The second quarter Fleet Equipment Buying Index as reported by CK Commercial Vehicle Research improved 18% from Q1 to a reading of 64.6.
One-third of study participants plan to place orders for power units in the next three months, with 29.8% planning trailer orders in the same time frame.
"The responses we received in April to all our questions were generally more positive than in January," said Chris Kemmer of CKCVR. "In addition to better equipment purchasing plans, we saw a reduction in the number of parked vehicles reported, improved stated utilization rates and a closer alignment of available freight to haul and fleet capacity.
“However, there is still much caution being shown especially as it relates to the purchase of new power equipment with 2010 emissions engines,” she said.
The intermodal segment’s share of U.S. long-haul truck traffic reached record highs in the first quarter of 2010, the report showed. Intermodal’s share of U.S. long-haul (550+ miles) movements of international and domestic containerized freight was estimated to be 13.5% in the first quarter of 2010.