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IP Why do people come to Commercial Motor Truckfest? As one tired but happy owner-driver confessed: "Transport's a lonely business...I come here to meet up with folks who see things the way I do."
Right now things don't look particularly rosy. During the past six months the high cost of diesel and YELI has continued to take its toll—and not just on smaller operators. Regular readers of CMwill have noticed some high-profile names among the roll-call of closures. The foot-andmouth crisis has inevitably had an effect with all the chassis manufacturers bowing out of this year's event.
But ironically the organisers, Live Promotions, report a record-breaking number of driver and operator entries for the various competitions. A spokesman says: "Physically we've had even more trucks this year and some of the old fleets who were with us at the beginning are back too."
Queues were building up at the gates by 011:30hrs on the Sunday, 30 minutes before they were due to open, and the spaces left by the manufacturers were filled with plenty of big fleets including City Trucks and Wm Morrison Supermarkets, winner of the Euroshell Lifetime Achievement Award. The big retailer follows in the footsteps of Eddie Stohart, James !dam and Pulleyn Transport; the judges were particularly impressed by its interest in alternative fuels and environmentally clean gas trucks.
Will the manufacturers return in 2002? According to Live Promotions' boss Colin Ward: "Without drivers there would be no show—and we get the drivers." Business was certainly brisk on the stand of CM'S sister monthly Truck & Driver.
But at the heart of Truckfest, as ever, were the drivers and operators who forgot about their troubles for 4B hours and headed to Peterborough, with fleets rolling in from as far away as Newquay in Cornwall to Ayrshire, Scotland. Foreign attendance was also up again, with some particularly striking bonneted beauties from Holland and Belgium.
Why do people come to Truckfest? Because when you get there somehow road transport doesn't seem such a lonely business. And right now road hauliers need all the friends they can get.