Sign of the Times

This week, in what is surely a sign of the times, Kenworth and Peterbilt, the two American truck brands of PACCAR, Inc., announced that they would not have exhibits at the Mid-America Truck Show (MATS) in Louisville, KY, perhaps the biggest truck show in the country. So what, you say? This is like the NFL bowing out of the Superbowl, or Madonna taking a pass on the Grammies, or Matt Kenseth skipping the Daytona 500. It's just not done. What's really scary is that MATS is still two months away as I write this, and as there's not much hope of the economy turning itself around in the next eight weeks, it's a pretty sure guess that PACCAR's announcement will just be the first of many. MATS is one of the busiest weeks of the year for a trucking editor; there are press conferences and press events running from dawn 'til dusk. That's in a normal year. This year, who knows? It could be a long, slow week in Kentucky...