trucks world news

TRUCKS SALES * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - The Nigerian beverage logistics company Nnabugwu Transport Ltd. and 50 Inca-yellow Mercedes-Benz Actros 2031 S semitrailer trucks

Sttugart,Germany -Tachoblog -26 Nov 2009: -- So hearing that another 50 Inca-yellow Mercedes-Benz Actros 2031 S semitrailer trucks have been handed over to the owners of the Nigerian beverage logistics company Nnabugwu Transport Ltd. in the Mercedes-Benz truck plant in Wörth meant a post had to happen... The transport company Nnabugwu Transport Ltd is based in Enugu in south-east Nigeria and is the main forwarding agent for Nigerian Breweries Plc., a Heineken group company, which operates the largest and most state-of-the-art brewery in all of Africa, located near Enugu... The key distributors are selected carefully to ensure that the beverages can be shipped reliably throughout Nigeria... The leading Nigerian brewery group Nigerian Breweries Plc. has formed a partnership with the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to work towards safe road use in Nigeria in cooperation with its forwarding agents – with Nnabugwu Transport Ltd right up front. This will be achieved partly by ensuring that the fleet is always based on the latest technology and is optimally serviced. With Daimler’s Fleetboard telematics system, the condition and location of the truck fleet can be called up at all times... (Photo: Merceds Actors Nnabugwu Transport)

* UK - Get Fresh and Isuzu Truck

Bicester,UK -Tachoblog -26 Nov 2009: ... Fresh Direct’s latest vehicle order, Isuzu Truck UK successfully clinched the deal for 20 new vehicles with an all-round package... The order for 20 new Isuzu N75.190 7.5t rigid trucks, all fitted with the popular Easyshift transmission, represents a move by Fresh Direct to the Isuzu marque for the first time as they were impressed by Isuzu’s overall approach to their specific vehicle requirements... With the combination of the Isuzu 7.5t chassis cab, the single compartment RVL refrigerated body and the Carrier Transicold Xarios refrigeration system, Fresh Direct are achieving a 3 tonne payload with these new trucks, which represents a significant improvement over their predecessors... (Photo: Isuzu Truck Fresh Direct)

Labels: trucks sales

TRUCKS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Moving A Tree By Truck

tree truck. from palaisdementhe on Vimeo.

Australia -Video from eTruck.com -25 Nov 2009: -- So, if you have a 37 tonne Boab tree that you want moved, here’s how you shift it by road... !!!

* Sweden - Rubbish Disposal Powers Mercedes Econic Rubbish Collection

Stockholm,Sweden -Tachoblog -26 Nov 2009: -- The Mercedes-Benz Econic NGT is an environmentally friendly vehicle designed specifically for municipal operations, rubbish collection, and short-range distribution. Thanks to its low-emission drive system it helps to keep inner cities clean and quiet... Operation with biogas is particularly environmentally friendly, because it is CO2-neutral... The biogas used is obtained primarily from sewage sludge disposal systems, although garbage disposal facilities also now serve as a source. The Econic thus costs nearly nothing to drive. In any case, it is completely independent from petroleum, and thus free of the associated emissions and costs. The biogas used is collected in large containers that are then hooked up to gas pumps at filling stations...

The Mercedes-Benz Econic’s natural gas drive makes the vehicle’s emissions lower than those allowed by the EEV standard, currently the most stringent in the world. Its engine produces neither CO2 nor particulates and is also extremely quiet. The M 906 LAG natural gas engine generates 205 kW (279 hp) from a displacement of 6.88 liters. Power is transferred by a six-speed automatic transmission... EEV stands for ‘Enhanced Environmentally friendly Vehicle’. (Photo: Mercedes Econic NGT 1)

* Germany - Beer And A Volkswagen T1 Splittie

Wolfsburg,Germany -Tachoblog -25 Nov 2009: -- In November and December, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is celebrating two significant anniversaries at the AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg, Germany... It’s 60 years since Heinrich Nordhoff presented the first prototype Transporter van to the press, and 30 years since the third generation Transporter was launched... Both anniversaries come at a time when Volkswagen is preparing to celebrate the launch of the latest versions of the Transporter van and today’s people carrier and camping derivatives, the Caravelle and California, in the new year... The first generation of Transporter prototype, a Dove Blue panel van, is on show, together with memorabilia from all generations of Transporter. del range. Only in 1984 was the engine changed for a water-cooled unit... The Transporter is Volkswagen’s best-selling model in the UK and worldwide. Over one million of the current model have been sold since introduction in 2003, making a total of over 10 million since production started in March 1950... (Photo: VW T1 Splittie Becks: For more information on the exhibition you can visit http://automuseum.volkswagen.de/veranstaltungen.html)

Labels: trucks news

STRIKE * Canada - Teamsters hands CN strike notice

Montreal,QUE,CAN -Canadian Transport & Logistics -25 Nov 2009: -- CN Rail has received a 72-hour strike notice from the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) of its plan to strike the company at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 28... CN said the TCRC's decision is unfortunate because a strike is in no one's interest – not the locomotive engineers, CN's other employees, its customers or the Canadian economy... CN is urging the TCRC to resume negotiations immediately to reach a settlement. If that is not possible, CN believes the union should agree to submit issues in dispute to binding arbitration before the Nov. 28 strike deadline...

