By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and Partner, RobertsTrousdell Communications
April 8, 2026
The folks who produce the NAFA I&E have heard the chatter.
And they know from feedback that many commercial fleet managers – and perhaps a good portion of the commercial fleet space – have strong opinions about the conference, which pulls into the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Ohio, April 13-16 for its annual convention.
“Too much focus on government fleets,” they say.
“Not enough ‘good stuff’ for the commercial side of the industry”
They are comments that Bill Schankel has heard pretty much since he took over as NAFA’S Executive Director in May of 2020, at a time when the organization – and basically all trade organizations – were facing the uncertainty of Covid and all that came with it.
Bill Schankel
To be honest, he gets the rub. After all, NAFA does host – and recognizes – a wide and varied collection of government fleets from across the country.
But the truth is, NAFA’s membership is evenly split just about 50-50 between commercial and government fleets.
And perhaps even more importantly, it gives the commercial side of fleet a yearly opportunity to basically plan the show and its activities from the ground up. This year that includes over 60 educational events conceived, produced and hosted by members for members, with a majority of the efforts and participants from the commercial side of the industry.
So just what are the facts around this year’s conference, which is set to bring nearly 2,500 attendees to a town that usually doesn’t make the list of Top 5 convention spots, at least not on the fleet circuit?
For starters, a host of super relevant information on the subjects top fleet professionals want to discuss most – which in the past few years has been heavily focused on things like EVs. This topic has seemingly enjoyed its day in the sun for the time being and has become less of a focus as North American fleets backpedal from a phenomenon that held it in thrall over the past few years.
This year’s conference track, Schankel says, is more focused on practical topics of the day like sustainability, maintenance, and perhaps the most pressing issue in fleet: the significant – and growing – deficit in the number of technicians needed to service a new age of vehicles.
These are urgent concerns. Further, fleet managers consistently tell me they’re dealing with more responsibilities and fewer resources than before. As downsizing, procurement shifts, and global uncertainty grow, they’re required to take on more roles within fleet management.
So, what are some of the more than 250 exhibitors slated for this year’s sold-out show floor focused on and what are they expecting to accomplish?
Image Credit: Ram
One of the exhibitors that’s definitely looking forward to this year’s conference is Stellantis, whose introduction of the 2027 Ram Pro Master City garnered significant buzz during Work Truck Week 2026, held last month in Indianapolis. The vehicle drew rave reviews from top work fleet managers like Ted Chan of Schindler Elevator, who called the Pro Master City the “missing link” the industry had been waiting for.
Nick Erhard, Director of Commercial Sales at Stellantis’ North American arm, said the company was excited – but not surprised – by the positive reaction to the Pro Master City, and that the OEM is looking forward to building on that momentum as it heads into NAFA.
“Fleet managers have had a challenging last few years trying to find a vehicle that meets a variety of their needs at the right price,” said Erhardt. “We’ve always believed the Pro Master City can fill that need like no other vehicle and now we’re seeing that come to fruition,” said Erhardt, who pointed out that interest in the vehicle had been picked up significantly since Work Truck Week.
Among Stellantis’ and the other manufacturers’
main targets at NAFA? Fleet management companies (FMCs), which are always out in force at the event.
This includes the Wheels team, which had a large contingency – and a successful conference – at Work Truck Week. Joining them will be sizeable teams from the three additional members of the “Big 4” FMCs – Holman, Element and Merchants, which has been racking up some impressive wins over the last few months, according to Brad Burgess, Chief Commercial Officer at Merchants.
Kris Bush, VP of Marketing at Wheels, pointed out that NAFA is always one of the “premiere events” on the Wheels’ calendar and that 2026 will be no different.
“The NAFA I&E is an event we not only look forward to every year,” stated Bush, a longtime industry veteran who grew up in fleet. “It’s one of the premier events on our calendar and a conference that always gives us the opportunity to interact with other top fleet professionals and discuss the latest trends impacting our industry.”
In addition to the traditional exhibitors like FMCs and OEMs, NAFA has seen a significant uptick in new blood in the past few conferences, with nearly 30% of last year’s show attendees being first timers. That includes a varied mix of technology, AI, and software providers. These are vendors who would have been uncommon to see at NAFA just a few short years ago, but who have become increasingly common in an era where today’s fleet managers perform more like data analytics experts than the old-time “shop guys.”
One of those fleet managers known for implementing innovative solutions for years – David Hayward of ABM – said few shows afford the opportunity of the NAFA I&E and that’s why he goes out of his way to attend every year. He believes this year’s conference is more valuable than ever as the “conversation has moved beyond theory” with top fleet leaders “focused on how to turn technology, data and policy into measurable operational results.”
“The real value this year’s conference is practical learning at scale,” Hayward said. “Attendees can come away with ideas they can implement immediately across safety, cost control, operations and technology.”
While the majority of exhibitors at this year’s conference are familiar to attendees, most usually have smaller setups than the massive exhibits seen during Work Truck Week. That said, NAFA is expecting a healthy dose of fresh faces, most from emerging technologies hoping to vie for a bigger piece of fleet’s pie as the industry transitions at breakneck speed.
Of course, there’s always a large contingency of non-exhibiting companies in attendance, most encouraged, they say, by the growing turnout the past few years, including the spirited 2025 version in Long Beach, California. So, while most don’t exhibit, just about all attendees find the event a great place to learn about the latest and greatest products and solutions, and to mix and mingle at breakfasts that start at the crack of dawn and evening events that regularly tick past midnight.
Heather Isetts, Director of Growth for fast growing vehicle shipper uShip Logistics, said her team is excited about this year’s conference. It gives the team an opportunity to reconnect with fellow professionals she has met at other important fleet events the company had attended over the past year, including the AFLA conference. At that industry event, uShip Logistics was a premier sponsor – and much lauded for handing out tasty barbeque brisket from their hometown of Austin, Texas, to hungry attendees.
“We were definitely encouraged by our trip to NAFA last year but feel we’ll have an even better experience ahead of us this year,” said Isetts. “We’ve already connected with several attendees and are looking forward to showing fleets how they can save a significant amount of time and money while making their world a whole lot easier.”
The 23rd edition of the NAFA conference leads off on Sunday, April 12 with an invitation-only Leadership Summit, while the official kick-off for all attendees is on Monday, April 13th. The high profile annual fleet industry event includes a wide variety of educational opportunities, the CAFM certification track, as well as the always eagerly anticipated expo floor.
For more information about 2026 NAFA I&E click here.
Tod Trousdell is partner at RobertsTrousdell Communications in Atlanta and a fleet marketing expert with nearly 20 years in fleet and over 40 years in marketing. He can be reached at [email protected] and is always ready to help fleet entities thrive!
