 2020 trailer industry van production through March is off 27% YoY. The onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic has created uncertainty as trailer OEMs scale back production.
Source: ACT Research