Trailer Sales Decrease Slightly for December 2021
Comparable to Class 8 truck sales, trailer sales for the entirety of 2021 were larger than they were in 2019. Unlike the other half of the tractor-trailer combo, the numbers for 2021 were lower than 2020. FTR has the numbers.
December 2021 Numbers
Freight Transportation Research estimates the order numbers for trailers to be 26,500 in December 2021. This is a decrease of 18% from last month and down 42% from the same month last year. In total, 2021 moved 249,000 units, compared with 297,000 for 2020 and 203,000 in 2019.
A 42% decrease from the December before would normally be cause for concern, but considering recent supply chain shortages of wood, aluminum, and many other components needed to build a new trailer. Above all else, Don Ake says what is missing the most are the hands and brains to operate the machines that make the trailers.
“It appears that a labor shortage at domestic suppliers is now the number one constraint. The flow of commodity materials has improved and even imported parts deliveries have increased. The employment level at the OEMs is also a significant issue,” he says in FTR’s release. “At least one OEM is offering $1,000 sign-on bonuses for all factory workers. It is anticipated that trailer build will increase steadily once the labor constraints loosen up.”
What Don Ake says rings true, but if we could add, trailer manufacturing is a small piece of the labor force pie. With various companies in other industries across the nation offering sign-up bonuses above $1,000, we will have to see what trailer manufacturers will do to ramp up production to meet demand.
We are optimistic that 2022 trailer sales will exceed 2021. Coronavirus is taking the normal route of infectious diseases: trading lethality for contagiousness as it evolves. This is evident from the CDC’s numbers showing cases at an all-time high but deaths at an all-time low. We are confident in our prediction that trailer sales will beat 2021; the question is whether or not it outpaces 2020.
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