LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The NATSO Show, being held here Feb. 17-21 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, will feature several new educational programs for truck stop and travel plaza leaders.

 

One highlight, according to Tiffany Wlazlowski, senior director of public affairs, will be a two-hour session by Ryan Carmichael and Robert Duronio of Frost and Sullivan, who will be presenting an executive summary of the 2011 Truckstop and Travel Plaza Trends and Forecast.

 

Frost and Sullivan is a world class research firm with deep experience in the transportation industries. The Report will cover all aspects of a truck stop’s business -- c-store trends, diesel, gasoline, truck repair, restaurant, fast food, truck and trucker equipment and personal services. The report will also cover the outside influences that will affect the industry such as fuel prices and supply, demand, customer buying trends, the projected amounts of truck traffic, automotive travelers, RVs and buses, potential for changing truck weight limits and changes to the highway act that could enable states to commercialize rest stops. Designed to provide a 360-degree view of the major industry competitive forces and influences from an opportunities and threats perspective, the report will include clear recommendations for each truck stop owner to consider when making their business plans for the next 12 to 36 months.

 

The McLane/NATSO Index will be introduced at the Show. The Indices will be based on the average sales dollar volume that McLane makes to a truck stop convenience store each week. The first index will be for Q4 2010 and will compare 2009 wholesale sales with Q4 2010 and for the entire year. It will include 14 category breakdowns such as cigarettes, hot dispensed drinks, cold dispensed drinks, health and beauty, salty snacks, candy, etc. and also show national and regional figures allowing truck stops to start to establish some benchmarks for sales and see the growth that is occurring in different areas of their competitors businesses. NATSO will be producing a narrative along with the spreadsheets to show the highlights in the data. Going forward McLane and NATSO will be producing the Index each quarter.

 

These two new programs represent the cornerstones in NATSO’s efforts to supply key statistical and industry reports that will help the industry, trucking and motoring public customers and suppliers with insights into the size, scope, industry health and new trends in the truck stop industry, according to Wlazlowski.

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