You know something has changed in the trucking world when all the major truck and engine manufacturers are talking about fuel economy… at the Mid-America Truck Show.

 

That’s right, at THE truck show for owner-operators, the place where big bore diesels and raw horsepower trump all, everyone was talking about fuel efficiency. And they weren’t just talking about in private conversations, on the side. They were leading off with fuel economy, treating it like a selling point (which it always should be anyway).

 

There was Freightliner, telling us that their 2010 “SCR” diesel engines from Detroit Diesel and Mercedes-Benz would be offering up a three to five percent fuel economy improvement… There were Peterbilt and Kenworth showing off their diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic trucks… There were vendors showing off new trailer aerodynamic packages, alternative fuels, and “green” initiatives galore (yes, many products were being sold on their environmental benefits, but they almost always offer a fuel-use benefit as part of the package).

 

Is this a sign of things to come? Yes, I think it is. I think the tide has turned, green is in, and fuel economy is going to overshadow every other issue in the trucking industry. And it’s about time!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Over the Barrel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.