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Leading Transit Bus Manufacturers

 
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Fischer04



Age: 42
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:34 pm    Post subject: Leading Transit Bus Manufacturers Reply with quote

Which companies manufacture the most transit buses per year in North America? Does anyone know?
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know for sure, but it certainly looks as though NABI is heading in that direction!

Mr. 'L'
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Mr. Transit




Joined: 17 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The top five are--New Flyer, Gillig, Orion, NABI and NovaBus.
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DE60LF




Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 142
Location: Albuquerque, NM

PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As far as I know, 2008 was a record year for New Flyer. I would still probably say New Flyer is the overall market leader.
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Fischer04



Age: 42
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you very much for the replies guys!!! I appreciate it.
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ripta42
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Location: Pawtucket, RI / Woburn, MA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been looking through industry publications for actual production numbers to no avail. They must be out there somewhere.
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RailBus63
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've seen U.S. numbers for past years (haven't found them yet) which showed Gillig as the leader in the post-RTS transit bus market, but that was before New Flyer made its recent aggressive push. I'm guessing its now New Flyer and Gillig at the top with Orion and NABI somewhere behind them.
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timecruncher



Age: 73
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
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Location: Louisville, Kentucky

PostPosted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe you're right about New Flyer being the most prolific bus builder, although I don't know if they're making money doing it. Gillig is a close second, and they are still profitable making buses.

timecruncher
(back from a brief hiatus...)
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Fischer04



Age: 42
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all the reponses. Mr. Transit, looks like you were spot on with your top five. New Flyer lists the US/Canada market share as follows:

New Flyer - 35% - They also said they produced around 4800
Gilig - 30%
Orion - 19%
Nabi - 8%
Nova - 8%

http://www.newflyer.com/index/cms-filesystem-action?file=investor_relations/07-05-09_agm_pres.pdf

If anyone has any info from what other manufacturers are claiming that would be great.
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RailBus63
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is about what I thought the order would be, although NABI's share looks lower than I expected.

The next few years are going to be interesting, and I wonder if a shakeout in the transit bus industry is looming. Bus-building capacity has increased in recent years, and while many are hoping that the change in parties in Washington will result in a new golden age of transit, the recent congressional negotiations that produced the stimulus bill have sadly proved once again that the Democrats produce a lot more talk about improving transportation than actual funding. Personally, I don't hold out much hope that there will be a massive increase in money to buy new buses in the near future, especially given that many states and municipalities are facing budget shortfalls and may be challenged just to come up with the local match for federal funding.

Most of the North American transit bus builders seem to be holding out hope that they can continue to entice customers to pay a premium for buses with BRT styling, hybrid powerplants and other upgrades. I have difficulty seeing how many transit agencies are going to be able to afford these buses until the economy improves. I see revenues decreasing for the builders due to several factors. The next few years will likely feature a lot of orders for base model buses and fewer BRT vehicles. Competition is also going to be fierce as builders outbid each other to capture fewer orders and keep their plants operating. Add to this the fact that two of the top five manufacturers (New Flyer and NABI) are controlled by equity financing groups, which may face difficulties raising money in the current economic climate, and I wouldn't be at all shocked if we see one of today's builders go out of business suddenly the way Flxible did in the mid '90's.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Jim
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DE60LF




Joined: 03 Oct 2007
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Location: Albuquerque, NM

PostPosted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RailBus63 wrote:
That is about what I thought the order would be, although NABI's share looks lower than I expected.

Jim


I actually thought NABI would be higher than Orion, considering the support they have in southern California, as well as the popularity of the 60-BRT CNG.
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RailBus63
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DE60LF wrote:
I actually thought NABI would be higher than Orion, considering the support they have in southern California, as well as the popularity of the 60-BRT CNG.


Orion has the huge New York City and Toronto orders, though.
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