Truck industry bracing for lean times.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra
• Position: Defense Insider

It's official: The Army must get rid of thousands of trucks and it will not buy as many in the future.

The Army's Training and Doctrine Command, along with the Combined Arms Support Command, wants to define more clearly what the Army of 2020 will need, said Maj. Gen. James L Hodge, commander of CASCOM's sustainment center of excellence.

"You can be sure that additional tactical wheeled vehicle reductions will be a part of those designs" he said.

The gloomy outlook for the truck fleet is the result of a perfect storm--two land wars ending, reductions in anticipated budget increases and a military-wide shift back to air and sea postures.

The bleak forecast has companies looking to international markets. Some executives say that...