SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — New registrations for Class 3-8 vehicles during the first half of 2011 were up 15.4 percent over the same period last year, and 24.2 percent better than the first half of 2009.

According to Polk, an automotive data provider, June 2011 new registrations were at the highest level seen during the past 18 months.

The recovery from the low level of new registrations seen in 2009 is the result of a 37 percent and a 34 percent spike, respectively, for Class 3 and Class 8 registrations.

For Class 3, new registrations started in 2011 at the highest level achieved during the past 18 months, fell back in February and have remained fairly flat since.

Conversely, Class 8 vehicles started 2011 lower than January 2010 but have steadily increased to 12,724 units in June, the highest level in a year and a half.

For the first six months of the year, both small fleets (1-5 units) and large fleets (500+ units) significantly increased their share of new registrations, reports Polk.

Almost 69 percent of new registrations in the first six months of the year came from either small fleets (+23.4%) or large fleets (+14%). Large fleets accounted for 35.5 percent of new registrations during the period.