TRUCK SALES * USA - ACT: Preliminary Class 8 net orders “remain strong”

Columbus,IND,USA -Fleet Owner, by David Cullen -Jun 3, 2011: -- Despite some cooling in the Class 8 market being reported by a key forecasting firm, their analysis suggests that nonetheless motor carriers are driving right through the current wave of bad economic news, keeping their sights firmly set on the road ahead. A preliminary reading of heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles net orders shows they “fell from April’s high water mark but remained strong,” according to ACT Research Co. (ACT)... Net orders in fact were up 85% from a year ago May. The firm noted its preliminary net order numbers are subject to revision and are typically accurate to within 5%, plus or minus... ACT publishes new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and provides forecasting services for the North American market as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT notes that its services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as the banking and investment community...

TRUCK SALES * USA - Stage set for continued commercial vehicle recovery

Columbus,Ind,USA -Truck News (CAN) -May 12, 2011: -- The stage has been set for a long run-up in demand across the medium-duty and heavy-duty truck and commercial trailer segments, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT)... The company said its most recent release of the ACT North American Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK reflects solid fundamentals supporting the upcycle in the commercial vehicle market. These fundamentals include improved fleet financial performance, some improvement in credit availability, as well as pent-up demand from long-delayed equipment replacements and upgrades across the entire fleet spectrum, according to ACT... "While the pace of economic growth eased slightly in the first quarter of 2011, our forecast concludes that the US economy has shifted into a self-sustaining recovery mode," said Sam Kahan, ACT's chief economist. "The recovery in the commercial vehicle sector is solidly underway, and the overall constraining factor for 2011 might actually be the industry's ability to build rather than truckers' demand for vehicles"...

TRUCKS´ SALES * USA - Analysis: More Input That Used Truck Market Is Doing Better Than New

New York,NY,USA -GLG Reseaarch: Analysis by Jay Thompson -February 18, 2010: -- Used truck sales in the secondary used truck marketplace is fragmented - but strong. Volvo’s Arrow Truck Sales gives us insight into the marketplace from an OEM perspective and underscores that just written about with Rush Enterprises that it will continue to depress new sales... Over the last year, the glut of good used trucks in the OEM and secondary dealer markets has increased. The is in part due to continuing depressed freight marketplace (reduced need for capacity), repossessions of late model trucks and the surge of trucks at the end of their financing terms from the 2005-2006 time period when new truck sales were more than double that today. We (and others) estimate that there a half million usable Class 8 trucks available in the marketplace (parked at fleets or for sale) that will continue to dampen sales of new... In looking at actual used truck prices in the marketplace today, we can buy good 450,000 mile trucks at auction for $25,000 each - or 4 or 5 trucks for the price of one new one. A two year-old truck with 200,000 miles can be bought at auction for $45,000 - or two very good used ones for the price of one new...  (Photo from farm6.static.flickr: 2010 Volvo VN 780 Arrow Truck Sales-Elizabeth NJ)

* USA - Equipment orders still on a roll

Columbus,IN,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -May 5, 2011: -- Net orders for Class 8 trucks and commercial trailers remain on a roll as freight demand continues to exceed capacity, helping carriers generate cash for a long-overdue replacement of their aging fleets... According to ACT’s preliminary data, net orders for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks for North American markets climbed to 38,200 units in April – a 158% increase from the same month in 2010 – and represents the largest monthly order intake since March 2006...  The firm added that net orders for trailers in March were 21% higher that February and 33% higher than January. ACT also noted that trailer shipments for the first quarter of 2011 were up 109% compared to the same quarter in 2010... (Photo from Paccar: A new model Peterbilt truck)