Combined new and used commercial vehicle (Class 3-8) registrations in the first quarter of the 2014 calendar year were 319,045 units, an increase of 5 percent over the same period in the 2013 calendar year, according to recent analysis from IHS Automotive.  

During the quarter, new registrations were up 8.3 percent year-over-year and used transactions were up 2.4 percent from the first quarter of the 2013 calendar year. While combined year-over-year commercial vehicle registrations rose from the first quarter of the 2013 calendar year, the combined unit volume trend over the past 13 quarters has been relatively flat at an average unit volume of 312,000 units.  

Used commercial vehicle transactions during first quarter 2014 totaled 175,800 units, representing the highest level of used transactions in the first quarter of the calendar year since the first quarter of 2011. In the quarter, used transactions accounted for 55.1 percent of total registrations and continued the five-year quarterly trend in which used transactions outnumbered new transactions.

The demand for clean GVW 8 vehicles remains strong, as these transactions accounted for 39.7 percent of used registrations and were 3.5 percent better than the level of used GVW 8 transactions in the first quarter of the 2013 calendar year.  

“Our analysis continues to reflect strong demand for clean used equipment, especially GVW 8 vehicles, which are replacing significantly older models in the vehicle population,” said Gary Meteer, director, commercial vehicle solutions at IHS Automotive.  “As recently as the end of the 2012 calendar year, 38 percent of GVW 8 vehicles in operation in the U.S. were model year 2000 or older, and at the end of March 2014, that category of vehicles represented just 34.2 percent of the total GVW 8 vehicle population.”

First Quarter 2014 Used Vehicle Transactions

VIN- defined Gross Vehicle Weight

Jan-March 2014

(000’s)

Jan-March 2013

(000’s)

Percentage change

2014 vs. 2013

Jan-March 2014

GVW Percent of Total

Jan-March 2013

GVW Percent of Total

GVW 3

53.2

52.1

2.0

30.1

30.4

GVW 4

16.2

15.3

5.8

9.1

8.8

GVW 5

8.7

8.8

-1.3

5.1

5.3

GVW 6

13.9

14.7

-5.0

8.0

8.8

GVW 7

14.2

13.5

4.9

8.0

7.6

GVW 8

69.6

67.3

3.5

39.7

39.1

Total

175.8

171.7

2.4

100.0

100.0

Source: IHS Automotive, Polk Used Commercial Vehicle Transactions

New registrations of 143,245 units in first quarter 2014 calendar year were up 8.3 percent from the same quarter in 2013, but declined from the last quarter of 2013.  “When we analyze the quarter-to- quarter movement, our analysis indicates that new registrations of commercial vehicles (GVW 3-8) have been relatively flat since mid-2011,” Meteer said.  “Following the bottoming of the market in 2009, there was the expected surge in demand; however, since mid-2012, demand appears to have settled into a relatively flat unit range. Our analysis indicates that the demand for commercial vehicles represents primarily replacement demand with little strong news to drive companies into an overall expansion mode.”

New registrations by GVW are as follows:

Overall New Commercial Vehicle Registrations by Calendar Year Quarter

2006

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

QTR 1

196,749

87,292

85,606

102,406

135,551

132,272

143,245

QTR 2

215,347

79,116

94,420

116,281

135,786

144,307

QTR 3

211,262

81,606

97,638

125,317

143,915

152,872

QTR 4

181,984

81,594

97,932

127,247

136,212

147,657

Total

805,342

329,608

375,596

471,251

551,464

577,108

Source: IHS Automotive, Polk 2006-14 new commercial vehicle registration data.

A complete copy of the 2014 First Quarter Commercial Vehicle Report is available here.