Utility, Cargo and Specialty Trailer Manufacturers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,026 utility, cargo and specialty trailer manufacturers in the US produce a wide variety of trailers that attach to automobiles and trucks for towing. Products include flat-bed vehicle transport trailers, boat trailers, utility trailers, cargo trailers, lift and dump trailers, horse and livestock trailers, log and pipe wagons, reel trailers, semi-trailers, and tank trailers.
Competition from Used Trailers
Trailer manufacturers compete with brands from other manufacturers, as well as used trailers sold by dealers.
Food Truck Growth
The explosion of the mobile food truck industry has significantly raised demand for modified cargo trailers.
Industry size & Structure
A typical utility, cargo and specialty trailer manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs 103 workers, and generates about $36 million annually.
- The utility, cargo, and specialty trailer manufacturing industry consists of about 1,026 companies that employ about 106,000 workers and generate about $37 billion annually.
- Customers include construction and landscaping firms, horse and livestock owners, towing services, trucking companies, logging operations, water tour operators, trailer rental firms, food truck up-fitters, and those needing to transport vehicles, equipment or other cargo.
- Large companies include Sundowner, Kaufman, RollingStar, and Wilson Trailer.
Industry Forecast
Utility, Cargo and Specialty Trailer Manufacturers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
May 23, 2024 - Wages Higher, Shipments Down
- According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor costs in the industry have increased for six consecutive months on a year-over-year basis. Wages at motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturers increased 5.5% in March 2024 year over year and reached an average hourly wage of $24.67. Shipments and new orders of motor vehicle bodies, parts, and trailers fell 5.3% and 4.8%, respectively, in March 2024 compared to a year ago, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. On a month-over-month basis, shipments were 2.7% higher in March from the previous month, and new orders were flat. Inventories for motor vehicle bodies, parts, and trailers were up 1.6% from a year ago and were essentially flat from the previous month.
- US trailer orders increased 45% in April 2024 compared to the previous year, reaching 13,016 units, according to Freight Transportation Research (FTR) data reported in Trailer-BodyBuilders.com. Compared to the previous month, orders were up 9%. Still, trailer orders were trending 20% below the average for the last 12 months, per FTR. Trailer production fell 12% in April 2024 year over year and was 3% lower month over month. Trailer backlogs fell slightly in April 2024. According to Dan Moyer, FTR senior analyst for commercial vehicles, “With the truck freight market facing challenges, solid growth in April for both total van and major vocational trailer orders offers a few green shoots of optimism. Unless this growth continues in the coming quarters, decreasing backlogs and high dealer trailer inventory levels will put further downward pressure on trailer build rates.”
- US manufacturing activity contracted in April 2024 after a brief expansion in March, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI registered 49.2% in April, down 1.1 percentage points from the 50.3% recorded in March. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. Prior to March’s expansion, US manufacturing activity had fallen below the baseline for growth for 16 consecutive months. April’s New Orders Index was in the contraction zone at 49.1%. The April Production Index was 51.3%, a decrease from March’s 54.6%. Nine manufacturing industries tracked by the ISM reported growth in April: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Primary Metals; Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Petroleum & Coal Products; Transportation Equipment; Chemical Products; and Plastics & Rubber Products. The industries reporting contraction in April were Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Machinery; Furniture & Related Products; Wood Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Fabricated Metal Products; and Paper Products.
- The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) monthly jobs report shows that unfilled job openings were up in April 2024, with a seasonally adjusted 40% of business owners reporting jobs they could not fill. The reading is up three points from March 2024, which had the lowest reading since January 2021. A seasonally adjusted net 12% of small business owners plan to create new jobs over the next three months, up one point since March. About 19% of owners reported labor quality as the most important problem facing the business. According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “Hiring plans among small businesses once again in April, but open positions remain largely unfilled as owners struggle month after month to find employees. Overall, small businesses are not reporting net gains in employment as wage pressures and inflation keep the labor market tight.”
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