The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/382090
ttttt SEPTEMBER 2014 Trucking's Most Respected Business Report Vocational sales climb as construction, energy grow – Dave Wangler, President, TMW Systems, provider of trucking management software and part of Trimble's transportation and logistics group. Trucking's Most Respected Business Report hotline D emand for vocational trucks con- tinues to be pushed by oil and gas producers, road building and mu- nicipal business, according to truck manufacturers and researchers. Revivals in housing and commercial construc- tion are also factors as vocational Class 8 retail truck sales are up 9.2% through July compared to last year, and should be up by 16.4% for all of 2014. "The second half recovery that everybody's been predicting is finally coming to pass," says Steve Tam at ACT Research, in reference to the stronger forecast for the last five months of the year. "We're getting back to where the (truck) population was before the thing derailed in '08." Pent-up demand — which boosted truck manufacturing after the Great Re- cession — is another continuing factor, as both vocational and freight-hauling fleets replace worn-out equipment. Daimler Trucks, the leader in market share, reports a burgeoning of the vo- cational market. Its Class 8 Freightliner and Western Star models were up by 36% in the first three months of 2014, according to Richard Howard, senior vice president of sales and marketing. Overall Class 6-8 vocational sales were up 24% in this year's first quarter and 9% in the second quarter. Daimler is determined to capture more vocational sales. Howard says its biggest market-share gains will be in vo- cational, and it expects to have 32% of the Class 8 market in the United States, Canada and Mexico by year's end. Other truck makers also report increased vocational demand and sales. Read more: www.truckinginfo. com/vocationalsales2014 – Tom Berg, Senior Editor Keep up with the latest news each day at www.truckinginfo.com Read the full interview at www.truckinginfo.com/Wangler GDP increased at annual rate of 4.2% in Q2, according to revised estimate, best pace since Q3 2013. New construction starts in July climbed 6% to seasonally adjusted annual rate of $588.8 billion, buoyed by non-residential and non-building construction. Leading Economic Index was up 0.9% in July to 103.3 – better than economists expected, on strength of hiring and industrial activity. Retail sales were virtually unchanged in July from June, poorest month-to-month showing in six months, but were 3.7% higher YoY. Consumers unexpectedly backed off on personal spending in July, while income moved slightly higher, raising concerns that wages are not keeping up with household needs. Retail sales (U.S. Commerce Dept) Leading economic index (The Conference Board) Construction starts (McGraw Hill Construction) ttttt –0.1 % Q: You've spoken before about a "blurring of the lines" in terms of the traditional trucking segments such as for-hire, pri- vate, 3PL, brokerage, etc. What challenges does this create for fleets and technology providers? A: Diversification of business models and operations types continues at all levels of the market and in all sizes of compa- nies. This is having implications for both fleet technology and software technology providers because of the distinctly differ- ent workflows and asset needs. We are definitely seeing more truckload companies that now have regional LTL arms and more regional LTLs that are branching out into dedicated carriage or specialized truckload services. In-cab computer and mobile communi- cation providers must be prepared to ad- dress not just long-haul driver messaging, but also portable devices with scanners and signature capture to cover the new LTL operations arm. For software provid- ers, the very different rating engines required by LTL and truckload operations now need to co-exist within the same dispatch and customer service systems. GDP (U.S. Commerce Dept.) Economic Indicators hotline – Dave Wangler, A Q & Green: Positive Yellow: Concern Re d: Negative Consumer spending (U.S. Commerce Dept.) ttttt +4.2 % ttttt +6 % ttttt +103.3 % ttttt +0.1 % PHOTO: TMW SYSTEMS 22 HDT • SEPTEMBER 2014 www.truckinginfo.com