SOUTHFIELD, Mich. –Used commercial vehicles are being registered in the US at a record pace, according to data released by Polk.

There were 354,400 used commercial vehicles (Classes 3-8) registered in the US during the first two quarters of 2010, Polk announced. That’s a new record for used commercial vehicle registrations over a six-month period and it represents nearly 68% of the entire commercial vehicle market. It’s also a 28.8% increase over the same timeframe in 2009.

“The significant increase in used vehicle registrations so far this year is indicative of an uptick in the industry with the changeover of the commercial fleet,” said Gary Meteer, director, sales and client services, at Polk. “Large fleet owners and operators are upgrading to new vehicles, and therefore the smaller fleet companies and independent owner/operators have great opportunities to find available clean used equipment.”

Collectively, there were 524,700 new and used commercial vehicles registered in the US over the first half of 2010, marking an 18.9% increase over the same period last year. Registrations of new commercial vehicles were up just 3.1% over that timeframe.

Polk points out the uptick in the used truck market represents a significant opportunity for aftermarket parts manufacturers and suppliers as well as commercial repair businesses.