By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and Partner, RobertsTrousdell Communications
March 25, 2026
To hear the folks at NTEA – the group that organizes Work Truck Week – explain it, this year’s annual shindig was all about trucks, new product releases, and innovation – and AI if you read between the lines.
image credit: FMW
For the 15,646 in attendance at the 2026 version – representing 29 countries and all 50 states – the more appropriate title for this year’s conference may actually just stop with the word “work,” because it sure looked like a lot of that was getting done during this year’s conference.
Productive. Sustained. Glorious.
Work!
And what a welcome change from the past few years when it seemed the vestiges of Covid – lack of available vehicles, spotty supply chains, and a predilection with all things electric – gripped the industry in what some would call a state of suspended automation.
This year, not so much.
image credit: FMW
Of the more than 25 attendees and exhibitors I spoke to for this article, every one of them had solid things to say about their 2026 Work Truck Week experience. So, despite the fact that this year’s attendance was down just south of 15%, the quality of interactions was high.
And the mood?
Positive and intense – as if the industry were beyond ready to put the craziness of the past six years behind it simply to focus on the tasks at hand: Selling vehicles. Pushing products and solutions. And determining just which innovations can help them get a leg up on the competition or manage the best fleet operation they know how.
Of course, in between the packed show floor, the educational track, and the one-off parties, there was plenty of face time with friends new and old, and this year’s event – as so many fleet functions do – had the air of a family reunion with lots of social interaction. And even a little chatter on how to help the industry glide into the next golden age of fleet – the last few years notwithstanding.
image credit: Ram
Being a work truck conference, one would figure that the star of the show would be a truck (or in this case a van) and by all accounts the introduction of the 2027 Ram ProMaster City (right) fit the bill.
According to top fleet leaders I spoke to, it had folks abuzz in a very good way.
Ted Chan, Senior Director of Fleet for Schindler Elevator and a perennial favorite for Fleet Manager of the Year, summed it up best when he called the ProMaster City the “missing link the industry has been waiting for.”
“It fills that important space between medium duty and full cargo, giving us all a smarter option that balances capability with cost,” said Chan.
Of course, the new ProMaster City was only one of the myriad new vehicles showcased throughout the week, and with 12 vehicle manufacturers on hand, attendees had the opportunity to see a wide range of vehicle options in all classes. Other standouts included Harbinger which featured its HC Series Cab, a medium-duty, low cab forward truck, available as an electric or hybrid plug-in model.
As one would expect, the subject of AI was bandied about, often with vague specifics and eyebrow raising promises (depending on who was pushing it.)
image credit: Ford Pro
Ford Pro debuted Ford Pro AI, an intelligent fleet assistant, and announced new 2027 Super Duty packages designed specifically for what it calls the Essential Economy — the 3 million businesses and 95 million workers across construction, manufacturing, service, energy, and logistics, driving $12 trillion in gross domestic product. Meanwhile the GM Envolve folks played a prominent role in the week’s Green Fleet event.
Despite what looked like a lot of shiny new objects, a couple of spins around the show floor with some savvy and experienced white metal and trucking experts elicited few “ah’s” or “ohs.” So, while the buzz was keen and the business brisk, most experts I spoke with felt the majority of vehicles on display bore little difference from last year. Hybrids certainly put in a solid showing, but it was obvious that enthusiasm for EVs had evaporated. And while there were still a few flashes of “EV this” or “electric that,” it will likely be a few years before EVs burst into prominence again.
With consolidation in the FMC space apparently taking a breather, the “Big Four” – Element, Wheels, Holman, and Merchants – all had significant contingencies at this year’s show. Perhaps encouraging, for a group that has taken its share of lumps the last couple of years, most reported a steady flow of interest, with Wheels VP of Marketing Kris Bush pointing out that the show’s first day booth traffic was “non-stop.”
Indianapolis, Host City
Meanwhile, Nick Caller, Executive Vice President of Sales & Client Relations at Holman summed up the feelings of most FMC execs I spoke with when he said Work Truck Week was one of Holman’s “best opportunities” all year to connect with peers, partners, customers, and prospects.
“Throughout the week, our team of … experts engaged in thought-provoking conversations about the challenges fleets are facing today – economic uncertainty, budget constraints, fleet, and data fragmentation… These conversations foster relationships that continue to drive our industry forward and we’re excited to build upon this momentum in the weeks and months ahead.”
Interestingly enough, there were a few potential new challengers to the current fleet management model walking the show floor, and I’ll be curious to see if their efforts pan out over the coming months and year.
With a completely sold-out show floor and booth space at a premium – product launches and press played a big part in the jam-packed week. That included everything from vehicle lights that last forever (who knew?!) to solar charging and no-idle systems to cargo management solutions – in short, plenty of cool new stuff to capture attendee’s attention. Upfitters certainly featured their share of new products including Sortimo, who’s CEO Reinhold Braun gave a spirited overview of several of the company’s new upfitting solutions targeting the North American market.
A Classic Work Truck (image credit: FMW)
Of course, with 547 exhibitors wedged into every corner of the expansive show floor, service providers of all kinds were on hand including an army of upfitters, logistics, remarketing and – increasingly – software and technology providers. Each vying for attention from attendees who shuffled slowly around the show floor (a trip that took me over 3 hours at a steady pace!)
Summing up general sentiment for this year’s conference, France Landreville, VP of Marketing for Ranger Design, pointed out that “Work Truck Week is always one of our biggest highlights of the year.” This was a point she backed up soon after Ranger’s work van upfit – its bread and butter offering – was named “Van Upfit of the Year” by Bobit Media. The Canadian upfitter also launched its new Trazer canopy for pickups at the massive booth it shared with other Clarience Technologies-owned companies.
Echoing Landreville’s thoughts, Monica Craig, Director of Marketing Operations for Intellishift – which served non-stop espresso at its booth to caffeine-starved attendees – pointed out just how important Work Truck Week was to the sea of small and medium sized companies exhibiting.
“Work Truck Week is always such an incredibly rewarding experience for our team,” said Craig. “It’s just such a great place to connect with both new and familiar faces, we’re already planning to be bigger and better next year.”
Ride and Drive (image credit: NTEA)
As usual, Work Truck Week featured an array of events, designed to inform, energize, and entertain, including education, keynotes and special events that had a little something for everyone no matter what one was looking for.
image credit: NTEA
Included in the mix was the always popular WTW “Ride and Drive” featuring 15 vehicles, as well the “Green Truck Summit,” held early in the week (which truly does stretch Monday to Friday. – a full week by anyone’s account.) Of course, most attending companies held their usual over the top private events, including the annual Knapheide concert featuring Sugar Ray and Run DMC, as well as FLD Remarketing’s annual trip with customer advisory board members to the luxury suite at the Indiana Pacers game.
For those looking to put next year’s Work Truck Week on their calendar early, the 2027 version returns to the Indianapolis Convention Center March 9-12.
Tod Trousdell is a fleet marketing consultant and partner in the Atlanta-based firm RobertsTrousdell and has a 40-year plus track record of helping clients achieve their biggest goals. He can be reached at [email protected].
