Paccar reported improved quarterly revenues and net income that beat Wall Street estimates as sales of trucks and truck parts improved, and company officials noted that Class 8 sales forecasts have improved to the point that capacity may have a hard time meeting demand.

The parent company of Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF earned $193.3 million ($.53 per diluted share) for the first quarter of 2011 compared to $68.3 million ($.19 per diluted share) in the first quarter last year. First quarter 2011 net sales and financial services revenues increased 47 percent to $3.28 billion from $2.23 billion reported for the first quarter of 2010.

"Class 8 industry retail sales in the U.S. and Canada in 2011 are improving steadily," said Dan Sobic, Paccar executive vice president. The industry retail sales forecast has been increased to a range of 200,000-220,000 vehicles - the best year since 2006. "There are industry concerns about suppliers being able to increase their production capacity to meet global demand," added Sobic.

DAF's 15+ tonne market share in Europe continues to grow, reaching 16 percent in early 2011. Industry retail sales in the 15+ tonne truck market in Europe are estimated to be in a range of 220,000-240,000 units this year.

For over 40 years, Kenworth trucks have been sold in South American Andean countries. "To complement Kenworth's success, we introduced DAF vehicles in the Andean region of South America, where the 15+ tonne market is expected to be 30,000-35,000 units in 2011,"