US Semi-Trailer Market 2024–2033

Reports Description

As per the current market research conducted by CMI Team, the US Semi-Trailer Market is expected to record a CAGR of 4.7% from 2024 to 2033. In 2024, the market size is projected to reach a valuation of USD 11.38 Billion. By 2033, the valuation is anticipated to reach USD 18 Billion.

The semi-trailer market in the United States represents an essential inclusion in logistics and freight transport, which plays a critical role in supporting trades, including retail, construction, and agriculture. The market is characterized by a wide variety of trailers, which include flatbeds, refrigerated trailers, dry vans, tank trailers, etc.; the market has changed positively over the years due to the changing needs of consumers and surrounding trade issues.

Enhancements from technology, such as telematics, Internet of Things (IoT) tracking, and autonomous ready vehicles, have driven efficiencies in the business and changed fleet management entirely. Key drivers include the growing e-commerce industry, which has generated a demand for faster deliveries, different types of trailers, and respect for the environment, making manufacturers produce light trailers that consume less fuel.

Therefore, the players within the industry are embracing innovation and differentiation to meet different transportation needs in a bid to remain relevant due to the increasing efforts to move goods across the country.

US Semi-Trailer Market – Significant Growth Factors

The US Semi-Trailer Market presents significant growth opportunities due to several factors:

• Expansion in E-commerce: E-commerce expansion has caused the need for effective logistics systems, boosting the growth of semi-trailer manufacturers and their market. Logistics companies require reduced delivery times, therefore, a fleet that can support fast fulfillment and last-mile deliveries. Truck-mounted trailers, particularly with dry vans and refrigerated models, have been vital, especially for long hauls and businesses with warehouses in areas of high consumption. This rapid evolution of online retail business has further entrenched the position of semi-trailers in the logistics industry and, hence, its persistent market growth.

• Technological Advancements: Telematics and IoT technologies are revitalizing hauling services and fleets in the U.S. semi-trailer industry. Innovative tracking systems allow the operator to monitor a trailer’s position, maintenance condition, and load weight, which helps routing and minimizes downtime. On top of that, semi-trailers are positioned towards developing autonomous and electrification technologies that enhance their effectiveness and ready the market for future changes in mobility. The enhancements in these technologies bring about optimization of operations, reduced costs, and improved productivity; hence, semi-trailers become more viable for fleet operators.

• Environmental Regulations and Fuel Efficiency: Growing ecological constraints imposed by legislation are stimulating semi-trailer builders to adopt more fuel-efficient designs, including using lighter materials such as aluminum, improved aerodynamics, and hybrid or electric power sources. As the emissions issues rise, fleet operators prefer specific trailers that help avoid fuel waste and comply with the law. This shift, in turn, is advantageous for manufacturers pursuing environmentally friendly technologies as the US market creates development potential for these companies through environmental protection benefits.

• Demand for Cold Chain Logistics: The cold chain logistics industry is increasing in scope owing to the rising demand for perishable goods, bulk medicines, and temperature-sensitive items. This has led to an increase in the supply of refrigerated trailers meant to keep goods at a specific temperature when transported over long distances. Semi-trailers, in particular, have become a primary mode of transport in the cold chain system. So manufacturers are keeping pace with the changes in the market by making superior insulated and thermal insulated semi-trailers with active temperature control systems. This is a significant source of growth, particularly in the current climate where consumers have high demands for fresh foods and health products.

• Expansion of Construction and Manufacturing Sectors: The construction and manufacturing sectors are rebuilding and growing, increasing the need for semi-trailers to carry construction materials, machinery, and ready products. Movement of oversized and overweighed goods, often needed at construction sites, is done using flatbeds, lowboys, and heavy-duty semi-trailers. This is especially so with the expansion of infrastructure investment by the governments especially on public works and housing, the growth of the trailer market is accompanied by increasing need for specialized trailers encouraging manufacturers to continue producing more advanced models with improved functions.

