If you’re in trucking or a related business of any kind, March in Louisville is probably on your calendar. Whether you own a fleet, manage one, drive for one or sell essential goods and services to the industry, the Mid-America Trucking Show is a meeting of the trucking tribes, the one annual event that brings out everyone.
The show is many things. It’s a display of all the latest truck models with eye-catching paint jobs and polished as only show trucks can be. It’s an annual showcase for new products major and minor with the year’s largest gathering of trucking media on hand to attend three dozen or so press conferences. It’s a chance for truck, trailer and component manufacturers to check out their competition first-hand. It’s an educational opportunity to learn from experts about topics that range from autonomous trucks to electronic drivers’ logs. It’s three days of conversation with like-minded people talking about everything trucking from regulation to freight rates. Above all, it’s an ideal place to take the general pulse of the trucking industry.
If I could sum up the mood this year in one word, it would be celebration.
Fuel economy was one of the topics clearly on everyone’s mind. There were no completely new trucks unveiled, but there were plenty of minor changes for current truck models that add up to significant fuel economy improvements. Downspeeding, automated mechanical transmissions, predictive cruise, greater powertrain integration, drive axle changes, and new tire designs are being packaged together as truck and engine makers prepare to satisfy the next stage in lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by boosting fuel efficiency.
Perhaps more importantly, concept trucks provided strong hints of what we can expect to see as truck manufacturers prepare to deliver all-new models in the next year or so as they get ready for the long-awaited Phase II GHG regulations. And trailer manufacturers, anticipating those new requirements will extend to the entire combination, brought out their fuel-saving arsenal of new aerodynamic systems and weight-saving designs.
Further developments in advanced safety systems were also much in evidence. We are now ready to move from those that warn or advise to those smart enough to take emergency action to prevent or mitigate accidents. Long anticipated, systems that can bring a heavy vehicle to a stop automatically if they detect a stationary object in their path are now ready for production. And so are new camera/sensor fusions that can read road signs and bring a speeding truck back down to the posted speed limit. Smart cruise control and AMTs that can predict and act on changes in power requirements also showed up in production form.
The most important news, though, was incontrovertible evidence that trucking has put the Great Recession firmly behind it. Truck and trailer manufacturers all spoke of sales surpassing their strong 2014 levels, perhaps by more than 10%. And virtually all predicted 2016 sales continuing that growth trend.
Positive freight conditions—both volume and rates—got the credit for driving current and future equipment sales. You only had to walk through the substantial recruitment displays from most of the major fleets for proof that carriers are hauling a lot of freight and looking for drivers to continue hauling it.
After some truly lean years followed by a few more uncertain, cautious ones, you could say this year’s gathering in Louisville felt like the sun finally breaking through the clouds, even if it actually rained quite a bit. Finally, it was time to celebrate the many exciting days ahead for trucking.