Polk: Demand for Used Trucks in 2011 Highest on Record
In its latest industry overview on U.S. new and used commercial vehicle registrations, R.L. Polk notes that the real health of the commercial vehicle market is best illustrated by combining new and used vehicle registrations when viewed by year-to-year changes.
Polk said that during the 2011 calendar year new commercial vehicle registrations were up 23.3% from 2010. Combined registrations of Class 3-8 vehicles were 1,252,236 units, an increase of 19.7% when compared to the previous year – 36.9% of the total are accounted for by new registrations, up from 35.8% reported for 2010.
The research firm notes that the demand for used commercial vehicles in 2011 represented a record for transactions, surpassing the previous record that was set in 2010. And while the demand for used vehicles was at a record high, the number of used Class 8 registrations actually declined by 4.5% from the level reported the previous year.
When viewed from for just the fourth quarter, Polk said Class 8 used transactions were down 22.0% from the level achieved in the same 2010 period and were at the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2009. The decline is the result of both the 38.2% year-over-year increase in new Class 8 registrations as well as tight availability of clean used Class 8 vehicles.
