Tuesday, July 1, 2014

DIESEL Motorsports Mid-Year Report

Here we are at Mid-Year and people have been asking how is the diesel industry doing after last years EPA clamp-down?

After having a very successful Haisley Machine Thunder in Muncie I would say it has not effected the industry very much as far as fans, just as many competitors and even some new pulling trucks that were built over the winter.



I have talked to several diesel shops and they report being busier than ever with trucks lined up out side of their shops. This tells me that people are holding on to their older diesel trucks and not buying the new ones. Engine building is at it's highest right now for diesel blocks which is another indicator people are re-doing their older trucks and continue to use them for work and play.

What is hurting is some of the smaller .com businesses who relied on the bolt-on parts, many have failed to switch to engine performance parts to build more HP from the bottom up instead of bolting on to the outside. Face it though, the bolt-on parts eventually blew your engine up anyway!

You just can't bolt-on a part that increases your engine's HP to 800 when the OEM specs are for 400 HP - something is going to give and it was usually your engine, turbo, pump, etc.

So go back to what you were doing five years ago which was building stronger diesel engines and you will see sales coming in the door. The bolt-on parts are still essential in street trucks such as air intake, exhaust, lift pump, tuner, turbo and injectors. Just make sure your engine has strong internal components to handle the extra HP.

Manufacturers reported a brisk 1st quarter with a horrible May for sales which reflect in the National GDP for this last month, a 3% decrease which is the largest ever since the depression. That is why I have been pushing buy American made products in last month's Performance Business magazine and Engine Builder magazine. Be loyal to our manufacturers who hire the people who use your shop for repairs and maintenance.

As pickup truck owners keep their vehicles longer I think we will see more people switching to diesel because the engines last longer plus they are better at pulling trailers and loads. Even domestic autos have seen an increase of 39% for diesel autos since 2011, with more foreign diesels coming in along with the new Chevy diesel Cruze the numbers are only going to get larger.

Stick to business as usual, low overhead, heavy maintenance, upgrade and upgrade when possible, and buy/sell American products - steady work standards out weigh flash in any economy!

If you look at the pumps diesel is almost the same as gas, go figure since it takes less to refine diesel. People are more watchful of their dollars but they still don't mind paying for quality for their diesel trucks. 

I was encouraged by our last event and the next is showing an increase in interest already so I think the rest of the Summer will be okay when it comes to diesel trucks!

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