US Semi-Trailer Market – Key Developments

The US Semi-Trailer Market has undergone various changes in the past, where the companies are trying to increase their chance on the market and exploit synergies to enhance their products and improve their profitability. Some examples of M&A activities that can be noted in the US Semi-Trailer Market include:

• In 2023, Schmitz Cargobull partnered with Trimble to promote data-centric freight forwarding. The manufacturer of trailers, Schmitz Cargobull, has joined forces with technology corporation Trimble to assist freight transport service providers in effectively utilizing real-time data.

• In 2023, Great Dane Trailer, a subsidiary of Great Dane LLC trailer manufacturer, announced enhancements to its FleetPulse bright trailer technology and the electrification kit from SAF-HOLLAND for its trailers. The FleetPulse system now provides alerts for ABS fault codes as well as the mileage on hub rotations which helps fleets to enhance safety and operational performance.

These developments have, in turn, enabled the companies to augment their product range, increase their presence in the market, and take advantage of the opportunities for growth in the US Semi-Trailer Market. The tendency will also remain as the companies in question will try to receive a competitive advantage over their rival companies in the future.

US Semi-Trailer Market – Significant Threats

The US Semi-Trailer Market faces several significant threats that could impact its growth and profitability in the future. Some of these threats include:

• Supply Chain Disruptions: Continual disruptions in the supply chain, such as the shortage of semiconductors and the delayed provision of steel, have influenced the production of semi-trailers. The production lead times have gone higher than usual, and in some cases, the trailer prices have increased due to the scarcity of significant parts. This situation hampers market growth since companies cannot address the demand within a reasonable time frame. In addition, labor shortages, especially in manufacturing hubs, aggravate supply chain problems and affect the availability of finished goods to customers.

• High Initial Investment and Maintenance Cost: The cost of obtaining and maintaining semi-trailers is high, and it would discourage small-scale logistics operators and fleet owners from procurement. The fees are, however, very high for modern vehicles such as those with telematics, hybrid engines, or any other modifications. Even more, these operating overheads also cater to repairs, routine assessment, and other costs associated with meeting timelines regarding the law’s implementation. This may prevent some of the smaller players from re-fleeting or scaling up their operations, which, in turn, affects the growth opportunity of the market as a whole.

• Stringent Regulatory Compliance: There are extensive regulations to which manufacturers of semi-trailers and operators of fleets are subject concerning the environment, safety, and measures on how to operate within limits of, for example, poison and oversized loads. Such rules require more frequent checks, equipment, and repairs along with behavioral modifications in compliance with these drawbacks, including costs associated with new equipment. A potential investor who wishes to start or expand operations faces such regulatory challenges. Smaller companies view these challenges as a possibility of penetrating the market, whereas existing companies treat them as ongoing operational tasks.

• Driver Shortage and Rising Wages: The transportation sector in the United States has a persistent problem of skilled labor, especially drivers, severely affecting the semi-trailer market. This shortage increases wages, adding extra financial burdens on fleet operators already working on skinny profit margins. In addition, driver shortages affect capacity utilization, making it hard for fleets to operate thoroughly. Consequently, semi-trailer operators have no choice but to develop initiatives to retain drivers, such as scaling down operations in some cases, which is undesirable since it stifles the market’s growth.

• Volatility in Fuel Price: Semi–trailer systems also suffer from the consequences of price volatility as fuel cost is a significant element of the operational cost of long-distance transport business. Increasing fuel prices also, in turn, lowers the margins, especially for those fleet owners who do not have access to fuel-saver trailers. Fluctuations in fuel prices also impede purchasing new trailers because an increase in day-to-day operational costs alters the projections for costs in expansion or even modernization. Once again, this uncertainty surrounding the high operational costs resulting from fuel price volatility has affected the semi-trailer industry by limiting the growth in demand.

