(Work Truck Week Photos provided by NTEA)
By Tod Trousdell, Partner, RobertsTrousdell Marketing and Communications
March 19, 2025
Consistent. Productive. Affirming.
If you ask exhibitors and attendees at this year’s Work Truck Week how they felt about the 2025 version of what’s become the commercial vehicle industry’s most important conference, this is what you would hear.
Consistent because the show floor had a continuous, sustained buzz.
Productive because just about everyone – both sellers and buyers – were busy.
And affirming because it finally looks – and feels – as though the industry has fallen into familiar, comfortable – and hopefully, sustainable – patterns conducive to doing business. No crazy ups nor downs. And no wondering what’s lurking around the corner, as has been the case since Covid restrictions went in place just as the 2020 Work Truck Week drew to a close.
Just plain, good old fashioned “business,” with new products being shown, big contracts being written, and exhibitors – who seemed to be wedged into every nook and cranny of the Indianapolis Convention Center – reporting arguably their best booth traffic ever. From OEMs to FMCs – and service providers of every kind – it was a solid, productive week no matter who you asked.
Bill Bishop of FLD Remarketing
In fact, WTW organizers wrapped up the week’s event by calling the conference “commercial vehicle’s ultimate family reunion.” This was something that wasn’t lost on long time attendee and exhibitor Bill Bishop, SVP of Sales and Marketing for asset remarketer FLD, which boasted its biggest booth – and largest contingency – ever, and the results were impressive.
Bishop, who writes a quarterly industry report for customers, pointed out that this year’s show was notable not only for its productivity, which was meaningful for the 45 year-old firm, but for several emerging key themes – many of which spilled over from the show floor into cocktail conversations at the myriad nighttime events, which included such favorites as Knapheide’s annual concert, which this year featured the Lumineers.
“WTW not only sets the standard when it comes to doing great business,” said Bishop, who also pointed out that 2025 should be a largely positive year for the wholesale used vehicle space. “It’s also the place where important trends are identified and ideas take shape; we exchange a lot of great information here.”
And just what was chief among those emerging trends and key themes that played out through the week? For most, it was the current political climate, including tariffs and all things related to the new administration. This was especially true for international companies, as well as those buying raw materials or parts overseas.
Peter Young of Ranger Design
“There’s no doubt fleet industry will be impacted by tariffs,” said Peter Young, EVP of Business Development at Canadian upfitter Ranger Design. “No matter which country raw materials are extracted from, or which country transforms the raw materials into components. OEMs and their respective supply chains – as well as the fleet supply ecosystem – will feel the pain.
“Staying competitive will be a challenge, but this situation presents a great opportunity for smart companies to innovate, which is what were doing at Ranger.”
One topic that dominated Work Truck Week the last few years – electric vehicles – was conspicuously downplayed this year, standing in stark contrast to the irrational exuberance shown for commercial EVs during their massive breakout at WTW 2022. In many cases, exhibitors went out of their way to scrub any sign of EVs from their booths this year. At the same time, fleet managers, many of whom had been charged – and in some cases forced – with implementing EVs seemed almost giddy that they were being talked about mostly in the past tense.
Despite the seeming lack of enthusiasm and continued challenges around range and infrastructure, the Big Three automakers appeared to remain “all in” on EVs, including GM’s “Envolve” booth, which rivaled the sheer size of competitor FordPro’s massive encampment.
“GM Envolve continued [its] success as the number one choice for commercial fleet operations for the third consecutive year,” pointed out Jennifer Costabile, General Director, GM Envolve Marketing. “WTW provides a valuable opportunity … to connect with our customers and showcase our innovative solutions, such as the Chevy BrightDrop electric van and our OnStar (safety) solutions.”
Nonetheless, the retreat from EVs at this year’s show was palpable, and exhibitors offering alternatives could feel the difference.
“WTW25 was a welcomed change of pace for us,” said Chelsea Uphaus, Director of Marketing at Roush CleanTech, a provider of propane powered technology. “With impending regulatory changes, we saw a renewed interest (in our solutions) … as it’s hard to ignore a readily available alternative like ours that offers a cost per mile savings in excess of twenty-five cents cents a mile.”
Of course, AI was a frequent mention, but at this point in its evolution, neither attendees nor exhibitors had any definitive answers nor made any definitive proclamations on how it would most affect their offering or the industry in general. I suspect that by the time most begin to grasp AI, that it will have already seeped into the industry in meaningful ways.
