The trend over the past two decades towards deeper, long distance runs into the US combined with the need to attract and retain drivers and owner/operators has had an impact on equipment spec’ing practices. Canadian fleets have been tending towards larger, more comfortable cabs. Our latest Equipment Buying Trends Survey, conducted this summer in partnership with more than a dozen industry suppliers, polled both carriers and owner/operators about their spec’ing practices when it comes to cabs.

The survey found that 61″-70″ cabs are the predominant spec’ among both carriers and owner/operators, comprising 36% of both samples. Fleets and owner/operators also appear to agree on their dislike for the smallest cab size. But there are differences in cab spec’ing preferences between owner/operators and fleets. The 43-60″ cab size is the second most popular spec’ among fleets, making up almost a third of fleet- controlled trucks in our survey. That cab size is a popular spec’ among owner/ operators as well, with a quarter of them reporting that as their predominant cab size. However, another quarter of owner/operators are running cabs larger than 70″, compared to less than a fifth of fleets doing so.

What’s interesting about the move to larger cab sizes is that since 2003 domestic, intra-provincial hauls have been growing faster than the longer transborder hauls. Will this bring about a reversal of the move to larger cab sizes?