Category-Wise Insights

By Type

• Tanker: Tanker semi-trailers are purpose-built trailers designed to transport liquids, gases, and certain dry bulk materials needed in the oil & gas, chemical, and agricultural sectors. Fuels, chemicals, and food-grade tankers are some of the designs of these trailers that serve different cargo needs. Each is equipped with features suitable for the specific class of goods transported. For instance, compartments are designed in fuel tankers to control the flow of liquids to avoid any possible tipping situations of the tanker truck. Corrosive materials tankers are made of polymeric matrices reinforced with fiberglass to protect them from the chemicals they transport.

• Refrigerated: This kind of trailer (or a refrigerator, as they often call it) is primarily used to carry goods that require low-temperature maintenance or that quickly get spoiled. These are smartphones and food transportation devices. A wide variety of insulation materials that use advanced cooling technology are employed in those trailers. Most of the time, diesel refrigeration or electric cooling units keep the temperature constant.

• Dry Vans: Dry van semi-trailers are built to carry cargoes that do not require any temperature control and are therefore safe from moisture, like electronics, clothes, and packaged goods. Such entirely no-roof trailers are efficient boxes that keep out adverse weather conditions, dust, and other debris inside the truck. They are also often called grain plastic automobile tanks. Dry vans are flexible and generally made with hard-wearing materials made from metals such as steel or aluminum. They are available in various lengths to suit the sizes of the freights one is transporting.

• Lowboys: Lowboy semi-trailers, also called low loaders, are primarily for transporting massive weight high, structure equipment that cannot be carried using standard height restriction trailers. Lowboys typically feature a deck that is level with the ground, and such weight loads allow for the carriage of taller loads without exceeding the prescribed maximum limit height for transportation on the road. Usually, these trailers are used in construction, mining, and heavy machinery to carry other items like excavators, bulldozers, and industrial gear.

• Flatbed: Flatbed semi-trailers are simple trailers that are open and decked out so that there is no restriction on the loading or offloading of cargo from any side of the trailer. Perfect for carrying oversized, heavy-as-well-as-out-of-shape objects, flatbeds are primarily deployed in the transport of building equipment, farming products as well as manufacturing supplies such as timber, piping, machinery and metallic coils. Flatbeds are designed without sides and a roof to transport out-of-gauge cargo that is larger than what enclosed containers can carry, thus enabling the transport of different kinds of freight.

By Tonnage

• >100 Tons: More than 100-ton capacity semi-trailers are heavy-duty transport equipment. Moreover, they are used in most cases for the needs of the mining, construction, and power industries. These heavy-duty trailers, such as multi-axle lowboys and modular platform trailers, can transport oversized loads, such as heavy machinery, construction equipment, and building elements. These are specially made for hefty transport loads, including the transport of industrial machines and processing plants, construction machinery, and vertical building elements.

• 51-100 Tons: Semi-trailers in the 51-100-ton range are most important for heavy-haul work and combine adequate strength with reasonable flexibility to carry cargoes like medium to large-sized industrial machinery, heavy building materials, and significant components of civil engineering. In general use in construction, production, and farming, these are generally flat, low, or step deck trailers constructed using a strengthened chassis and several axles, which can bear enormous weights while maintaining excellent stability.

• 25-50 Tons: 25-50-ton semi-trailers are useful heavy-duty transport options that can carry intermediate kgs of freight, such as lighter earth moving and construction machines, factory equipment, and certain food grains. In this capacity range, there are many options for trailers, including flatbeds, step decks, and smaller lowboys used in construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, where enough loads are carried but not to an extreme extent.

• <25 Tons: Semi-trailers with a less than 25-ton loading capacity are convenient, transportable and able to operate within cities with light and medium loads such as: e.g. – pallets, small machines and agricultural products. These trailers are frequently used for urban and regional deliveries where space limitations and weight restrictions apply. Common examples in this segment include small flatbeds, dry vans, and utility trailers, which possess basic construction for easy loading and unloading.

