In The News
Polk: New and Used Truck Registrations up from 2010
Commercial new vehicle registrations for Class 3-8 vehicles for the
first half of 2011 were up 15.4% over the first half of last year, and
24.2% better than the first half of 2009, according to Polk. June 2011
new registrations were at the highest level seen during the past 18
months.
Registrations of 206,731 units for the first half of the year compared
to 179,089 for the first half of 2010 and 166,455 in the first half of
the 2009 Calendar Year. The recovery from the low level of new
registrations seen in the first half of 2009 is the result of a 37.2%
and a 34.2% increase respectively for Class 3 and Class 8 registrations.
The 15.4% year-over-year increase for the first half of this year
compared to 2010 was driven by a 25.7% increase in Class 3 vehicles.
Only Class 7 registrations did not exceed the year earlier level, down
18.8%.
When you look more closely at the registration trends for the two
largest volume segments for the past 18 months, two distinctly different
patterns emerge. New registrations for Class 3 started 2011 at the
highest level achieved during the past 18 months, fell back in February
and have remained fairly flat at the 11-12,000 unit level in the
following months.
Conversely, Class 8 vehicles started 2011 lower than January 2010 but
have steadily increased to 12,724 units in June, the highest level in
the past 18 months.
The fuel of choice remains diesel, with 80.2% of total Class 3-8 new
commercial vehicle registrations in the first half of the year powered
by a diesel engine, about equal to diesel share during the same period
last year.
There continues to be a switch away from diesel in Class 4 vehicles and
an increase in diesel-powered vehicles in Class 3, Polk notes. This
switch is the direct result of Ford's installation of their proprietary
diesel engine in Class 3 vehicles at the expense of installations in
Class 4 vehicles.
When you look at the Polk data by fleet size, there appears to be good
news at both ends of the spectrum. For the first six months of the year,
both small fleets (1-5 units) and large fleets (500+ units)
significantly increased their share of new registrations. Almost 69% of
new registrations
in the first six months of the year came from either small fleets
(+23.4%) or large fleets (+14%). Large fleets accounted for 35.5% of new
registrations during the period.
Polk also tracks used vehicle registrations, which totaled 468,392 units
for the first six months, an increase of 32.1% compared to the first
half of last year. Good used trucks continue to be in
high demand, Polk says, as exemplified by the record level of activity
during the second quarter and for the first six months of 2011. When
used transactions are examined in combination with vehicles in
operation, it is apparent that older units are being replaced by clean
used equipment.
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