The Year of Invisible Advancements

There is a lot to look forward to in a new year, especially one that is set to be potentially monumental in new policy implementation and domestic infrastructure investments. President Trump's website highlights policies for infrastructure investments reaching from pipelines to roads to next generation equipment to coal and shale energy production. Investment coupled with trade policy reform could ultimately redefine the global landscape for international OEMs, so it will be interesting to watch the coming year unfold.

On AEM's I Make America website, it states:

It’s a new era for U.S. trade policy in 2017, with the new Trump administration and a new Congress taking its place in Washington.

AEM is well-positioned to work with President-elect Trump’s team to identify barriers to increased U.S. exports and unfair trade practices that undermine the U.S. manufacturing base. Real opportunities exist to work with the Trump administration on increasing access to foreign markets for equipment manufacturers through trade agreements, export financing and U.S. trade enforcement.

But equipment manufacturers should also be careful to study provisions related to taxes and domestic production that could have broad ramifications next year.

All politics aside, the heavy-duty vehicle industry is primed for advanced technology development and implementation. 

My prediction is that 2017 will be the year that we see a new set of advanced technologies emerge now that onboard systems like telematics and GPS systems have become an accepted and expected baseline of machine performance and metrics. Things that are already in their infancy, such as the Internet of Things and Smart Data are taking the vehicle industry to the next level. 

Much of the enhancements we will discover throughout the course of the next year will probably be data-driven, software-driven and sensor-based system development that will continue the progress in vehicle tracking, automation and electrification. Perhaps we will refer to 2017 as The Year of Invisible Advancements for mobile equipment.

Also, to note, you may notice a slight change to our regular monthly column on page 8. Formerly known as the Economic Outlook, we have renamed the section Equipment Market Outlook to better reflect the specific equipment market information being put forth by ITR Economics. It's a new name, but the same great information you have come to rely on for your market analysis and future projections.

How do you use the economic and market data ITR Economics provides each month? Tell us at editor@oemoffhighway.com!