The Q3 2009 Fleet Sentiment Report Buying Index as reported by CK Commercial Vehicle Research (www.ckcvr.com) rose just 1 percent from the adjusted Q2 2009 Index to a reading of 89.0. The FSR Buying Index is a simple measure of planned buying behavior of for-hire, private and government fleets responding to CKCVR’s Fleet Sentiment quarterly questionnaire. A lower reading indicates that fewer fleets are planning to purchase equipment, while a higher reading indicates that more are planning to purchase equipment.
In July, 48 percent of participants in the Q3 2009 survey indicated they were planning to place orders for power equipment, while 39 percent were planning to place trailer orders during the next three months. While this is the highest reading for the index since Q3 2008, the size of the planned orders remains small – calculated at 4.2 percent of the response group’s power unit population and just 2.6 percent of their trailer population.
CKCVR, based in Columbus, Ohio, regularly polls a group of fleet operators about their equipment purchasing, operating and maintenance practices. The quarterly Fleet Sentiment survey includes questions about short- and longer-term equipment buying plans, preferred OEM, new specs, current fleet capacity vs. freight demand, equipment utilization rates including the percent of parked vehicles, and current industry issues. In July, 64 fleets operating more than 62,000 medium- and heavy-duty power units, and 86,000 trailers responded to the quarterly Fleet Sentiment questionnaire.
