Editorial: The Industry Poised
The value of an event such as the Mid-America Trucking Show is that it brings together a large piece of the entire trucking industry to one location.
As reported throughout this issue of Transport Topics, we learned during several days in Louisville, Ky., there is solid consensus that carriers should do well this year.
Trucking has not been burdened with excess capacity the past couple of years, and now it looks as if there will be even more freight to move this year. It’s time to buy new trucks — if fleet managers can find drivers to operate them.
Original equipment manufacturer executives, trailer makers, suppliers and industry analysts all agree that Class 8 sales should rise this year above 2013 levels, certainly back to what we saw in 2012, and quite possibly to the highest level since the record year of 2006.
There will be no new record, they all say, because 2006 was highly peculiar with a major pre-buy ahead of a feared regulatory change. However, the Polk division of IHS Automotive is saying new U.S. truck registrations probably will be very close to the 2004 level, and most truck dealers we know remember that time with fondness.
American Trucking Associations was at MATS, along with owner-operator and supplier groups talking about our corner of the economy.
They all helped officially launch the “Trucking Moves America Forward” campaign. The three legs of the TMAF stool are to educate the public on the essential role of trucking, to bring a similar but more detailed version of that message to federal and state government policymakers, and to recruit more drivers.
Truckers Allen Boyd and Herschel Evans are two experienced drivers taking part in the campaign. They said they’ve loved their careers and enjoy driving today’s modern trucks.
The challenge for executives now is to get a younger generation into the industry and behind the wheel.
Trucking groups do not usually agree on every issue, and that is not likely to change anytime soon. But as former ATA Chairman Mike Card pointed out, something positive is happening when ATA and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are standing side by side, as they did in Louisville.
Along with more job opportunities driven by growing freight demand and the goal of raising money to better spread trucking’s message, there was a sense as MATS came to a close that trucking could be on the cusp of something special.
