2018 Medium-Duty Report

A new future, with new operational realities for fleets, looms just around the corner — although getting any two experts to agree on just what that future will look like is largely impossible. What is clear is that trucking will be a vital cog in the newly emerging economic and retail realities taking shape today, with efficient urban delivery and last-mile delivery emerging as hugely important enablers for retailers large and small worldwide.

The impact of some of these trends are already showing up in medium-duty specs, according to Kevin Koester, Ford medium-duty truck and Super Duty fleet manager, who says the demands of urbanized deliveries are becoming increasingly apparent. “We’re seeing a lot more medium-duty fleets — particularly in the P&D markets — cubing out now before they weigh out,” he says. “I think that is a reflection of more people skipping a trip to the grocery store and ordering items like paper towels online. So we’re seeing an increase in moving goods like that, particularly in Classes 6 and 7 — simple, smaller items that weigh less.”

One of the more headline-grabbing trends affecting the medium-duty truck market is a move toward all-electric vans and trucks optimized for delivery routes in urban settings. Although reports are still sketchy as of press time for this article, it appears Tesla’s much-touted debut electric truck will be a Class 7 model, optimized for urban and light regional routes with a daily charge range of between 200 and 300 miles. And other OEMs, such as Mitsubishi Fuso, Mercedes-Benz and Hino, are actively pursuing their own electric vehicle technology paths as well.

Opinions are divided as to how electric technology will be deployed in medium-duty trucks in North America. Koester thinks that instead of fleets of electric vans running routes, it’s more likely to be the …Read the rest of this story

Source:: http://www.truckinginfo.com/channel/equipment/article/story/2017/10/2018-medium-duty-report.aspx