Editorial: A Quiet MATS 2013

It wasn’t the best of times. It wasn’t the worst of times. This year’s Mid-America Trucking Show was as notable for what didn’t happen as it was for what did occur on the floor of the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

It was a show that didn’t feature any blockbuster announcements, although several truck makers introduced noteworthy new models and new versions of some veteran designs.

And it was a show where virtually every vendor seemed to be offering products they said could improve a fleet’s fuel efficiency. At times, it seemed that if you added up the savings from all the offered gadgets and services in the cavernous halls that a heavy-duty truck might become a power generator, instead of a fuel user.

It was a show where many vendors talked about “cautious optimism” or “hopefulness” about sales levels for 2013. There were few tears, but very little unbridled optimism as most vendors talked of trying to match 2012’s pretty good results. However, several manufacturers said that the second half of the year could turn out to be pretty strong, based on current trends.

One of the other things there wasn’t at MATS was a new chapter of what had seemed like a never-ending battle between the proponents of selective catalytic reduction to clean truck engine emissions and the one company that resisted the technology path in favor of a super-powered exhaust gas recirculation system.

Since last year’s MATS, the solo EGR proponent, Navistar, has capitulated and joined the bandwagon.

On display at Navistar’s booth this year were versions of its popular ProStar model with power plants from Cummins Inc. that use SCR and an early production model of one of its own MaxxForce engines sporting a Cummins-built SCR add-on emissions system.

The company’s shift in technology was hardly a painless one, and the company is struggling to regain its momentum after having virtually no new Class 8 trucks to sell for months as it moved to adopt SCR.

Volvo and Paccar’s Peterbilt and Kenworth offered up new heavy-duty truck models, while Freightliner touted its Cascadia Evolution model, which went into production this year.

Lots of vendors said they were already working on new projects that they expect to unveil at next year’s MATS, when they expect to see better business levels.

See you in Louisville in 12 short months.