LAS VEGAS (Nov. 3, 2016) — New registrations of commercial vehicles in GVW 4-8 classes are down 4.2 percent through August 2016, according to new research by IHS Markit, a leading automotive industry consulting firm.
IHS Markit presented the research at the annual Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) in Las Vegas Nov. 2.
GVW 8 vehicles are down sharply in the January-August period for registrations, with a decrease of 17.1 percent, whereas GVW 7 vehicles are down only 0.6 percent, according to IHS Markit. All other GVW classes gained during the same time frame, it said.
Freightliner leads the markets for GVW 4-8 vehicle registrations for January-August, with 27 percent, IHS Markit said.
Nearly 96 percent of GVW 7-8 vehicles are registered to businesses, compared with only 24 percent of GVW 1 vehicles, it added.
In Canada, registrations for GVW 4-8 vehicles fell 8.2 percent during January-August, with GVW 8 vehicle registrations down 21 percent, according to IHS Markit.
Large fleets have been in a replacement cycle for the past five years, and those fleets have accounted for more than 50 percent of GVW 8 registrations during that period, according to Gary Meteer, director, commercial vehicle solutions at IHS Markit.
“Some of this year's slowing may be the result of uncertainty in the demand for goods with the general slowing of the economic growth in the most recent quarters,” Mr. Meteer said.
There were 9.4 million commercial vehicles (GVW 4-8) on U.S. roads as of June 2016, according to IHS Markit. Only 22 percent of those vehicles were operated by fleet managers with more than 500 vehicles, as compared to 43 percent for new registrations, it said.