The entire organized heavy-duty aftermarket seems to have emerged all at once about 50 years ago. Organizations such as the Automotive Electric Association (AEA) and the National Wheel and Rim Association (NWRA) were around earlier, formed mostly to deal with protected territories from a handful of key suppliers.
But in 1966, the old order was about to change:
Since this time, the industry has emerged as a $15 billion higher tech tangle of constantly morphing end users, consolidating distribution, electronic technologies and regulations. Product life-cycles are the shortest in history, while the lack of new trained personal has hit extremely troubling levels.
Technology has gone on a tear, forming the basis for the fastest evolutionary phase since trucking got started in the 1920s. So how about some predictions for products and distribution over the next ten years.
Are you ready for the following potential 2018 products?
A different beast, indeed—no hydraulics, no pneumatics, less wiring—basically plastic bodied and lubricated by soybeans and used French fry grease. Not your father’s Class 8 truck!
How about the supply industries that make these things work?
