A new report using data from all seven school bus manufacturers, as well as Type A chassis makers Ford and GM, says the school bus industry is continuing to grow after bottoming out four years ago.
According to School Transportation News, school bus production grew for the third year in a row, reaching 39,053 units manufactured during the period of Nov. 1, 2013 to Oct. 31, 2014. The number marks a 5-percent increase from the 37,173 buses reported last year in the annual School Transportation News Buyers Guide.
This year’s report is the highest bus count since the 2009-2010 production year, when the report found a total of 40,670 school buses manufactured. This year’s figure is also the second highest in the past eight years.
Type C conventional school buses led the rise with 27,071 units, making up more than 69 percent of all vehicles that entered the market.
Small Type A school buses also rebounded slightly with 8,320 total units, up from 7,845 the year before but about 1,000 more units than reported in both 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
Type D transit-style buses were the only category to dip, down to 3,662 from a previous 4,098.
