Commercial vehicle sales are predicted to remain high in 2012 as the demand for commercial trucking services continues to grow, especially as the economy continues to recover.

Commercial vehicle sales, which include commercial trucks, were slightly down in February but industry experts say the overall market is still very strong as the commercial trucking industry continues to grow in an effort to meet rising demand. In order to meet the current and future demands for trucking services, more commercial trucks will need to be purchased and more professionally trained drivers will need to be hired.

The firm ACT Research recently reported that preliminary net orders in North America were down from January. The firm also reported that 22,500 Class 8 trucks and another 12,800 medium-duty Classes 5-7 vehicles were sold in January. Another research firm, FTR Associates, reported that Class 8 truck net orders were 11 percent below January’s total.

The commercial truck news website Truckinginfo.com, said both companies say the drop in numbers is not something to worry about as demand is still high for commercial trucking services.

“February net orders were incrementally below expectations,” says Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT. “However, healthy backlogs and strong orders over the previous four months continue to support our forecasts for 2012.”

Jonathan Starks, FTR’s Director of Transportation Analysis, said demand for new trucks “remains robust as fleets continue to replace aging equipment.”

TruckingInfo.com also reported that driver supply was moderately tight and freight demand healthy.

The demand for more trucks also means a demand for more drivers. According to the American Trucking Association, freight transportation revenue will grow by 69 percent over the next 10 years as the commercial trucking industry’s role in shipping goods and products will only get bigger. The growth in trucking revenue is projected to come from a 25 percent growth in freight tonnage, the ATA’s U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast reported. That growth in freight tonnage, which will average between 1.3 and 2.6 percent per year, will require a significant increase in CDL trained drivers to meet the demand. That has made the trucking industry one of the fastest growing job sectors as the economy rebounds.

In fact, the ATA reports that the commercial trucking industry needs an additional 539,000 drivers to meet current and future demands. The Diesel Driving Academy truck driver and CDL training program is helping to meet that demand for more drivers by training students to obtain their CDL and possess the skills and experience that will put them on the fast track to securing a high paying job in the growing commercial trucking industry.

The large demand for commercial truck drivers is one reason many people are considering this as a career. Trucking companies are desperate to hire but they are also looking for the best drivers possible in an effort to keep turnover rates low and insure that their cargo is being transported by the best drivers available. At Diesel Driving Academy students are receiving hands-on training and experience that will lead to obtaining a CDL and becoming some of the best commercial truck drivers available. Students are prepared to drive both long- and short-haul routes and are given experience on a variety of different equipment.