For the third consecutive month, commercial trailer net orders have declined according to ACT Research.

Trailer orders posted a 26% decline in June from May’s numbers, ACT reported. That decline, when combined with an increase in trailer production in the period, resulted in a 5% fall in industry backlogs month-over-month, with the orderboard showing 97,000 units at the end of June.

“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 orderboards 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.”

The update is part of ACT’s State of the Industry: U.S. Trailers report.

Despite the decline, the industry backlog remains double the level of one year ago, ACT said.