Thundering Trucks

The boom in sales of 1963 model cars has been noted and acclaimed for its major effect on the U.S. economy. But relatively little notice has been paid to an even more impressive performance in the truck industry. In 1962 truck sales in the U.S. hit 1,030,000 units--the highest since Korean war scare buying pushed 1950 to a record--and orders are coming in so fast that 1963 promises to be even better. Times are so good that not one of the nation's 23 truck manufacturers failed to show a profit last year.

Truck sales have received their biggest boost from the steady spread of suburbia, which has created a need for more and more light and compact delivery trucks; last year such trucks accounted for three-fourths of all truck sales. Other segments of the industry are also growing fast. The share of long-distance freight transported by truck has risen to 23% from less than 10% 20 years ago, a trend that means a growing market for heavy-duty haulers. The healthy construction industry and the federal highway program increase the demand for big trucks.

Lavender & White. As with practically everything else on wheels. Chevrolet is out in front (34% of the truck market) and Ford is in hot pursuit (31%). International Harvester is a distant third (12.3%), followed by G.M.C. (7.5%), Dodge (5.1%), Willys (2.7%). The rest of the market is divided up among Mack Trucks. White. Volkswagen, and such seldom-heard-of brands as Diamond T. Reo, Autocar, Available. Peterbilt and Divco. Chevy's and Ford's big lead comes from concentrating some 80% of their efforts on the popular, mass-produced light and compact trucks. This leaves the heavy-duty field wide open for smaller companies, which thrive by tailor-making trucks ranging from $6,500 highway tractors to $75,000 giants that can haul 49 tons of iron ore. Although they account for only 13% of industry production, the big trucks bring in 34% of the money.

Considering the expense involved, truck buyers are a lot fussier about what they buy than car buyers, and they get results faster. Ford and Chevy offer 1,000 different variations, and almost every truck turns out to be custom-made. G.M.C. dutifully mixed batches of lavender paint until a florist customer was satisfied, and has bowed to truck owners' new efforts to keep drivers comfortable by putting in reading lamps over adjustable bunks in sleeper cabs. White's Autocar division recently put in a seat with 16 different adjustments that give the driver a choice of 3,450 different positions. One of Ford's finicky customers insisted on a pure white steering wheel to encourage his drivers to keep their hands clean.

Chilly Reception. Most of the customized treatment truckers demand, however, stems from the jobs their trucks must perform and their desire to keep maintenance costs down. Before placing an order for 160 International Harvester truck tractors, engineers of Charlotte's Johnson Motor Lines--one of the biggest U.S. truck fleets--tested two pilot models for a year, then asked for changes from windshield wipers to heaters. It was partly because Bell Telephone, the world's biggest commercial truck customer (8,800 purchased a year), wanted a Volkswagen-styled side-door compact truck that Ford and Chevy two years ago produced their copies of the Volkswagen compact. But for the most part, truck buyers give radical design changes a chilly reception, prefer gradual improvements on tried-and-tested trucks. As a result, the industry is moving away from the annual model changeover, stopping the assembly line at any time during the year to make mechanical improvements.

A distinct trend in the industry is toward ever bigger long-distance haulers; 20-ton giants and 42-wheel monsters are already at work. Yet, paradoxically, the days of the continent-spanning truckers may be running out because railroads are fighting back so successfully with their long-distance piggyback service, which last year took 500,000 highway trips away from trucks. The piggyback threat worries truck builders, but they see a bright side of it: there will always have to be truck tractors to deliver the trailers before and after their piggyback run.

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