Class 4-8 Registrations Rise 26%

Big Rigs Lead Surge While Medium-Duty Trucks Lag

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ed by a steady surge in demand for Class 8 trucks, registrations of new Class 4-8 vehicles increased about 26% in the first nine months of 2004.

owever, medium-duty truck registrations grew at a significantly slower pace as commercial buyers mainly focused on acquiring new heavy-duty rigs, according to state-by-state data com-piled by R.L. Polk & Co. on the number of new vehicles being registered after purchase.

Polk said registrations of Class 4-8 vehicles rose 30.9% from the same 2003 period in the Northeast, 29.2% in the South, and 27% in the West.

However, registrations grew just 18.8% among a grouping of central states, where the data showed medium-duty demand relatively weaker than in other regions.

Besides the big rigs used in freight hauling, Polk’s Class 8 category includes buses, recreational vehicles and vocational vehicles, as well as specialty registrations, such as antique trucks.

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