Some new, fancy automatic, ATIS stations broadcast METAR i.s.o. MET report. Maybe that's how trend got there?
AFAIK, trend is as good forecast as any, for planning legal purposes. On the other hand, I've seen TREND forecasts go so unreliable that I'd be reluctant to use them against a non-favourable TAF. See TK A330 Kathmandu thread!
fd.