91ÊÓƵ

As the backlog of orders for heavy-duty trucks has grown to levels not seen since late 2006, at least three of the four major vehicle manufacturers have announced commodity surcharges, with the extra fees as much as $975 a truck.

Durable goods orders grew 2.5% in March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Truck orders soared in March to the highest total in nearly five years, as carriers snapped up new equipment to renew their fleets in advance of the fall freight season, two market research reports said last week.

Building on a surge of replacement demand that began last year, trailer manufacturers received orders for 21,990 new units in February — a 105% year-over-year increase.

New Class 8 truck orders in North America jumped more than 200% in February to about 24,000 units, the fourth month in a row of 24,000 orders or more, market researchers ACT Research Co. and FTR Associates said in separate reports.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The recent surge in heavy-duty truck orders will slow as the buying focus shifts from better-capitalized large fleets to smaller carriers that may not be able to afford as much new equipment, industry experts said.

The freight-trailer industry rebounded sharply during 2010, with orders more than doubling to 166,500 and shipments rising 52% over 2009 to 119,900 units, ACT Research Co. reported.

Factory orders rose 0.2% in December, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Fueled by growth in dry vans, net trailer orders in the United States reached a two-year high in November of 21,314 units, ACT Research reported.

Orders for Class 8 trucks in North America soared to more than 26,000 in November, jumping at least 148% from a year ago and 38% from October, industry consultants said.