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In dueling court filings, Environmental Protection Agency lawyers said they want to postpone the start of a federal appeals court case on the trailer section of the Phase 2 greenhouse gas rule while trailer makers are eager to see the new rule scrapped.

Trailer makers Hyundai Translead and Strick Group are exploring options to provide equipment deliveries in the final mile as growth in e-commerce outpaces growth in retail sales overall, they said in separate announcements.

U.S. trailer orders jumped 41% in July compared with the weak 2016 period, supported by demand for dry vans and flatbeds — and trailer makers said they expected similar conditions in 2018.

U.S. trailer orders in April rose 19% in what analysts said was an extended growth cycle that shows no signs of reversing.

U.S. orders for trailers in April were about 20,000 and posted strong year-over-year gains, analysts said.

The Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association has expanded its offensive against the part of the federal Phase 2 greenhouse gas rule that concerns trailers by asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider a Trump administration executive order intended to prune burdensome regulations.

Trailers purchased by fleets in 2018 must comply with Phase 2 of the greenhouse-gas rule from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but there will be a menu of equipment options for achieving compliance.

U.S. trailer orders in November were more than 36,000 and, while the strongest month of the year, they fell just short of the year-earlier volume, analysts said.

U.S. trailer orders in July fell to less than half of what they were a year earlier as seasonal weakness and cautious fleets still eyeing a lackluster economy cut demand more than expected, ACT Research Co. reported.