August Trailer Sales: “Skyrocket” is an Understatement

Either in spite of, or because of, all the crazy events happening in 2020, trailer sales for the recent months have been going up, up, up. We at TopMark Funding wrote in an article for July trailer sales, saying, “It will be interesting to see where August stands on the scale.”

That data is officially in, from both Freight Transportation Research (FTR) and Americas Commercial Transportation (ACT). Even if you predicted a surge in trailer sales for August, the numbers will surprise you.

The Numbers

ACT and FTR report slightly different numbers, but both support the same trend: August was a killer month for trailer sales in the trucking industry.

• ACT reports 27,500 trailer sales. Before cancellations, total orders were around 29,000.
• Data on ACT’s July numbers is elusive (we were unable to report on it in the previous article, for example), but ACT reports a 150% year-over-year increase, meaning August 2020 sales were about 250% of what they were in August 2019.
• FTR pegs the number at 28,700 trailer sales. 1,200 more than ACT’s conservative estimate.
• Compared to July, ACT has August sales at 49% higher, and compared to the same month last year, ACT has it at 174% higher.

FTR vice president Don Ake says the increased trailer sales points to the trucking industry recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There was significant pent-up demand for van trailers coming out of the economic shutdowns. Now fleets are feeling much more confident about the freight markets and ordering trailers they would have booked in April or May, under normal conditions,” he says regarding trailer sales numbers. “There was also pent-up demand at the dealer level, with some dealers reporting record sales volumes for July and August, which are traditionally the slowest months of the year. Dealers now are placing restocking orders much sooner than expected.”

Ake’s words imply that this run of record-breaking trailer sales is an anomaly, and should not be expected for August 2021 trailer sales.

ACT director Frank Maly’s words echo those of Ake’s. 

The industry continues to improve from meager coronavirus-induced Q2 volumes. Discussions indicate that large fleet orders are the driving factor in recent market improvements. After very weak expectations in late spring, fleets have switched to a much more optimistic tone, supported by both improved freight volumes and rates.”

Conclusion

The number of trailer sales is currently rising so fast that to call it a skyrocket would be a disservice.

Eventually this anomaly of increased trailer (and tractor) sales in what would normally be the slump-months of the year will end, and the trucking industry will return to normal growth. For the time being, though, enjoy the good news. 2020 has been a wild roller coaster from coast to coast, whether it be wildfires or hurricanes, and we can all use a little good news to lift our spirits.

With September almost over, we will soon hear the results for the current month in terms of tractor and trailer sales. Will they exceed August 2020, resulting in exponential growth of sales? Will they fail to pass August 2020 but exceed September 2019 sales? Will a meteor strike and sales will barely hit 1,000 for each? Only time will tell, but because of the trend of previous months, all fingers point to the first scenario.

If you want to contribute to the sales numbers, you can always count on TopMark Funding to finance the truck or trailer you need to expand your business. We specialize in soft credit pulls, meaning there is no harm in checking what we can do for you. We also work on the dealer end of business transactions, read on below to learn more about how we can work with your dealership!

About TopMark Funding

TopMark Funding is a top-rated semi-truck financing and equipment financing company located in Roseville, CA. We specialize in commercial trucking and heavy equipment. Our mission is to become your long-term financial partner by helping you grow your trucking business and fleet.

Dealers – TopMark Funding partners with commercial truck and vehicle dealerships as an outsourced finance office working to source financing for customers seeking to fund their vehicle purchase. TopMark specializes in the commercial truck and vehicle space and understands both the customers’ needs and the equipment well.

We are experts at placing customers into quality programs while maintaining their credit and their ability to buy. We are a competitive solution for top tier credit customers and understand the credit road map related to maximizing a customer’s ultimate purchasing power.