March 9, 2009 5:30 AM, EDT

Almost 1,000 Exhibitors Expected at MATS

Navistar Among Firms to Unveil Products

By Frederick Kiel, Staff Reporter

This story appears in the March 9 print edition of Transport Topics.

The Mid-America Trucking Show will hold this year’s event with 980 exhibitors, 100 from outside the country, down only slightly from last year.

“Some of the important highlights of the 2009 show will certainly be the events and exhibits centered around the changing engine requirements and technologies implemented to meet those requirements, application of ground breaking technologies to the heavy-duty trucking industry, and any products and services that will help drivers and fleets endure the current economic climate,” Toby Young, president of Exhibit Management Associates Inc., which organizes MATS, told Transport Topics.

MATS will be held March 19-21 in Louisville, Ky., with attendees from 40 different countries registered to attend, Young said.

At last year’s show, China overtook Canada as the top foreign exhibitor and will have the most exhibitors again this year — 45 compared with 42 from Canada, Young said. The United States will have more than 800 exhibitors.

Last year, slightly more than 1,000 exhibitors attended MATS. Young said the number of foreign exhibitors was also down.

“We have seen a decrease in the number of international companies exhibiting at MATS versus the 2008 show, which is to be expected given the global economy and the additional costs associated with bringing an exhibit in from another country,” Young said.

Paccar Inc. said in January that neither Peterbilt Motors Co. nor Kenworth Trucking Co. would attend.

Navistar Inc., which manufactures International Trucks, said it will introduce its largest engine ever — a 15-liter model.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will sponsor an exhibit in which manufacturers will help fleets choose equipment that meets SmartWay designation.

MATS will feature its Internet and Technology Center once again, and show organizers said they would display “the most innovative technology available to the trucking industry in one centralized location.”