Columbus, OH — CK Commercial Vehicle Research (CKCVR) reported this week that more fleets are planning to buy trailers, increasing the Fleet Sentiment Report (FSR) Buying Index by 4.6 points, bringing the total reading to 93.9.

While the percentage of fleets planning to place orders for power units rose marginally, the actual size of those combined orders fell below Q4 2011.

For trailers, an increased percentage, 45 percent of respondents, planned orders and the volume of those orders more than doubled from Q4 2011 data.

One in four respondents plan capacity increases with power unit orders while 40 percent planned to use some trailer purchases to add capacity.

Report participants continue to be effected negatively by a shortage of drivers, CKCVR said, with 38 percent needing drivers now to fill current seats or to help them add capacity.

CKCVR surveys for-hire, private and government fleet representatives quarterly to determine their short range order plans for both power units and trailers. The FSR Index is calculated by combining the estimated size of the planned truck and trailer orders for the group reporting, along with the percentage of report participants who indicate they will likely place orders. The FSR Buying Index table can be accessed here.