Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2018

Alosa notes that the used truck market for over the road trucks and that for vocational trucks can be quite different In the vocational market prices are up at least in our area We see very little fluctuation from month to month and year to year in the value of vocational used trucks Young does not see the used truck market having an impact on new truck sales because the advancements in the new trucks the mileage improvements and the increased comfort levels that are needed to attract drivers will outweigh the low used truck residuals The year ahead When we interviewed the nominees late in December we asked them to comment on how they thought business would be in the year ahead Our order board is filling up nicely for 2018 Bergey says I am very positive about that His optimism is due in part to the fact that all the OEMs he represents have come out with new products for 2018 That is exciting for us because it gives us a lot to talk to our customers about If the end of 2017 is any indication of what 2018 will be like for New England Kenworth Alosa says things will be rocking and rolling The last few weeks of the year saw what Alosa calls a beehive of activity as businesses were looking for trucks We had products in inventory and that is what they are looking for They are optimistic for the foreseeable future I see only good stuff based on what our customers are saying and the buying trends of the last month of 2017 Young expects the next several years to be good as long as the economy keeps its current base line In addition most of my customers are realizing that they need to update their trucks so I am looking for a good year overall Arscott too is looking for a good year We have a pretty strong backlog right now and I am bullish about our products and the mix in the markets we span Plus the used truck situation is starting to fade into the background a little bit There is confidence out there No one is whining about their business being bad Fleets are concerned about getting drivers and are saying they have more business than they can handle Reynolds indicates that several of his dealerships large customers had already placed orders for 2018 Orders at this time are above the level they were at last year I think 2018 will be better than 2017 but I am not ready to say it could be better than 2015 which was a great year A few things have to happen like meaningful tax reform and a solid infrastructure bill If that happens we could be looking at a very very healthy market in the next year White is optimistic but adds If the driver situation was better nationwide and if customers were not seeing a loss in their used trucks when they go to trade them in we would see an unbelievable boom Vandehey expresses similar concerns saying The driver shortage is the single factor limiting or retarding future growth Our fleets might be replacing trucks but they are not growing trucks because of the driver shortage I think we are on the verge of a real revolution in our industry Craig Young Young Truck Sales Joseph Joe Alosa Sr President and CEO New England Kenworth Concord New Hampshire Kenworth Hino Isuzu Mark Bergey President Bergeys Truck Center Souderton Pennsylvania Volvo Mack Hino Isuzu Mitsubishi Fuso Jon Vandehey President and CEO Mid State Truck Service Inc Marshfield Wisconsin Navistar Isuzu Lee White II President Old River Companies Inc South Richland Mississippi Volvo Mack Hino Isuzu Craig Young President Young Truck Sales Inc Canton Ohio Freightliner Volvo Isuzu Nominees APRIL 2018 HDT 81 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM