Commercial new registrations for Class 3-8 vehicles for the first six months of 2008 were down 25.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the Commercial Vehicle Market Intelligence Report from R.L. Polk & Co.


For the month of June, new commercial vehicle registrations for Class 3-8 vehicles were down 38.4 percent and for the April-June quarter they were down 26.2 percent.

"There have been reports of an increase in June commercial vehicle performance, as measured by GVW 8 vehicles," note Polk analysts. "However, new registration counts for GVW 8 vehicles do not indicate a strengthening of the demand for commercial vehicles. Actually, new registrations in June represents the lowest level of commercial vehicle registration in a
single month since February 2003."

Since September 2006, new registration of Class 3-8 vehicles have failed to equal or exceed the level of new registrations achieved in the
comparable monthin the previous year, a string of 22 consecutive months.

"While there is always a lead/lag relationship between production, retail sales and new registrations in a specific time frame, the differences in June are significant and can not be attributed to late reporting or a typical lead/lag pattern," Polk says.

You can download the complete report in pdf format at http://usa.polk.com/Industries/CommVehicle/