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DRIVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1991 Inching Upward
TOTAL SCHOOL BUS BODY PRODUCTION INCREASES AS DISTRICTS, CONTRACTORS EASE BACK INTO REGULAR REPLACEMENT CYCLES
Transportation News. Te 5.5-percent growth also shows the indus- try returning to an eight- to 10-year average vehicle replacement cycle. Each fall, STN surveys all seven school bus body builders as well
M
as Ford and GM to aggregate all school bus manufacturing from Nov. 1 of the previous year through Oct. 31 of the current year. STN’s technical editor Robert T. Pudlewski commented that
school districts appear increasingly confident in their ability to re-invest in their fleets following a period of deferred purchasing in response to the Great Recession, when home prices fell as did local property tax revenues. He added that the industry could see a similar figure in the
40,000 ballpark when 2015-2016 data comes in. School bus production has risen nearly 35 percent since a low
of 30,304 units were manufactured during the 2011-2012 season. When factoring in Multi-Function School Activity Buses and
“white” buses, the total output for 2014-2015 was 49,115 vehicles. Still, the 41,200 school bus vehicles were the most since 47,915 were reported for the 2005-2006 production year and was on par with the 41,464 units reported for 2003-2004. Type D transit-style buses saw an 18.6 percent uptick to 4,344
units after falling to 3,662 the previous year, which was the seg- ment’s smallest figure over the last two decades. A recent dip in
anufacturers provided the latest indication of an im- proving economy with the report of 41,200 school buses rolling off of assembly lines over the past year, in response to an annual survey conducted by School
Type D sales since the Great Recession has been attributed to higher costs and the fact that heavy-duty options are now avail- able with Type C conventional buses, especially when customers are able to cover routes with 72- to 77-passenger capacity rather than the 90-passenger capacity of the Type D. Meanwhile, Type C buses once again led the way overall with
28,640 units built, a 7.3 percent increase over the past year. Type A small buses fell slightly by 1.25 percent with 8,230 total
buses manufactured, but still the second-highest figure over the past five years. Industry analysts will be taking a closer look at Type A performance this year as the smaller, more maneuverable Ford Transit is an option to filling the vacuum left by the depar- ture of nonconforming vans. Collins Bus announced in November that it is now offering the Ford Transit. Micro Bird was the first to offer a Transit option in 2014. Overall, the school bus market is feeling the sustained effects
of improving economy. Steve Tam, vice president of commercial vechicle sector for ACT Research, said “pent-up demand” is de- creasing as districts are better able to update their fleets. Contrac- tor purchases are also driving the recovery. “I have also hypothesized that as the number of private contrac-
tors increases, they are modernizing the fleet more rapidly than school districts and municipalities, essentially bringing down av- erage age,” he explained. “If they are liable for the students’ safety, that is clearly in their best interest, especially since they have a for-profit motive.”
School Transportation News Annual School Bus Manufacturing Data
School Year
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
2009-2010 2008-2009
2007-2008
2005-2006 2006-2007
MFSAB 1,585 (est.) 2,500 (est.) 1,500 (est.)
1,160 (est.) 1,500 (est.) 3,000 (est.)
3,000 (est.) 3,000 (est.) 3,000 (est.)
3,000 (est.) 4,000 Van. Conv. AAV Type A-1 2,084 2,303
3,924 5,406
2,070 3,712 4,111 5,499
1,699 3,213
Type A-2 6,132 6,017
1,912 3,921
1,912 4,699
4,587 3,294
5,396 4,614
Total
Type A 8,216
8,320 7,845
5,364 8,299 8,810 7,411 7,378
6,313 8,609
250 250 400 240 140
692 925
Type B Type C 28,640
27,071 25,230
18,713 21,563
26,253 23,737 25,791
30,641 26,153
Type D 4,344
3,662 4,098
3,953 3,940
4,689 5,669
6,676 6,265
7,740 Totals* 41,200
40,670 30,304 33,034 37,173 39,053
36,975 38,543
47,915 39,423
*Total count does not include MFSAB, AAV or “white” buses typically used for commercial applications. Source: SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION NEWS
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