New Flyer Announces First Quarter 2009 Orders and Backlog

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 orders received during the first quarter of 2009 totaled 659 buses (671 equivalent production units or “EUs”) for a total of US $267 million. Of these orders, 304 buses (316 EUs) are new orders and 335 buses (355 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 and compressed natural gas (“CNG”) propulsion systems.  Just under 35% of the EUs representing these orders (or 233 EUs) are clean-propulsion (e.g., hybrid or natural gas) vehicles, which is a growing segment of New Flyer’s annual production.

Some of the larger orders placed in the quarter include:

• Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, TX has ordered 40 diesel buses with options for 152 additional buses.
• Golden Empire Transit District in Bakersfield, CA has ordered 27 40-foot CNG buses with options for 50 additional buses.
• Edmonton Transit in Edmonton, AB has exercised options to purchase 121 40-foot diesel buses.
• San Diego Metropolitan Transit System in San Diego, CA has exercised options to purchase 38 40-foot CNG buses.
• Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in Philadelphia, PA has exercised options to purchase 40 40-foot diesel-electric buses.
• Maryland Department of Transportation in Baltimore, MD has exercised options to purchase 100 40-foot diesel-electric buses.

New Flyer’s order backlog as of April 5, 2009 was 9,236 EUs, of which clean propulsion vehicles represents approximately 76% of New Flyer’s total backlog.  This compares to 9,531 EUs in backlog as at December 28, 2008.  The dollar value of the order backlog as of April 5, 2009 was approximately US $4.0 billion, compared to the US $4.1 billion backlog as of December 28, 2008.  Management attributes this minor decrease in total current backlog to transit agencies in the US awaiting approval for stimulus funding before converting options or placing new orders.

Many transit agencies in the US have or are in the process of submitting grant applications to access stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment act.  The US Federal Transit Administration has advised that the deadline for transit agency grantees to submit applications for the first stimulus package is July 1, 2009 and grantees are required to obligate one-half of their apportionment of funds by September 1, 2009.  Projects must be announced by transit agencies within 360 days of February 17, 2009.   The second deadline to obligate funds is March 15, 2010.   Management understands that grantees have until 2015 to spend the funds.  Unobligated funds will revert back to the US Department of Treasury on September 30, 2010. These recovered funds will then be redistributed to other transit agencies.

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

 

	Firm EUs	Options EUs
40 foot and under buses	1,583	3,357
60 foot buses	790	3,506
Total	2,373	6,863

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

 

Expiry year	Option EUs
2009	337
2010	573
2011	1,136
2012	1,759
2013	2,915
2014	143
Total Options	6,863

During the quarter, New Flyer experienced an increase in inquiries and requests for information from customers seeking new buses.  Currently, there are approximately 12,000 EUs in New Flyer’s new order pipeline or bid universe for heavy-duty transit buses.  New Flyer’s new order pipeline includes: bids that have been submitted, bids currently in process of completion as a result of a tender, and anticipated bid activity to the end of the year based on management’s understanding of transit customers’ fleet procurement plans.  This new order pipeline compares to approximately 7,000 EUs as at December 28, 2008, or an increase of approximately 71%.

New Flyer’s commitment to earth-friendly practices extends beyond delivering green buses.  Earlier in April of this year, New Flyer was named as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the second consecutive year by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers project.  This designation is awarded to employers based on earth-friendly initiatives that involve employee participation and the integration and impact of environmental values.  New Flyer has been certified to ISO 14001 environmental management standard since 2005.

NOTE: All dollar amounts are stated in US currency based on an exchange rate of US $1.00 = Cdn $1.23 to calculate the value of the Canadian contracts in this release.

About New Flyer
New Flyer Industries Inc. (“NFI”) 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 approximately 2,500 employees, NFI 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. NFI’s income deposit securities are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI.UN. Further information is available on Company’s web site at www.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 NFI 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 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, NFI 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, please contact:
New Flyer Industries Inc.
Glenn Asham
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 204-224-1251