Manufacturers Seek Better Times at Mid-America Trucking Show

This story appears in the March 29 print edition of Transport Topics.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Truck makers and their suppliers returned to marketing products here that intrigue drivers and appeal to fleet executives based on durability, comfort, ease of operation and even pizzazz, after years spent surviving the Great Recession and straining to meet government-imposed emissions requirements.

The first half of the Mid-America Trucking Show, March 24-27, saw the unveiling of several new heavy-duty trucks, rich with comforts for drivers and new technologies, and designs to reduce aerodynamic drag and fuel consumption while improving safety and communications. Talk of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates for 2010 and earlier years and of threadbare freight volumes — topics that once were all but inescapable — nearly vanished.

“It’s got to look like something, so it might as well look sharp,” said Preston Feight, Kenworth Truck Co.’s chief engineer, while unveiling the OEM’s new T700. The new sleeper model is aimed at team drivers and is about 15 inches wider than Kenworth’s T660 highway tractor.

“This was built to appeal to fleets based on mileage and to drivers based on comfort,” said Salt Lake City Kenworth dealer Kyle Treadway of the T700, at the unveiling ceremony for the new model.

Peterbilt Motors Co., a sister company to Kenworth within Paccar Inc., introduced a new sleeper as well, the Model 587, to replace its 387. Landon Sproull, chief engineer, said the truck will offer air disc brakes on the steer axle as a standard feature.

Navistar Inc., the manufacturer of International trucks, updated its ProStar model with the new ProStar+. Navistar Senior Vice President James Hebe orchestrated a presentation to roll out the new truck, a series of support programs and the slogan, “the Power of One.”

“That means an unconditional commitment to being the best partner we can,” Hebe said.

Daimler Trucks North America did not bring a new truck to the show, but the manufacturer’s two top executives gave a hint of developments to come. Andreas Renschler, head of Daimler’s global truck unit, said the company actually increased its research and development budget during the global economic slump.

“We are starting our most aggressive product plan ever. In the next 24 months we will have 140 product rollouts throughout the world,” Renschler said.

Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, said here that the focus will be on fuel efficiency.

“There will be a series of innovations assuming, one, that diesel engines remain the backbone of transportation and, two, using alternative fuels and hybrids,” Daum said.

Although Volvo Trucks North America did not attend, sister company Mack Trucks announced developments on tractor components and engine features. Its Pinnacle highway tractor features a new mDrive automated transmission for MP7 and MP8 engines. There also is an EconoBoost feature to provide more torque at lower engine speeds.

Component and parts maker ArvinMeritor Inc. rolled out a new drive axle to replace a 20-year-old model and said it is launching a new line of products under the banner “MPG Series” to help trucks move more freight with less fuel.

“The Super Truck program is a great playground,” said Carsten Reinhardt, ArvinMeritor’s chief operating officer, in discussing the Department of Energy program to boost freight-hauling efficiency.

ArvinMeritor’s new 14X axle is lighter than the older model, yet designed to handle the higher torque levels in current engines.

Reinhardt said truck makers and the industry in general are “in need of some optimism” after the past two years and that ArvinMeritor personnel are eager to release new products.

“It’ll be much less than 20 years for the next generation of axles, more like three or four years instead,” he said.

“We’re seeing a pent-up demand for driver comforts and features, whether it’s for owner-operators or Wal-Mart,” said Kenneth Doonan, a Peterbilt dealer with two locations in Kansas.

“Fleets want to maintain their pool of drivers by offering options like the SmartNav system we saw today,” he said, referring to a new Peterbilt navigation, entertainment and communications system. “When the recession started, companies parked trucks and got rid of problem drivers.

“Now they’ve got their cream-of-the-crop drivers and they want to keep them happy because that’s how they make money,” Doonan said.