Despite some potential clouds on the horizon from higher tariffs, optimism about the overall economy founded on strong numbers in housing, construction and growth in e-commerce are boosting sales of medium-duty trucks and pushing the sector out of decadelong doldrums.

Truck spec’ing will continue to evolve, but a couple of fleet executives had some suggestions for truck makers on ways to improve the process.

Given the complexity of today’s trucks, it may be natural for the uninitiated to assume that spec’ing a truck well has become more difficult. But, the opposite is the case, industry executives said.

INDIANAPOLIS — Several truck manufacturers introduced new and updated commercial trucks during the 2018 edition of the Work Truck Show, produced annually by the National Truck Equipment Association.

INDIANAPOLIS — Alternative fuels and green technologies will continue to evolve and secure their roles within the trucking sector, but diesel is still the most efficient and cost-effective fuel and will be for some time to come, Kary Schaefer, general manager of marketing and strategy for Daimler Trucks North America, told attendees at the Green Truck Summit here last week.

INDIANAPOLIS — Sales of Class 8 tractors are expected to grow as much as 20% in 2018 as big-fleet truck buyers begin spending again after having reduced their capital expenditures dramatically in 2016 and 2017, executives said at the National Truck Equipment Association’s annual Work Truck Show here.

INDIANAPOLIS — Hino Trucks is expanding into the heavy-duty sector in the United States with the introduction March 7 of its new Classes 7 and 8 XL model series truck and tractor.

An aging driver population and the addition of vocational-specific features are the top reasons fleet managers and industry executives cited for growth in two-pedal transmission use among vocational truck buyers.

Today’s tractors are more efficient due in large part to the aerodynamic concepts and ideas that truck makers were able to test under the Department of Energy’s 21st Century Truck Partnership, also known as SuperTruck.

Comparatively speaking, today’s over-the-road tractors are slick machines.Improved aerodynamics enables them to slide through the air better than any earlier generation while offering the potential for double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency.