The commercial vehicle market for Class 3-8 vehicles is expected to grow to 723,000 by 2012, according to R.L. Polk & Co. The announcement was made in conjunction with the release of Polk’s new Forecast of Commercial Vehicle Activity for North America, which provides insight into the Class 3-8 commercial vehicle market through 2012.
The forecast methodology contains a forecast for new registrations, scrappage rates and total vehicles in operation through the 2012 calendar year. Available to customers now, Polk says its offering provides an econometric-based model, allowing customers to maximize their sales opportunities by better understanding the North American market for commercial vehicles.
Polk says this new offering is based on its fact-based predictive modeling, an in-depth analysis of the vehicle population and the company’s understanding of the relationship between economic activity and new commercial vehicle registrations. The forecast also correlates with Polk’s index of commercial activity, updated quarterly in the Commercial Vehicle Market Intelligence Report, which tracks where each vehicle class is trending for the current calendar year.
“Early response and feedback from our customers and prospective users of this information is very promising,” says Gary Meteer, account director of the commercial vehicle team for Southfield, Mich.-based Polk. “With this new solution, our customers can make better strategic business decisions using information from a single comprehensive source.”
Polk says the Forecast of Commercial Vehicle Activity for North America is a natural extension of its expertise in the commercial vehicle market, and offers Polk customers the opportunity for the standard forecast of new registrations and vehicles in operation or the ability to custom-tailor a solution based on their specific business planning needs.
Standard forecast detail is available by service year and gross vehicle weight. Additionally, dependent upon the needs of each individual customer, a custom forecast can be developed by brand, location, configuration and delineation. Polk says these varying levels of detail will be important to its customers as the industry is preparing for changes in diesel requirements in 2010.
“Polk’s new offering for the North American commercial vehicle market enables us to expand our capabilities and provide increased value and benefit to our customers,” Meteer says. “We are confident this new data offering will provide significant insight for customers as they analyze business opportunities in North America’s commercial vehicle industry and plan for the future.”
