The production of new heavy- and medium-duty commercial vehicles is expected to start improving slowly in the third quarter, according to ACT Research's recently published North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook.


ACT reports that Class 8 production reached a bottom during the second quarter, down 57 percent from the year-ago period. While year-over-year declines will continue until the first quarter, production rates will slowly gain traction in the third quarter.

Medium-duty production, which includes Classes 5-7, was down 53 percent in the second quarter, but is expected to make a comeback as well. The medium-duty recovery will be at a slower rate than Class 8, however, due to the continued softness in the construction industry.

"While the body of evidence continues to grow suggesting the worst of the recession has past, the data also show that substantive imbalances remain," said Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research. "The economic retreat has hit particularly hard in key freight generating sectors, triggering the outsized decline in commercial vehicle demand. While we see upward movement from these depressed levels, it will be late in 2011 before the North American market returns to normal replacement level demand."

ACT publishes commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market.

More info: www.actresearch.net