Trends in the economy and transportation sector continue to indicate that things will get better in the second half of 2010 and that we'll start to see demand for trucks firm up this year and into 2011
, according to ACT Research.

In the latest release of the ACT North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook, ACT said it expects heavy-duty vehicle production to grow 18 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2010, largely due to stronger orders late in 2009 in advance of new EPA 2010 emission mandate engines and very easy annual comparisons. With fundamentals expected to improve in the truckload market by mid-year, demand is expected to increase into the end of 2010.

Meanwhile, medium-duty vehicle production, which is largely tied to the health of the housing market, is expected to see a steadier, gradual increase through 2010 and 2011.

"As we have been saying for months, a series of events is required to put commercial vehicle production on more solid footing, and those events continue to play out as expected," said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research. "With a modestly improving economy and used truck values moving higher, finance firms appear less interested in using forbearance to keep vulnerable carriers alive. When you combine increased carrier bankruptcies with record large fleet capacity reduction efforts, the truckload sector is forecast to see freight volumes outstripping tractor supply by mid-year, which will set the stage for dramatic improvements for both trucking and commercial vehicle demand."