Repossessions of trucks and trailers in the first quarter decreased 61% over the same period last year, according to Nassau Asset Management’s NasTrac Quarterly Index (NQI). The drop is consistent with positive 2004 financial projections of various companies involved in the industry.

Construction equipment repos were also down 27% over last year’s first quarter, which is in step with Mack’s brightened 2004 outlook on the construction sector. Machine tool repos decreased 53%, a good indicator for the manufacturing segment.

However, despite the positive indicators of a recovering economy, the NQI does not paint a completely bright picture for trucking.

“We have been very busy lately, perhaps due to uneven economic recovery of various industries,” said Ed Castagna, Nassau senior executive vp. “While repossessions of construction equipment and trucks are down compared with the first quarter 2003, they have increased significantly in the past few months since fourth quarter 2003.”