Louisville, Here We Come...?

A week from, now, the staff of Fleet Maintenance Magazine will be in Louisville, KY, for the Greatest Show on Earth, otherwise known as the Mid-America Truck Show, or MATS. It's a great chance to meet with professionals in the industry, and find out what the OEMs are up to as far as new product development. There are more new trucks and products introduced to the press and the publis in three days at MATS than there are at pretty much any other event of the year. This really is The Big Show. All the big names will be there: Bendix, Kenworth, Caterpillar, ArvinMeritor, Freightliner, Mack, Roadranger and many more, all of them introducing new or enhanced products. But while the big OEMs and component suppliers are working overtime to create excitement around their new and improved products, I can't help but wonder if the mood of the show will be one of excitement or one of gloom... Why gloom? Well, this week's headline on Transport Topics reads "DIESEL JUMPS TO $3.819--Average Tops $4 in Some States as Crude Soars." Now, MATS is heavily attended by owner/operators who drive in from all points to the Kentucky Fairgrounds to take part in the festivities, but with diesel prices so high, I wonder if that parking lot will be empty this year... Will you be going to Louisville, or staying home? We'd like to know.