The second quarter marked the first time since 2007 that new commercial vehicle registrations had three straight months that exceeded the comparable month in the previous year
, according to Polk Commercial Vehicle Solutions. Second quarter registrations for Classes 3 to 8 vehicles were up 11 percent from the second quarter of 2009, with 89,300 units.

In June, registrations were up 6.9 percent from the year-ago month and 3.1 percent for the first half of this year, compared to the same period of 2009. All classes of trucks saw a year-over-year improvement, with the exception of Classes 4 and 5.

For the first half of this year, registrations were 170,300 units. However, Polk's recent Commercial Vehicle Market Intelligence Report points out that performance during the first half of this year is the lowest first six months of new registrations since 1991.

"So while there continues to be great enthusiasm regarding the improving state of the commercial market, the actual volume remains extremely low compared to historical levels," the report said.

In addition, the Polk Index of U.S. New Commercial Vehicle Activity shows that 2010 new registrations are on track to yield 346,000 units, slightly lower than the previous estimate of 346,300 units. If the prediction holds true, then 2010 will see an increase of 6.7 percent over 2009.

The Used Truck Market

The used truck market saw twice as many transactions during the first half of 2010. During the quarter, used truck transactions accounted for 67.5 percent of registrations.

"This is an indication of the availability of clean used equipment and the desire of owners to upgrade their equipment," the report said.

For the first six months of 2010, used registrations increased 28.8 percent from the 2009 period. During the second quarter used truck registrations were 192,400 units, 22.7 percent higher than the same period of 2009. Used truck transactions reached their highest level in the past six years, surpassing a previous high in 2005 by 11. 8 percent.

When both new and used vehicle registrations are combined, registrations were up 18.9 percent year-over-year in the first half of the year.

Class 8 Activity

When focusing on the Class 8 market, new registrations gained 7.9 percent in the first half of the year, versus the same period of 2009. Within Class 8, the primary use of these vehicles is general freight. Over the first six months of 2010, haulers of hazardous materials increased their registrations of Class 8 trucks by 158 percent compared to the 2009 period.

International led the pack with a 25.4 percent share of the Class 8 market during the first half of the year, while Freightliner was close with a 24.7 percent share. Freightliner had the largest year-over-year increase in Class 8 registrations, at 26.5 percent. Other manufacturers also saw year-over-year improvements, including Kenworth at 19.7 percent, Mack at 17.3 percent, International at 11.4 percent, Volvo at 11.7 percent, and Peterbilt at 9 percent.

New Trailers

For the first half of the year, trailer registrations were also up 38 percent from the same period of 2009, with vans, in particular, gaining 74.9 percent over 2009.

"This increase is significant in that it indicates that the worst may be behind us and the market is beginning to add new trailers," the Polk report said.