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SANTA MONICA, Calif. — In the pickup truck market — which is believed by some to reflect the shape of the nation's economy — there appears to be some good signs for automakers, according to Edmunds.com.

The site noted that the large truck segment commanded its largest share of the U.S. new-vehicle market at 12.4 percent in nine months during July. Not only that, large trucks' position in the market during July eclipsed the annualized share levels reached in full-years 2008 and 2009 as well as year-to-date 2010.

Edmunds.com projects that for full-year 2010, pickup trucks' market share will be 11.4 percent. The last time the segment's share was that high was 2008, when it represented 12.2 percent of the market.

This, of course, was prior to segment sales being impacted by the recession, Edmunds.com noted.

Next year and beyond, large trucks are projected to claim even more of the market. Specifically, Edmunds predicts a 12-percent share in 2011 and then for trucks to represent 12.4 percent of the market the year after.

A 12.6-percent share is projected for both 2013 and 2014, with an apex of a 15-percent share in 2015 to follow. 

"Pickup-truck sales gained more traction last month, and industry executives are starting to believe that their biggest and most profitable vehicles can be counted on to haul an even larger share of the fledgling recovery for the rest of the year and beyond," Edmunds' AutoObserver.com contributor Dale Buss indicated.

Also, a higher proportion of consumers trading in trucks are buying a new vehicle from the segment again, said Edmunds.com analyst Ivan Drury. In fact, this year, more than 72 percent are doing so.

Each year from 2006 through 2009, the percentage of consumers trading in trucks who bought the same type of vehicle again was in the "mid- to high-60s."

Looking at Edmunds' True Cost of Incentives, an average of roughly $4,300 per vehicle sold is put toward a pickup. This is significantly higher than the industry average ($2,600), but there was about a $150 per-vehicle decrease in the average discrepancy between truck incentive levels and industry levels between June and July.

Edmunds said this "bodes well for automakers making huge profits on trucks."

Buss added: "One of the most encouraging signs for OEMs is the fast-rising portion of sales represented by crew cabs, which offer regular-sized back seats not found on the common pickup. Such versions represent about half of the sales of the industry's regular, half-ton pickups these days.

"Also, each of the Big Three has been hatching new ‘super-duty' or ‘heavy-duty' versions of their staple pickup marques, and these models — with beefier engines, bigger payloads and better accessories than standard versions — have been adding some juice to the market lately as well," he continued