New U.S. commercial registrations for trailers over 24 feet in length in 2010 were 105,471 units, up 42% from 2009, according to Polk.
New registrations of the top four trailer body types accounted for 83.6% of total new trailer registrations, compared with 75.9% during 2009. Trailer van is the largest segment of the trailer market, and van new registrations were up 67.9% in 2010, accounting for 70.3% of total new trailer registrations.
Used commercial vehicle registrations (GVW 3-8) in the U.S. achieved a record level in 2010 with approximately 672,000 units registered, a 21.7% increase. With this increase, used commercial vehicle registrations accounted for nearly 65% of the total commercial vehicle market (new and used) in 2010.
This is the first year registrations of used commercial vehicles have exceeded 600,000 units. The uptick in the used market signifies a large opportunity for aftermarket parts manufacturers and suppliers that rely on the commercial repair and replacement business.
“The significant increase in used vehicle registrations during the 2010 calendar year is indicative of a strengthening in the demand for commercial vehicles overall,” said Gary Meteer, director, sales and client services, at Polk. “Large fleet owners and operators are upgrading to new vehicles, and therefore the smaller fleet companies and independent owner operators have the opportunity to find available clean used equipment; however, the pattern of used vehicle transactions indicates a softer supply of clean used equipment during the last quarter of the calendar year.”
The demand for clean used equipment was greatest for GVW 8 vehicles as they represented more than 47% of all used commercial vehicle transactions in 2010.
Polk’s most recent Commercial Vehicle Market Intelligence Report includes these findings along with other commercial market highlights, including new commercial vehicle registration information, geographical registrations, global information and key insight into aftermarket component demand, which helps aftermarket and OEM component suppliers better plan inventory to match demand for replacement parts.
The report is available at http://www.polk.com/kc/PolkAR-CVR-201102.pdf