Second-quarter sales of new motorcoaches in the U.S. and Canada rebounded sharply from a weak first quarter but continued to lag behind deliveries of a year ago.

The first-to-second-quarter jump was primarily sparked by a large order from Greyhound Lines for Prevost coaches. That purchase made Prevosts X3-45 model the most-popular coach delivered during the second quarter.

And this was the first time the X3 had topped the industry best-seller list.

Another bright spot in the second quarter was purchases by Canadian coach operators, which were up from a year ago, and steady public-sector sales.

The Greyhound deliveries, Canadian increase and other sales resulted in total over-the-road new coach sales of 491 units for the three months ended June 30, down from the 596 delivered in the second quarter of last year, reported National Bus Trader magazine, which serves as the industry clearing house for motorcoach sales figures.

However, the second quarter total was well above the 372 sold during this years first quarter, the 456 sold during the fourth quarter of last year and the 439 delivered in the third quarter of 08, meaning it was the best sales quarter of the past four.

Commented National Bus Trader Editor Larry Plachno: "While this second quarter continues to reflect current economic conditions, our numbers do show a substantial improvement over the first quarter."

Plachno also pointed out that despite the year-over-year lower sales number for the second quarter, there were seven coach models that posted higher sales this year than they did during the same period last year.

The three best-selling coaches during the second quarter the Prevost X3-45, the MCI J4500 and the MCI D4500 captured 54.4 percent of all sales during the period.

The four other coaches comprising the National Bus Trader "Hit Parade" of most-popular seated models during the second quarter were the Van Hool C2045, Prevost H3-45, MCI D4505, and the Van Hool TD925 double-decker.

Just as total sales decreased during the second quarter, sales of imported coaches, Van Hool, Setra and Temsa, also slipped from a year ago. A total of 107 imported coaches were delivered in the second quarter of 09, or nearly 22 percent of the total, versus 137, or 23 percent of the total, a year ago.

National Bus Trader does not include sales of BCI Falcon coaches in its industry sales figures, while coaches made in the three NAFTA countries, U.S., Canada and Mexico, are considered domestic models.

A total of 85 coaches were purchased by Canadian operators during the second quarter, or 17.3 percent of the total, compared to 76, or 11.4 percent of the market, in the second quarter of last year, prompting Plachno to suggest that the Canadian economy "may be better than south of the international border."

No sector of the new-coach sales market has been harder hit by the national recession than the conversion shell segment. A total of 18 conversion shells, representing 3.7 percent of the total, were sold in the second quarter. That compares to 59 shells, or nearly 10 percent of the market, sold during the same quarter last year.

The motorhome side of the shell business went into a steep slump more than a year ago when moneyed Americans began shunning luxury purchases. And it doesn't appear new motorhome shell deliveries will start back up, in any volume anytime soon, until the retail end of the business picks up and the shell converters deplete more of their completed inventories.

On the other hand, the "entertainer" side of the shell business remains relatively strong and all indications are that deliveries to this market will continue as they have during the past few years.

There also has been some additional business in the "specialty shell market" that is, mobile command units, corporate coaches, mobile display coaches -- and that segment also appears to be a bright spot for the future.