Second-quarter sales of new motorcoaches in the U.S. and Canada were 11 percent higher this year than during the same three months last year, National Bus Trader magazine reports.

Coach manufacturers sold a total of 533 new coaches during the quarter ended June 30, up from 481 units during the same period a year ago.

In the first quarter of this year, 464 new coaches were sold.

It should be noted, however, that roughly 100 of the new coaches sold during the second quarter went to two public transit systems - New York City Transit and a smaller order to GO Transit in Ontario.

As happened in the first quarter, four models from three manufacturers dominated sales in the second quarter. In fact, the four models -- the J4500 and D4500 from MCI, the Van Hool 2045, and the Prevost H3-45 -- accounted for 84 percent of total seated-coach sales.

The fifth best-selling coach during the second quarter was the Setra S 417; No. 6 was the new MCI D4505, and No. 7 was the Prevost LeMirage XL II.

The percentage of new coaches bought by Canadians grew significantly during the second quarter, with 10.5 percent of the total going to Canadian operators. That compares with 6.5 percent in the first quarter, and 7.3 percent during the second quarter of 2004.

In all likelihood, an industry milestone was reached during the second quarter when the ZF-AS Tronic transmission was installed in 50 percent of all seated coaches delivered to private operators.

The AS Tronic's market share in the overall motorcoach sector is smaller because - so far - the ZF automatic stick-shift transmission is not being spec'd for conversion shells or those going to government agencies. ZF's share of the total coach market was 32.8 percent. That means the Allison B500 transmission retains 67.2 percent of the overall coach market.

The conversion sector continued to shrink slightly. A total of 79 conversion shells were sold during the second quarter of this year, versus 83 units in the first quarter and 87 units during the second quarter of last year. The conversion shell market share slipped below 15 percent, to 14.8 percent, which is lower than most recent quarters.

National Bus Trader Editor Larry Plachno, who compiles the magazine's sales report, noted that the trend continued in the second quarter of new coach buyers gravitating towards specific models. He speculated that if the trend continues, "we are likely to see some models discontinued because of a lack of orders."

Questions about National Bus Trader's quarterly and annual sales reports should be directed to Plachno at (815) 946-2341, or e-mail lplachno@busmag.com.