The credits of inventing a fifth-wheel coupling goes to Otto Neumann and August Fruehauf, when they first invented the semi-trailer back in 1914. A few years later, they adopted an improved version of the fifth-wheel offered by inventor Hermann Farr and his partner, Charles Martin. Martin introduced Farr's invention of the fifth wheel in 1915 when inventor Farr applied for the patent of his fifth wheel on June 4, 1915. The patent was granted in 1916, after which a partnership with Charles Martin was initiated. The company's fifth-wheel prototype was round in shape, giving the industry a nickname 'fifth-wheel.' It was equipped with hinges that made travel on unpaved or rolling roads much easier. This was a great improvement on other types of primitive hitches, which led to an increase in semi-trailer sales thereafter.

PART 01: Executive summary

Highlights

PART 02: Scope of the report

Report coverage

Top-vendor offerings

PART 03: Market research methodology

Research methodology

Economic indicators

PART 04: Introduction

Key market highlights

Value chain analysis

PART 05: Market landscape

Market overview

Five forces analysis

PART 06: Market segmentation by application

PART 07: Market segmentation by geography

PART 08: Market drivers

PART 09: Market challenges

PART 10: Market trends

PART 11: Vendor landscape

Competitive benchmarking

Other prominent vendors

PART 12: Key vendor analysis

PART 13: Appendix

List of abbreviations

PART 14: Explore Technavio