COLUMBUS, Ohio — US fleets are in the mood to buy new equipment, according to the Q1 2011 Fleet Sentiment Report Buying Index, as reported by CK Commercial Vehicle Research.

The index, which is a measure of planned buying behaviour for US for-hire, private and government fleets, reached a new high of 102.3 in the first quarter. The index uses the first quarter of 2008 measure of 100 as a benchmark.

In January 2011, 58% of fleets surveyed said they were planning to place orders for power equipment over the next three months with 42% indicating they were planning to order trailers during the same period.

Average planned order size, as a percentage of current equipment inventories, was 11.6% for power units and 10.4% for trailers, CKCVR reported. The analyst also found most fleets are leaning towards purchasing trucks powered by engines with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as a means to meeting EPA2010 emissions standards.

“The responses we have been receiving from our fleet advisors indicates that as they are making the decision, all but a small percentage of the group that regularly reports to us have determined that SCR offers them more benefits than the Advanced EGR technology,” said Chris Kemmer, CKCVR founder. “There does still remain a significant percentage that have yet to make up their mind, but the trend is definitely towards the SCR brands.”

For more information on the index, visit www.ckcvr.com/fleetsentiment.