COLUMBUS, Ind. — Commercial trailer orders declined for the third straight month in June, according to the latest data from ACT Research.

ACT’s State of the Industry: US Trailers report showed a 26% decline in trailer orders from May. Industry backlogs dropped 5% month-over-month, with the industry order board ending June at 97,000 units.

The order board remains double what it was a year ago, ACT noted.

“The fall-off in net orders was greater than anticipated,” said Frank Maly, director CV transportation analysis and research with ACT. “A positive factor to keep in mind is that cancellations of existing commitments on the order boards were not an issue; new order weakness was the cause. We are in a seasonally low time of the year for new order placement. Fleet order rates will need to be closely monitored over the next couple of months to determine if the recent order softness is a short-lived pause or the start of a new trend in the industry recovery.”