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Sep 28, 2009 2:48 PM

Net orders for commercial trailers in August 2009 increased 14% from July and 69% from a depressed August 2008, which was during the early stages of retrenchment in the commercial vehicle sector, according to the latest State of the Industry: US Trailers report issued by ACT Research Co LLC.

The year-over-year gain for the month is the second straight for the trailer industry, as it is now overlapping very weak comparisons from the second half of 2008. Year to date through August, net orders for commercial trailers are still down 35% from the same period in 2008. However, when comparing June-July-August versus the same three months of 2008, net orders are up 16%.

“While recent order trends indicate the industry is no longer contracting, demand conditions are still about half of normal replacement levels. It is too early to celebrate a recovery,” said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research. “On a bright note, July and August are typically the weakest order months of the year, hinting that modest sequential improvement could continue in the coming months.”