New commercial vehicle registrations (Class 3-8) in the U.S. are set to reach 440,000 units for the 2011 calendar year, an increase of 17.6% over the 2010 calendar year and a 33% uptick from 2009, according to Polk.


New registrations remain 45.4% lower than the historic peak in 2006, when the market boomed to support the impending change in diesel regulations. The 2011 recovery is being led by a large increase in registrations of Class 3 vehicles rather than GVW 8 vehicles, which have historically been the predominant segment in the commercial vehicle market.

"The growth in the Class 3 segment is predominantly based on those vehicles being purchased for small to large fleets and independent contractor use," said Gary Meteer, director, sales and client services, at Polk. "Some of these vehicles are likely to have mixed use for commercial business during the week and family activities on the weekend, such as for trailering recreational vehicles," he continued.

The best indication of this mixed use, according to Polk, is the fact that through the first eight months of the 2011, nearly 48% of Class 3 vehicles were registered to an individual, rather than a business. New registrations to individuals were up 27.4% in the first eight months of the calendar year versus 24.3% for all vehicles among all Class 3-8 vehicles.

The southern region of the U.S. has the largest concentration of new commercial vehicle registrations and has remained relatively flat this year with 2010 volumes in the same timeframe, with approximately one third market share. After the record level of new registrations in the 2006 calendar year, new registrations fell sharply in the central region. However, the central region has led the industry's recovery with an uptick in its share of new commercial vehicle registrations to well above historical levels, jumping from 21.4% of the market in 2007 to more than 29% through the first eight months of 2011.