This Editorial appears in the April 2 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. The Mid-America Trucking Show, held every March in Louisville, Ky., is the nation’s largest trucking show and a wonderful barometer of what is going on in the industry.
And, as we saw at the show last month, the industry is doing pretty well. As one engine maker said just before MATS opened, “The North American truck market has some life in it.”
That was backed up a few days later when one well-placed truck manufacturer said he expects truck sales to grow to as much as 240,000 trucks this year, from 197,000 last year.
And, that official said, more of those sales represent actual trucking growth, exceeding replacement levels for the first time since 2006, the truck-making industry’s banner year.
Anyone attending MATS this year could feel the energy and optimism that have been steadily building over the past several months. Attendance set an all-time record, the number of exhibitors was up and vendors said they had a steady stream of visitors.
Manufacturers are turning their skills to mitigating the rising price of diesel fuel, and MATS showed that they’re up to the challenge. Not only are they refining engine, truck and trailer designs to make them even more efficient, but also they’re going all-in on natural gas, a clean-burning, less expensive alternative to diesel fuel.
Independent engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. has been the leader, developing engines that run on natural gas through its joint venture with Westport Innovations Inc.
Cummins executives said they expect demand for natural-gas-fueled power plants will grow as the infrastructure for delivering the fuel expands, and developers of the fuel for trucking said they’re working on that, too.
Navistar Inc. announced its commitment to natural gas as trucking’s fuel of the future and presented a panel discussion with some of the fuel’s biggest promoters, who assured a standing-room-only crowd that they will build a natural-gas infrastructure to support trucking’s needs.
In addition to offering a Cummins Westport engine, Navistar announced it will build its own 13-liter natural-gas power plant, using a slightly different technology, and Cummins said it is working on a big-bore natural-gas engine of its own design that it expects to launch in 2015.
But natural-gas engines were far from the only story at MATS. Peterbilt Motors Co. and Kenworth Truck Co. introduced new trucks, which they touted as their most aerodynamic models yet. Tire makers promoted high-efficiency SmartWay models, and trailer manufacturers showed new lighter units.