By End Use

• Oil and Gas: The need for semi-trailers increases tremendously in the oil and gas sector. They are pivotal when moving heavy machinery, equipment, and even finished products from one place to another within complex and far-off places. Specialized semi-trailers in the form of tankers, flatbeds, and lowboys all help in the lading of many things, from rotary drilling rigs and pumps to transporting liquids, including crude oil, diesel, and natural gas.

• Chemical: In the chemical sector, semi-trailers assist in carrying a mixture of bulk liquid chemicals, which are hazardous and non-hazardous to the environment. Usually, tank trailers are designed to have specific types of liquids and are made of materials that can withstand corrosion and conform to the relevant safety standards. These cargo containers incorporate high-tech hazard control measures, vapor recovery systems, and pressure-limiting valves to avert dangers in the process of transportation.

• Logistics: In logistics, the semi-trailer is a key component that enables long-haul transport of goods and has made supply chains feasible for all sectors of the economy – retail, manufacturing, and e-commerce, among others. The semi-trailer refers to the rearmost part of a truck, which is connected using a fifth wheel. These include dry vans, flatbeds, and reefers, which are used with different types of cargo, including canned food, electric diesel motors, and chilled goods.

• Automotive: In the automotive sector, semi-trailers are essential to the carriage of automobiles and their parts between manufacturers, distribution centers, and dealers. Car hauler trailers transport multiple cars in one trip and have a unique design with a sleeper and safe and secure systems that hold new and second-hand cars, trucks, and SUVs carefully and stably.

• FMCG: Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries use semi-trailers to distribute and transport diverse product categories ranging from food and drinks to cosmetics and home-type products. For these products in high demand, semi-trailers help transport them from the manufacturers to the retail and distribution places very efficiently and reliably.

• Heavy Industry: In the case of heavy industry, semi-trailer trucks are necessary for many industrial activities to move large and heavy as well as oversized loads of equipment and materials that are particularly important in those industries, such as construction, mining, and manufacturing. Trailers designed for such loads, for example, lowboys or flatbed trailers, are built to carry the burden safely and economically when hauling equipment like excavators’ cranes, and generators.

Report Scope

Competitive Landscape – US Semi-Trailer Market

The US Semi-Trailer Market is highly competitive, with many manufacturers and retailers operating in the US. Some of the key players in the market include:

• Crossroad Trailers Sales and Service Inc.
• Diamond T Truck & Trailer Inc.
• Great Western Leasing and Sales
• Larry’s Trailer Sales & Service LLC
• Northwest Truck & Trailer
• Royal Truck & Trailer Sales and Service Inc.
• Semi-Truck and Trailer Sales
• Star Trailer Sales Inc.
• Superior Trailer Sales
• Young truck and trailer
• Others

These companies operate in the market through various strategies such as product innovation, mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships.

The new players in the semi-trailer market in the U.S. are stimulating innovation and competition, usually using new technologies and environmental sustainability. These corporations are utilizing the latest materials trends, such as lightweight composites and aluminum, to make fuel- and payload-efficient semi-trailers. Moreover, several new entrants are brightening their trailers by including telematics and the Internet of Things (IoT) for real-time maintenance and fleet management.

Not only does this enhance efficiency in operations, but it also aids in achieving environmental sustainability objectives by minimizing the distance travelled and emissions released. Also, young companies are responding to the market needs for specific trailers, such as those designed for electric vehicles and those for renewable energy, due to this transition in the industry to a greener ecosystem. Offering tailored products and services for the clients coupled with using e-channels to market and service their products, these new competitors are not just waging war against the existing manufacturers. Instead, they are pushing the entire sector towards market transformation and greening.

The US Semi-Trailer Market is segmented as follows:

By Type

• Tankers
• Refrigerated
• Dry Vans
• Lowboy
• Flatbed

By Tonnage

• >100 Tons
• 51-100 Tons
• 25-50 Tons
• <25 Tons

By End-Use

• Oil and Gas
• Chemical
• Healthcare
• Logistics
• Automotive
• FMCG
• Heavy Industry