Firm forecasts growing truck demand in 2011

A growing North American economy and rapidly tightening capacity in the truckload sector are setting the stage for significant demand for new equipment in 2011, according to ACT Research Co.
 
In the firm’s latest North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook, ACT increased its forecast for heavy-duty vehicle production by 6,000 units, boosting year-over-year growth in 2010 to 19 percent. The forecast for 2011 was increased by 3,000 units, projecting year-over-year growth of 67 percent.  The forecast for medium-duty vehicle production, which is largely tied to the health of housing and construction, was unchanged, projecting growth of 19 percent in 2010 and 32 percent in 2011.
 
“The deck remains tilted against a strong ramp up of Class 8 production in 2010 as the projected growth is still well below replacement level demand,” said John Burton, vice president-transportation sector with ACT Research. “However, fleet age has truckers increasingly making comments about upgrading the fleet and anecdotal evidence suggests reserve capacity is in poor shape, having been idled and cannibalized during the downturn,” Burton added.
 
ACT is a publisher of commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market.