The last year of fuel price increases has hit the trucking industry and its affiliated industries particularly hard. Profits are down for the major players and many smaller companies are being squeezed out of the trucking business altogether. What this means for sales of Class 7 trucks and parts is that the business landscape will remain somewhat flat for the time being with the prospect of some recovery by the end of the year or early next year. Trucks will continue to sell steadily, since people need to replace older vehicles eventually, but don't look for any sudden spike in the demand for Class 7 and Class 6 trucks.

Interestingly enough, politics keeps playing a role in the trucking industry since war and tension in the Middle East keep the price of oil high. However, if the war in Iraq de-escalates soon, there may be a lot of vets returning home with money in their pockets and a desire to get consuming again. This would require the trucking industry to ramp up from its current battered state and begin buying new vehicles, new maintenance equipment, spare parts, and all the other myriad things you need to have on hand to maintain large Class 7 trucks. These days it seems that buyers are willing to shell out for perceived quality, durability, and ease of maintenance.

Even as truck sales are flat for Ford, GM, and the other major manufacturers, some definite trends are emerging in truck sales. Buyers are demanding more features and greater technical sophistication in their large trucks. It's now possible to have comfortable seats, power windows, power adjustable heated mirrors; automatic transmissions are becoming more common because of their ease of use and lower maintenance costs. As an employer it only makes sense to ensure that your truckers are as comfortable as possible during the long hours they spend at their jobs. It's good for morale, and in the long run it probably makes your workforce more efficient than they would be if they were forced to work under considerably less pleasant conditions.

Air Brake systems, though more initially expensive than hydraulic braking systems, are being used more and more as truckers and trucking firms realize that they are more durable and cheaper to maintain than a hydraulic system. Plus, with air brake systems, it's much easier to find the common parts they all use, rather than being forced to order a specific part from the manufacturer and waiting for it to be delivered.

With high gas prices here to stay, buyers are also going to be looking for the highest fuel efficiency possible in the models they buy. More and more diesels trucks will be hitting the roads, some for customers who will be planning to convert their vehicles to biodiesel. But in addition to greater fuel efficiency and "green" features like regenerative braking and exhaust-gas recirculation, truck buyers are going to be looking for vehicles with flexible cab configurations, comfortable seats, a state-of-the-art array of gadgets, including GPS tracking systems and onboard computers so that drivers can access up-to-the minute info on weather, traffic problems, road conditions and construction delays. The watchword for the future of Class 7 and larger trucking will be efficiency. I also predict that we'll witness a technological revolution as older, more polluting, less efficient engines will be extensively modified or eliminated altogether. Newer, more powerful hybrid and alt-fuel engines will be put in larger and larger vehicles. It may take 20 years, but eventually we'll be seeing Class 7 semis hurtling down "smart" highways with all traffic regulated by central controllers and these trucks will be powered by an onboard hydrogen fuel cell. Trucks like that will be more efficient than any contemporary gas-guzzler, and will also help keep the air cleaner since they won't be belching out noxious black clouds of diesel smoke.