--- title: Thinning Pipelines and Tariff Pressures Shape August Trailer Orders description: Trailer orders face declines amid thinning pipelines and tariff pressures. August sees a mixed performance, with production and backlogs falling despite some annual gains. image: https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/social%20images/Blog%20images/2025/09-September/Trailer%20Orders%20Sept%202025%20blog.png --- ![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social%20images/Blog%20images/2025/09-September/Trailer%20Orders%20Sept%202025%20blog.png?width=1600&height=500&name=Trailer%20Orders%20Sept%202025%20blog.png) forecasting SCI # Thinning Pipelines and Tariff Pressures Shape August Trailer Orders ![Dan Moyer, Sr. Analyst, Commerical Vehicles](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Collateral/FTR%20Headshots%20and%20Bios/Headshots/Cropped/Dan%20Moyer%20cropped.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=Dan%20Moyer%20cropped.jpg) Dan Moyer, Sr. Analyst, Commerical Vehicles September 17, 2025 Thinning Pipelines and Tariff Pressures Shape August Trailer Orders 2:52   ![Trailer PR September 2025](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/social%20images/Press%20Releases/2025/Trailer%20PR%20September%202025.png?width=315&height=315&name=Trailer%20PR%20September%202025.png) FTR reports that U.S. trailer net orders totaled **7,261 units** in August. This represents a **4% decline month-over-month** but a modest **3% gain year-over-year**. Despite the annual improvement, activity remains far below the 10-year August average of 17,568 units as freight weakness, tariff pressures, and pricing uncertainty continue to weigh on demand. Cancellations provided some relief, easing to 16% of gross orders, down significantly from May’s 39% peak. However, the rate remains slightly above long-term norms, keeping overall activity restrained. --- ## 2025 Order Season in Context For the full 2025 order season (September 2024–August 2025), net orders totaled **188,519 units**, down 5% year-over-year. By contrast, 2025 to date has been much stronger: net orders reached **110,080 units**, up 28% year-over-year, averaging just over 13,750 per month. This strength largely reflects **backloaded orders following the November 2024 election**, which drove a surge of activity in the first quarter of 2025. --- ## Production and Backlogs Decline Trailer production also slipped in August: - **Down 5% month-over-month** - **Down 6% year-over-year** to 17,134 units Year-to-date output is off 22% compared to last year, averaging just 16,731 units per month. Backlogs fell to **81,926 units (-11% m/m; -7% y/y)**, pushing the backlog-to-build ratio down to **4.8 months** — the weakest level since June 2020. --- ## Analyst Perspective > ![Dan Moyer_ Use This One](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Collateral/FTR%20Headshots%20and%20Bios/Headshots/Dan%20Moyer_%20Use%20This%20One.jpg?width=187&height=281&name=Dan%20Moyer_%20Use%20This%20One.jpg)Dan Moyer, Senior Analyst for Commercial Vehicles at FTR, noted: “With builds continuing to outpace new orders, OEMs face mounting pressure to balance production against a thinning pipeline. Unless order activity strengthens with the opening of 2026 order boards, the industry may confront additional headwinds heading into next year.” > > He added: “For trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, tariffs are producing costs, tighter margins, and increased risk of consolidation. Larger, integrated players are more resilient, while smaller firms are vulnerable. Many fleets are delaying replacements, relying more on used trailers and curbing expansion. The 2026 order season may start later than September for some OEMs with subdued bookings as policy uncertainty and structurally higher costs weigh on demand.” Learn More To access the full chart accompanying this release, visit: [https://www.ftrintel.com/trailer-orders](https://www.ftrintel.com/trailer-orders) For over 30 years, FTR has been the industry leader in freight transportation forecasting, delivering unbiased, data-driven insights to help companies navigate uncertainty and plan for the future. 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Don’t miss it!   ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Ftrailer-orders-september-2025](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Ftrailer-orders-september-2025) ## Keep reading [![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Collateral/Blogs/Blog%20images/2026/July/_Class%208%20July%202026%20blog.png?width=1600&height=500&name=_Class%208%20July%202026%20blog.png) class 8 trucks forecasting ### Class 8 Orders Surge Again as Industry Nears 2026 Production Capacity ](https://today.ftrintel.com/class-8-july-2026) [![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Collateral/Blogs/Blog%20images/2026/June/_RMU%20June%2026%202026%20blog.png?width=1600&height=500&name=_RMU%20June%2026%202026%20blog.png) intermodal carload Rail ### Rail Traffic Holds Steady While Intermodal Extends Its Winning Streak ](https://today.ftrintel.com/rmu-june-26-2026) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Moyer, Sr. Analyst, Commerical Vehicles", "url" : "https://today.ftrintel.com/author/dan-moyer" }, "dateModified" : "2025-09-17T17:00:00.524Z", "datePublished" : "2025-09-17T17:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Thinning Pipelines and Tariff Pressures Shape August Trailer Orders", "image" : [ "https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/social%20images/Blog%20images/2025/09-September/Trailer%20Orders%20Sept%202025%20blog.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://today.ftrintel.com/trailer-orders-september-2025", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/FTR%20Logos%20and%20Icons/FTR_Logo_Primary_FullColor.png" }, "name" : "FTR | Transportation Intelligence" } } ```