Keynote Speaker Jennifer Brace of Ford
Upfitters seemed to proliferate – almost like rabbits – with what seemed like a host of new and regional providers joining long time stalwarts like Adrian Steel, Masterack, Ranger and the Shyft group’s Utilimaster brand. Many seeing opportunity in favorable business conditions and frustrated fleets, several of whom have grown impatient with increased production times and pricing.
One of those – Kansas City-based work truck rental firm City Rent A Truck – sent a contingent to both better understand new opportunities and to check out some of the latest and greatest offerings, which also seemed to grow in scope from previous years.
“While we were impressed by what we saw, we were even more excited by the possibilities for our business,” said Jake Koester, Director of Marketing for City Rent A Truck, who also noted the heightened buzz conducive to business. “With our recent expansion into the upfit space – and our role as distributors for many of the manufacturers at the event – we’re in a unique position to take these products from the showroom floor to real-world job sites, and the connections we’ve built at Work Truck Week will be instrumental in fueling that expanded offering.”
For fleet managers, WTW is prized as a condensed opportunity to meet every vendor, partner, customer and interested party in their universe, a benefit mentioned by virtually every fleet manager I spoke with.
“This show is absolutely the best, just so much going on,” said Jonathan Conrad, Director of Fleet Services for Horizon Services, who as a fleet manager without a fleet management company can get “more done in a few days” than at any other event or time of the year. “The whole week is just so productive for our team. There’s a little bit of everything and that allows us to be better informed and to get the information and feedback we need to make better decisions – there’s really nothing like it.”
Fleet management companies were also out in force. And it now appears that after years of consolidation a “Big 4” – consisting of Element, Holman, Wheels, and Merchants – has emerged. Smaller FMCs and regional leasing companies like BBL Fleet and Mike Albert were in attendance, as well.
Holman, which appears to be focused on creating a vertically integrated one-stop shop, sported a massive booth and large presence. And while the other three members of the Big 4 had smaller footprints, buzz seemed equally as heightened at their booths.
Coach K – Basketball Legend & Keynote Speaker
“The Work Truck Show is always one of the best shows of the year for us,” said Todd Leonard, Managing Director of Element Fleet Management. “You get the best and brightest people collaborating on solutions to improve opex (operating expenses), carbon footprints, and utilization of technology – it’s just a terrific opportunity.”
As seems to be the case every year, day one at this year’s conference was by far the most productive with sustained buzz and meaningful interactions springing to life from the moment the show doors flung open on Tuesday morning.
Truck manufacturers, as they always are, were a big part of this year’s conference with traditional stalwarts like Freightliner, Peterbilt and Hino showcasing typical, somewhat tired product. Meanwhile, the Isuzu booth featured some interesting new options. And while the legions of EV concept vehicles that dotted the floor the past 3 years were nowhere in sight, Israeli manufacturer REE featured a Class 5 electric vehicle that received sustained interest.
As always, big announcements and new product introductions were key parts of the show. In addition, the week’s festivities also included the annual “Green Truck Summit” and the always popular “Ride and Drive” event, which featured over 20 new vehicles available for attendees to take for a spin.
For their part, the folks at WTW were thrilled with the outcome of this year’s show, which set records for both attendance – 16,413 from 31 countries and all 50 states – and exhibitors at 549.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better week,” Steve Carey, NTEA President & CEO beamed. “People were obviously excited to be at the event and are already actively looking forward to next year,” something apparently many of the exhibitors were engaged in before this year’s show ended. “Before we even closed the doors on Work Truck Week 2025, many companies were sharing their plans for product introductions and suggestions for new educational sessions at Work Truck Week 2026.”
Putting a bow on this year’s event, long time fleet veteran Craig Cheatle, Vice President of Business Development at Discount Tire, summed up what was likely the sentiment for most attendees and exhibitors.
“The 2025 NTEA/Work Truck Week Show delivered at a high level for us,” said Cheatle. “Even though this was the first time we had a booth, the results were outstanding … whether it was with existing customers … or new prospects – what more can we ask.”
About the author
Tod Trousdell is a fleet marketing consultant and the owner of RobertsTrousdell Marketing and Communications in Atlanta. He works with clients across the fleet space, as well as those in the technology, cable, sports, and hospitality industries. He can be reached at [email protected].
