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THE 25 largest trailer manufacturers in North America built some 340,000 truck-trailers and container chassis in 2015, a 16.6 percent increase over the preceding year.
The previous record for the Top-25-plus trailer builders' output was set in 1999 when the 25 largest manufacturers built 339,664 truck-trailers and container chassis. The new number in 2015 for these 25-plus builders is 339,948 trailers and chassis. That is a gain of 284 trailers. That 0.08% difference may be too close to call it a new record. At least, it certainly is a tie with the 1999 number.
The six largest manufacturers built 272,000 trailers and chassis, or 80% of the total 340,000 units built by this Top-25 trailer group. All six of these largest builders are van trailer builders, and they also produce other types of trailers.
The biggest challenge in 2015 was the precipitous drop in petroleum prices, which affected most the builders of tank trailers, as well as pneumatic dry bulk trailers, lowboys and heavy haulers. However, platform and dump trailer specialists found improving markets in construction and housing.
The biggest change this year was the high number of container chassis. Four trailer manufacturers reported assembling 39,780 container chassis in 2015, an increase of 54% over the preceding year. Back in 1999, the previous record year, the Top-25 trailer manufacturers assembled almost as many chassis-37,800-or 11.1% of the trailer and chassis total. In 2015, container chassis represent 11.7% of the trailer/chassis total.
Only six manufacturers in this Top-25 group reported building fewer trailers in 2015, but this does not mean these were financial losses. It may mean producing fewer but higher value trailer configurations.
The trailer totals reported here cannot be compared directly with other domestic surveys that do not also include Canadian and Mexican assembly plants. This survey does not attempt to report on the many small manufacturing plants located throughout North America, so the total trailer build is a somewhat higher number than numbers shown here.
This Trailer/Body Builders survey is made by telephoning a member of the management team at each manufacturing company. The ranking of the companies does not necessarily reflect their relative success in terms of profitability or revenue received, but only the number of trailers manufactured. The dollar value of...