ATA, HDMA exploring N. Am. trucking show

ARLINGTON, Va. (March 31, 2016) — The American Trucking Association (ATA) is planning to organize a North American truck and transportation conference and trade show in partnership with the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) division of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and Messe Frankfurt Inc., the German trade show organizer.

The event would be biennial in odd years, the organizations said in a joint statement, with preliminary plans calling for an event in North America, to be held in early fall opposite the IAA Commercial Vehicles, a similar, already-established show held in Hanover, Germany, in even-numbered years at roughly the same time of year. The partners did not identify a venue or commit to a starting date.

The event would be more comprehensive in scope than the trucking expo and conference organized annually the ATA's Technology & Maintenance Council.

“While ATA already provides fleet executives with a number of opportunities to see the latest in truck, trailer and other technology, we believe there is an appetite for a larger-scale event,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “We look forward to working with HDMA/MEMA and Messe Frankfurt to explore the possibilities of a new exhibition — one that promises to bring all the major players in our industry together under one roof.”

“In recent years, it has become increasingly clear there is demand from consumers and manufacturers for a North American trucking industry exhibition with the prominence and importance befitting this essential industry,” said MEMA President and CEO Steve Handschuh.

 “The concerns of the industry in Europe and North America — safety, fuel economy, emissions and efficiency — are universal. We look forward to the potential benefit a biennial show of this kind can provide both the trucking industry and the suppliers and manufacturers that support them,” said Messe Frankfurt President Dennis Smith.

 In a joint statement, the partners said this announcement is “only the first step of our journey. We intend to fully explore what creating a show of this kind will mean for the transportation industry, as well as for commercial vehicle OEMs, systems and component suppliers and other supply chain elements, the investment community, and trade, financial and general media.

The ATA is a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, and considers itself the “voice of the industry.”

The HDMA represents the commercial vehicle supplier industry and the business interests of our OE and aftermarket suppliers in the on and off-highway commercial vehicle equipment industry.

 Messe Frankfurt is a leading trade fair organizer, involved in international as well as European trade fairs. It recently signed a partnership with the organizers of the biennial Reifen tire industry trade show to move that biennial expo and conference to Frankfurt from Essen, starting in 2018.