New Flyer Announces Third Quarter 2009 Orders and Backlog

WINNIPEG , Nov. 5 /CNW/ - New Flyer Industries Inc. (TSX:NFI.UN) ("New Flyer" or the "Company"), the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in Canada and the United States , announced today that the total order activity during the third quarter of 2009 totaled 541 buses (622 equivalent production units or "EUs") for a total of US $265 million . Of these orders, 223 buses (245 EUs) are new orders and 318 buses (377 EUs) are exercised options.

These orders are from both current and new customers and are for a variety of vehicle configurations and propulsion systems, including 35-, 40- and 60-foot buses with clean diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, gasoline-electric hybrid and compressed natural gas ("CNG") propulsion systems. Approximately 35% of the EUs representing these orders (or 218 EUs) are clean-propulsion (i.e., hybrid or natural gas) vehicles, which is a significant segment of New Flyer's annual production.

    
    Some of the larger order activity during the quarter included:

    -  Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority in Charleston, NC
       has ordered 11 35-foot diesel buses with options for an additional 119
       buses

    -  Regional Transportation Commission in Reno, NV has exercised options
       to purchase 8 60-foot diesel-electric buses

    -  Calgary Transit in Calgary, AB has purchased 22 additional 60-foot
       diesel buses

    -  Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority in Cincinnati, OH has
       exercised options for 30 40-foot diesel buses, four 30-foot diesel-
       electric buses and three 40-foot diesel-electric buses

    -  The Hamilton Street Railway Company in Hamilton, ON has exercised
       options to purchase 15 40-foot diesel-electric buses

    -  Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, DC has
       provided Notice to Proceed for an additional 48 40-foot diesel-
       electric buses

    -  Fairfax County in Fairfax, VA has exercised options to purchase 31
       40-foot diesel buses

    -  The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, MA has
       exercised options to purchase 25 60-foot diesel-electric buses

    -  Milwaukee Transit in Milwaukee, WI has exercised options for 90
       40-foot diesel buses
    

New Flyer's total order backlog at the end of the third quarter ( October 4, 2009 ) was 8,949 EUs, down from the 9,425 EUs as of July 5, 2009 . This reduction was consistent with management expectations that total order activity in the second half of 2009 would be lower than the order activity during the same period in 2008.

The dollar value of the order backlog as of October 4, 2009 was approximately US $3.86 billion , down slightly from the backlog of US $4.0 billion reported as of July 5, 2009 . Clean propulsion vehicles now represent approximately 72% of the total backlog.

New Flyer's current backlog consists of the following mix of products:

    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Firm EUs     Options EUs     Total
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    40 foot and under buses                 1,611         3,204        4,815
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    60 foot buses                             660         3,474        4,134
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total                                   2,271         6,678        8,949
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

During the third quarter, a total of 106 EUs worth of options expired - primarily from one US Transit Authority. This specific customer holds a multi-year contract with New Flyer and recently ordered buses to be built from their 2010 held options, which allowed the 2009 options to expire.

Options included in the backlog expire, if not exercised, as follows:

    
             --------------------------------------------
                  Expiry Year             Option EUs
             --------------------------------------------
                     2009                      29
             --------------------------------------------
                     2010                     833
             --------------------------------------------
                     2011                     917
             --------------------------------------------
                     2012                   1,613
             --------------------------------------------
                     2013                   2,700
             --------------------------------------------
                     2014                     586
             --------------------------------------------
                    Total                   6,678
             --------------------------------------------
    

Currently, New Flyer has approximately 12,300 EUs in the company's new potential order pipeline (or bid universe) for heavy-duty transit buses in Canada and the US. This is a significant increase from the approximately 11,000 EUs reported as of July 5, 2009 .

NOTE: All dollar amounts are stated in US currency based on an exchange rate of US $1.00 = Cdn $1.08 to calculate the value of the Canadian contracts in this release.

    
    About New Flyer
    ---------------
    

The Company is the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in the United States and Canada . The Company's three facilities -- in Winnipeg , MB, St. Cloud, MN and Crookston, MN - are all ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified. With a skilled workforce of over 2,000 employees, New Flyer is a technology leader, offering the broadest product line in the industry, including drive systems powered by clean diesel, LNG, CNG and electric trolley as well as energy-efficient gasoline-electric and diesel-electric hybrid vehicles. All products are supported with an industry-leading, comprehensive parts and service network. The Company's income deposit securities are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI.UN. Further information is available on the Company's web site at www.newflyer.com.

    
    Forward-Looking Statements
    --------------------------
    

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of the Company and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC ("NFI ULC") that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions, availability of funding for bus purchases to customers at current levels or at all, the ability of customers to terminate bus purchase contracts for convenience or to not issue purchase orders for buses at all and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these factors, the Company and NFI ULC disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

For further information: New Flyer Industries Inc., Glenn Asham, Chief Financial Officer, Tel: [phone]