The Great American Trucking Show and Advanced Clean Technology Expo are the two latest industry gatherings to fall victim to coronavirus concerns. At least a dozen spring and summer trucking events and conventions have been postponed or canceled by COVID-19 fears.
The ACT Expo, originally scheduled for the first week of May, was initially postponed to later in 2020 before the organizers officially rescheduled the event for a year from now, May 3-6, 2021. The annual Long Beach, Calif., conference is the largest advanced transportation technology and clean fleet event in North America. ACT is working on virtual events in the coming months.
GATS was scheduled for late August in Dallas but recently joined other industry events in canceling 2020 plans. “The same fears and uncertainties that have led entities as diverse as Facebook and Major League Baseball to cancel or severely curtail in-person events have informed a very difficult decision: Randall-Reilly is canceling the Great American Trucking Show, scheduled for Aug. 27-29, 2020,” reads a message on the GATS website. “This decision has been made with the health and well-being of all participants first and foremost in mind.”
Organizers say they will “use the coming months to determine what form future events take and assess the safeguards needed to ensure your health.” GATS showcases trucking information, equipment, parts and accessories.
“This pandemic has underscored how critical the industry and drivers are to the well-being of America,” noted a GATS statement. “The fleets, owner-operators and drivers are what’s kept the flow of food and other goods in stores and homes. We are thankful to you, proud of you and will keep you posted on what’s next for GATS so we can celebrate you at a future event.”
