Truck Show Report: By Daniel J. Linss The Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) has drawn millions of industry professionals to the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, KY since 1972. We have been attending this massive event since 2003, and this year was the show’s 54th time bringing together friends and colleagues for three days (March 26-28, 2026) of strong networking, education, exhibits, and entertainment. The mission at MATS is simple: to unite the members of the vast trucking industry, forge new connections, optimize operations, and help companies and individuals stay ahead of the curve on the latest trucking technologies and industry shifts. And, of course, to have some fun, too! This year, 800 companies were there to showcase their latest products and services across over 1 million square feet of connected exhibit space – with that word “connected” being the most important here. In the past, there were three separate buildings filled with vendors and displays, but last year that changed when one of the buildings was closed and everyone that had previously been in there moved to the large (and connected) South Wing. Also last year, the show trucks moved from the back of the expo center to the front. Although it was a great change for the show, it was not too good for us, as our booth was no longer in a high traffic area. With that in mind, this year we requested to move our booth after being in the same space, in the back corner of the North Wing, for over 10 years. It was a hard decision because we really liked that space and everyone knew where to find us, but it had to be done. Thankfully, show management, as usual, was really good about it, and they found us an even better booth, in the same wing, and still along the back wall (which we like), but in a busier location. And it was great. We ended up in Booth #14269 in the North Wing, and were surrounded by several advertisers and friends like National Truck Parts (NTP), Lincoln Chrome, Lifetime Nut Covers, Grand General, and Lady Lines Pinstriping. Thank you to the show management team for making our move easy. Arriving on Tuesday afternoon, it was nice and warm, and we spent most of that day settling into our rental house and doing some shopping to stock it up. The early story from the show happened when Sands Repair & Chrome Shop rolled in from Royalton, MN with their truck on a trailer and their polished end dump on another trailer, completely shrink-wrapped, like you’d see when a yacht is being transported. That short video damn-near broke the internet! People were losing their minds, as this had never been seen or done before. As the rest of our team arrived on Wednesday, we spent most of the day setting up our booth, and then we walked around the show a bit, getting the lay of the land, and checking out what was parked on the PKY lot outside for the first time. Wednesday night is when the light show gets officially judged, but it is not an official event, so not many people are out there. Me and Jacob Gunderson, for the past several years, have gone out there and helped the show take pictures for the awards ceremony and, in the past, special show programs created for the competitors. Although they no longer do those special programs, they still need pictures of all the trucks competing in the light show categories. We were out there that night until about 10:30 PM taking pictures, so it was a long day, but it was a nice night. Come Thursday, it was time to get things going. The show opened at 10:00 AM with a special VIP early opening session, and then at 1:00 PM for the general public. It was a particularly busy Thursday compared to many past shows. Since the weather was super warm – like almost 90 degrees – it was a good day to go outside and get some pictures of trucks. The crowds are usually a little lighter on Thursday, as well, so it went great. And with close to 200 trucks on the lot, competing for trophies, prize money, and bragging rights, there was a lot to see and shoot. Walking around the show floor on Thursday afternoon, there were tons of cool rides, parked in booths and such, inside the show, including the one that is featured on our cover this month. David Pitre’s white 2002 Peterbilt 379 with a 105” Double Eagle sleeper was looking mighty fine in the Intercity Lines Inc. booth and caught many of our eyes. Another booth that had some cool trucks in it was the Kenworth booth – which featured, among other things, two nearly matching white W900L trucks with the 20 10-4 Magazine / May 2026 AHEAD OF THE CURVE
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