Class 8 vehicle production to pick up.

Class 8 vehicle production to pick up. Amidst signs of an improving trucking market, recent data from ACT Research Co., a publisher of North American industry data and forecasting services for trucks and commercial vehicles, indicates that Class 8 vehicle production is expected to grow 14 percent year-over-year in 2010 and then hit a 72 percent annual growth rate in 2011. ACT partner and senior analyst Kenny Vieth said that while improving trends in trucking are a key component of improving commercial vehicle demand, the transition to new EPA 2010 engines will impact the timing of new order and production ramp ups. And with production of trucks with pre-mandate engines continuing into the second quarter, ACT now projects that the trough for heavy-duty truck build will occur in the third quarter before picking up in the fourth quarter of 2010.