Three things I learned from MATS 2011

This past weekend, I had the good fortune to attend the Mid-American Truck Show in Louisville, KY. This was my first time coming to the show and I went there to reconnect with people I’ve talked to through the webinars we’ve offered and through conversations over the years.  In addition, I went down there to look at getting a booth for next year’s show.  Through all of this I learned a few things that I’d like to share.

1.  There are a lot of organizations dedicated to trucking and in a broad variety of product offerings.  I expected to see all the truck and trailer manufacturers, the big load boards, and some insurance carriers and I wasn’t disappointed.  There were also many different parts suppliers down to nuts and bolts, a dozen different people with ways to improve your fuel mileage, and people dedicated to making sure your business is properly organized.  By organized, I mean incorporated or LLC, not neat and tidy type of organized although there was probably someone doing that too.

2.  Technolgy continues to evolve the industry.  Advances continue to propel the trucking industry forward through many channels.  As I mentioned above, there are many companies working on many ways to improve your MPG.  Some use additives to your fuel, some offer aerodynamic advantages with equipment and of course the newer engines bring improvements over their older models.  But that’s just one form of technological improvement.  There are also better software options to find loads, track trucks, communicate with drivers, and generate invoices; many of these can be done from your phone.  With each year the technology gets more and more user friendly and more and more accepted by the consumers.

3.  You need more than one day to properly visit all the booths.  Anyone who has attended MATS already knew this but there are just too many people to talk to get them all in one day.  I reccommend at least 2 days.  Case the whole area on day one and go back on day two to have conversations with the people you want to talk to in more detail.  Also, wear good walking shoes as you’ll walk some miles going from booth to booth.