COLUMBUS, Ind. — December preliminary net orders of North American heavy-duty Class 8 commercial vehicles reached 25,500 units — a whopping increase of 115 percent compared to December of 2009, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT).

"The industry closed 2010 with a string of three strong months of net orders. With nearly 71,000 orders booked, the fourth quarter was the best quarter for Class 8 vehicles since the second quarter of 2006," said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst. "The ramp up in demand is consistent with the up-cycle we have been forecasting for over a year and confirms production levels will increase significantly in 2011.

FTR Associates, meanwhile, released similar numbers.

Eric Starks, President of FTR said the current order activity is primarily for units to replace aging trucks.

"Order activity for December came in on the high side of expectations and supports our view that production and sales will continue to accelerate during 2011," he said.

"Freight demand will need to remain solid in early 2011 to maintain this strong order activity for Class 8 units. Additionally, other issues like the growing driver shortage as the economy improves do place a drag on fleets’ ability to add capacity.