SIC 3715 Truck Trailers

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE.
• BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 3715

This industry covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing truck trailers, truck trailer chassis for sale separately, detachable trailer bodies (cargo containers) for sale separately, and detachable trailer (cargo container) chassis for sale separately.

NAICS CODE(S)

336212

Truck Trailer Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Shipments for this industry increased throughout the 1990s, reaching $6.72 billion in 1999. However, during the early 2000s shipments dropped off sharply due to a recessive economy, falling to $3.96 billion in 2002. By 2003 the economy began to rebound, and the total value of industry shipments climbed back up to $4.4 billion. Pent-up demand fueled the market during 2004 and, despite increased material costs and parts shortages, short-term projects for the industry were positive.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Like heavy trucks, truck trailers are purchased for specific applications and are therefore manufactured in a variety of styles and types. Van, container chassis, and flatbed trailers comprise the majority of trailer shipments, while the remainder consists of a small number of more specialized trailer types. Both the number of axles and length of trailers vary, with the most popular trailers having two axles, followed by single-axle designs and trailers with three or more axles. Popular trailer lengths are 48 feet and 28 feet.

Trailers are used singly or in combinations of three, as in triple "pups." Pups are 28-foot trailers that have limited use in 16 states. Sometimes three of these trailers are attached to a truck tractor to form triple pups, which together span about 104 feet. Trucking firms have urged Congress to expand the use of triples. Even though the triple pups save trucking firms millions of dollars, The Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, a not-for-profit organization, fought to keep larger trucks off the roads.

Truck trailers were manufactured in most of the 50 states. In 1999 Texas, California, and Pennsylvania led the nation in the number of manufacturing establishments per state.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

Container chassis trailer shipments increased during the early 1980s, in response to an increase in intermodal shipments of goods—a system using two or more methods of transport, including...