Oct 29, 2026 earnings call — Wabash ramps dry van production; backlog surges
Wabash pulled forward dry van ramp and reported Q3 revenue over $476 million as backlog reached $1.3 billion by mid-October.
Revenue $0.5B (est $0.5B) · EPS $-0.63 (est $-0.46) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $0.4B–$0.5B
Key quotes
"By mid-October, it was almost 20,000 units, with more orders in the process of closing."
"as a direct result of customer order activity at scale, we aggressively pulled forward capacity addition actions into Q3, actions previously slated for Q1 and Q2 of 2027, to increase dry van output in direct response to that customer demand."
"The antidumping rate is almost 130%, while the countervailing duty rate is almost 135%."
Analyst Q&A 3
Industry volumes and market share
Q (Michael Shlisky · D.A. Davidson): He asked if 2027 will be a normal replacement year, whether total units including tanks could exceed 40,000, and if Wabash has been gaining share and how 2027 margins look.
A: Management said 2027 looks like a baseline replacement year at the dry-van level and gave specific unit ranges. They said total Wabash trailer capacity target is north of 40,000 units and that they have outperformed on market share since June/July. On margins, they expect some inefficiency to carry into early 2027 then a return to historical margin rates in the back half.
"I think with the activity that we're seeing right now are extremely supportive of what I would call a baseline replacement in 2027." — Brent Yeagy
Factory capacity, ASPs, and margins
Q (Jeff Kauffman · Citizens Bank): He asked how many trailers two shifts will support (dry van only or all products), why trailer ASP fell Q2 to Q3, and what margins look like at mid-cycle volumes.
A: Management said two shifts should support about a 42,000-45,000 unit annualized run rate just on dry vans, with more possible from tanks, platforms, overtime, and later shifts. They said the Q2-to-Q3 ASP drop is largely mix (more dry vans vs higher-ASP tanks), dry van pricing was similar Q2-to-Q3, and they expect a 200-300 basis-point materials margin improvement in Q4 and a 600-basis point dry-van backlog improvement into 2027. At mid-cycle volumes and current pricing, they expect mid-single digit operating margins, and getting back to prior-cycle margins requires further price gains versus material costs.
"Even with that implementation, we should be in that 42,000-45,000 unit run rate just on dry vans on an annualized basis." — Brent Yeagy
Closing remarks
Q (John Cummings): There were no further analyst questions.
A: Management closed the call, thanked participants, and said they look forward to speaking during the quarter and wished everyone a good day.