Mack the latest truck maker to pull out of 2016 Mid-America Trucking Show

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Mack Pinnacle Tanker E1441126557180Mack Trucks late last week became the fourth trucking OEM to announce it would skip the 2016 Mid America Trucking Show (MATS), scheduled for March 31-April 2 in Louisville, Ky.

MATS, the largest annual show of its kind in the U.S., has already lost commitments from Mack’s sister company Volvo Trucks, Navistar and Daimler Trucks for next year.

“With several other truck makers having already announced their plans to not attend next year, Mack was concerned about reduced attendance and a diminished return on investment from our participation in the show,” says Chris Heffner, Mack Truck’s manager of public relations. “We have decided to use the funds we would have spent on MATS for other customer engagement efforts,” he says.

Daimler Trucks and Navistar have each expressed interest in seeing the annual MATS show adjust its cycle to odd-numbered years, a move that would relieve a financial conflict for global truck OEs also attending the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany which is held in even numbered years.

And while both companies say they plan to exhibit at MATS in 2017, Heffner says Mack will evaluate plans for MATS 2017 at the appropriate time.

To-date, Paccar sister companies Kenworth and Peterbilt are the only North American Class 8 manufacturers who have yet to pull out of next year’s MATS show, and company officials say they are still evaluating their plans for 2016 and have not reached a decision.

In 2016, MATS will also face competition from NADA/ATD’s Annual Expo – the largest annual truck show for dealers of Class 8 trucks – which is also set to kick off March 31 in Las Vegas.