CK Commercial Vehicle Research reported Monday, May 4, that its Fleet Equipment Buying Index for the second quarter of 2009 improved to 93.3 from 75.8 in the first quarter. The index is a simple measure of planned buying behavior of for-hire, private and government fleets over the next three months. A lower reading indicates that fewer fleets are planning to purchase equipment, while a higher reading indicates that more are planning to purchase equipment.
CKCVR regularly polls a group of fleet operators about their equipment purchasing and maintenance practices. In April 2009, 48 percent of respondents planned to place orders for power units in the next three months, and 38 percent planned to place orders for trailers in that time period. In the previous quarter, 44 percent planned power-unit purchases, and only 30 percent planned to buy trailers.
CKCVR says that while there was an increase in the number of respondents who planned to place equipment orders, the size of those orders remains weak. Complete survey results are reported in the Q2 2009 Fleet Sentiment Report, a quarterly report of CK Commercial Vehicle Research. For more information on how to subscribe to the Fleet Sentiment Report, go to www.ckcvr.com/fleetsentiment.
CK Commercial Vehicle Research (CKCVR) is a business of CK Marketing & Communications, located in Columbus, Ohio. CKCVR surveys fleet advisers representing a mix of large, medium and small for-hire, private and government fleet operations.
