5.13.13Segment

Truck Bodies & Commercial Upfitting

Manufacturers of van bodies, service bodies, crane bodies, and specialty truck upfitting equipment mounted on commercial chassis.

3
Verticals

Overview

Truck Bodies & Commercial Upfitting covers the manufacture of truck bodies and the upfitting of chassis into work-ready vehicles: service bodies, dump bodies, vans, and specialized commercial configurations. At ~$20B across ~800 establishments, it is a fragmented segment of body builders and upfitters (Morgan, Knapheide, Reading, Wabash) serving fleets, trades, and commercial operators.

Demand is driven by commercial-fleet activity, construction and trades, last-mile delivery, and vocational work, with electrification of commercial vans and trucks an emerging dynamic. It is fragmented and a steady consolidation theme around upfitting and body-building platforms.

Market snapshot

Market size
~$20B
Growth
~7.1%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~644 firms
Firms by employee count

53.1% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 342 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe302 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
20066%
100–499
4716%
500+
5518%

The most acquirable segment here by some distance: 640-odd firms doing specification work on chassis they do not build (service bodies, boxes, lifts, refrigeration). Demand follows fleet replacement rather than consumer cycles, backlogs are long, and the work is too customized and too freight-sensitive to consolidate nationally, which keeps regional operators viable.

NAICS 336211. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Body manufacturing and chassis-upfitting fees

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$31,466,929
Revenue per employee
$351,458
Employees per firm
84.9
Recurring revenue
Low–Moderate

fleet replacement and upfit cycles

EBITDA margin
Fabrication- and upfit-service economics
Capex intensity
Moderate

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 16% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 55 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Body builders and upfitters for commercial fleets.
  • Last-mile delivery and vocational work drive demand.
  • Commercial-van/truck electrification emerging.

NAICS 336211. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Body & upfitting strategics
  • PE-backed platforms
  • Fleet-services consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Roll-up of upfitting and body-building.
  • Last-mile and fleet-electrification demand.
  • Commercial-fleet activity.

Verticals in this segment

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