There are not a score of new commercial truck models being rolled out this year — certainly not the influx seen in the previous two model years. It seems most OEMs are focused on improving products they have introduced only recently, mainly to boost fuel and operator efficiency as well as to heighten overall vehicle productivity and to further decrease lifecycle operating costs.
These truck makers are well aware that many fleet owners were hard-hit during the Great Recession — but are getting stoked now to replace aging equipment or even add to their vehicle count, thanks to rising freight demand widely forecast from now into next year.
What these buyers will find on upgraded trucks runs the gamut from new engines and drivetrain combinations, to aerodynamic enhancements to boost fuel economy, to improved interiors, to more driver- and safety-oriented specs to make trucking a more appealing and safer occupation.
However, there are new models to learn more about in these pages. That's the case especially in the medium-duty arena, where Hino, Isuzu and Mitsubishi Fuso have all rolled out entirely new trucks. And in the heavy-duty range, the first Cat on-highway truck, the CT660, has arrived.
But no matter if your fleet runs light, medium or heavy trucks, or whether it hauls freight or performs one vocational job or another, start here on your way to kicking some tires and taking a spin or two — because your fleet may well be one of the many that will be buying new trucks over the next year.
