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April trailer orders rose 3% from 2009 levels, and the backlog at trailer factories working to fill those orders rose to its highest level in 20 months as demand for equipment continued to exceed build rates, ACT Research Co. reported.

New orders for heavy-duty trucks soared about 90% in April, compared with the same month a year ago, two independent research firms reported.

U.S. factory orders rose 1.3% in March, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

New orders for Class 8 trucks in March rose 28% from a year earlier, the second month in a row they have climbed, as buyers put requests for 11,285 new vehicles on the books, according to ACT Research Co. 

Orders for new Class 8 trucks in March jumped 21.1% over year-ago levels and surged 35.9% over February’s total as business levels continued to lap 2009’s anemic pace, said FTR Associates.