Labels: strikes

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* California - Port drayage enforcement extension isn’t for all truck owners

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -November 25, 2009: -- The California Air Resources Board will begin to enforce its restrictive port drayage rule on tens of thousands of trucks beginning on New Year’s Day, including interstate trucks that enter certain California ports and rail yards... Trucks approved for state-funded grants that have been frozen in the wake of the state’s budget crisis, however, will be exempt... On Jan. 1, 2010, CARB’s port drayage rule bans trucks with 1993 model year engines and older from entering California ports. Trucks with 1994 through 2003 model year engines must be retrofitted with particulate filters that eliminate 85 percent of diesel particulate matter... CARB recently announced it was extending the enforcement date until April 30, 2010, for a “limited subset” of drayage trucks, including trucks that are scheduled to be replaced by port and state grant monies. The agency said the postponed enforcement is needed because “delays in the availability of expected state bond funds” have slowed grant awards... (Picture from arb.ca.gov: images porttruck)

* Indiana - Trucking conditions slowly improving in US

Nashville,IND,USA -Canadian Trnsportation & Logistics (CAN) -17 Nov 2009: -- Trucking conditions in the US are improving, but still remain below ‘neutral,’ according to the latest Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) by FTR Associates... The industry forecaster provides a monthly index of overall industry health based on five key trucking industry statistics. A neutral reading is zero... In October, the FTR index read -16.4, marking the highest reading since November 2008 and the third consecutive month of gains, however still anchored in negative territory... (Photo from orange trucking)

Labels: trucking industry news USA

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Briefing Weekly News

from Freight Forwarding

* A solid quarter sees CEVA considering growth
- John Pattullo, CEO of CEVA, has spoken to Transport Intelligence following the release of interim figures which show signs of recovery in the freight forwarding business and increased financial stability. Read Full Brief Here

* Panalpina announces wins in the Oil & Gas industry
- Panalpina has been awarded new business from two major global players in the Oil & Gas industry. Read Full News Here

* CEVA certified by TAPA in Thailand
- CEVA Logistics has announced that it has been certified by the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) for its Finished Goods Hub in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Read Full News Here

* Oil equipment manufacturer selects Kuehne + Nagel
- Weatherford International Ltd has awarded Kuehne + Nagel a two-year contract to manage its North American export activities. Read Full News Here

from Contract Logistics

* DHL expands its Oil & Energy operations in Singapore
- DHL has unveiled its global strategy to expand its service offerings and infrastructure for the global Oil and Energy logistics industry. Read Full News Here

* CEVA wins contract with Retailcorp
- CEVA Logistics has signed a one year agreement with Retailcorp Brands South Africa. Read Full News Here

* DHL wins contract extension for Heathrow Consolidation Centre
- London’s Heathrow Airport has extended its contract with DHL Supply Chain for the operation of the Heathrow Consolidation Centre (HCC) Read Full News Here

from Express & Mail

* USPS records $3.8 billion loss
- The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has filed its 2009 fiscal year-end financial results, showing a net loss of $3.8 billion for the year. Read Full News Here

* UPS gives details of expected holiday volumes
- UPS has stated that it believes Monday, Dec. 21, will be its busiest day of the year when it anticipates delivering approximately 22 million packages worldwide. Read Full News Here

from Road Freight

* Volvo truck deliveries down 41%
- Total deliveries from the Volvo Group’s truck operations in October amounted to 13,050 vehicles, down 41% on last year. Read Full News Here

* ABX Air Pilots ratify bargaining agreement
- ABX Air, DHL’s main air carrier in the US, has announced that its employees have voted in favour of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Read Full News Here

from Warehousing

* Gazeley to construct new facilities in Germany and Italy
- Warehouse property developer Gazeley has announced that construction has started on two key developments in Europe. Read Full News Here

* ProLogis develops distribution centre leading retailer in California
- ProLogis has announced that it will develop a new, 667,000-square-foot distribution facility in Southern California for one of the world's largest home improvement specialty retailers. Read Full News Here

from Shipping/Ports

* Ports stays profitable despite falling volumes
- In stark contrast to container shipping, ports and container terminals remain profitable despite the recession in the container sector. Read Full Brief Here

* Port of Los Angeles reports strongest volumes this year
- Containers shipped through the Port of Los Angeles in October increased 10.9% compared to September. Read Full News Here

* The New World Alliance announces capacity reduction
- APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) have announced service and capacity changes effective in early 2010. Read Full News Here

* APM Terminals boss says “customers bleeding”
- APM Terminals Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christian Moller Laursen has made a speech emphasizing the “new reality” of global container transportation Read Full News Here

from Intermodal

* Wincanton and Malcolm’s Logistics launch intermodal service
- UK logistics companies Wincanton and Malcolm’s Logistics created a UK rail freight solution for drinks manufacturer, Britvic. Read Full News Here

(Picture from joc.com: CN red pass bc)

Labels: transport and logistics news

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Russia - Daimler may buy further 15 percent of Kamaz

Moscow,Russia -Reuters, by Gleb Stolyarov -Nov 24, 2009: -- Daimler may raise its stake in truckmaker Kamaz to 25 percent, sources familiar with the matter said, in a move that would ramp up the German carmaker's influence on Russia's vast autos market... Daimler, which already holds 10 percent of Kamaz, may buy an additional 15 percent from Troika Dialog if it can agree a price with the Moscow investment bank, the sources told Reuters on Tuesday... Analysts have said greater involvement from Daimler would boost Kamaz' performance and save Russia's largest truckmaker from relying on state help... Kamaz employs just under 60,000 people and is based in Naberezhnye Chelny, Central Russia. It sold around 45,000 vehicles in 2008 and aims to sell 25-28,000 this year...

* Europe - Oct. Heavy Commercial Vehicle Sales Plunge: ACEA

New York,NY,USA -RTTNews/FOREX TV -25 Nov 2009: -- Registrations in the European heavy truck segment plunged 56.8% annually in October, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association reported Wednesday. The decline in Western Europe was 55.4% and that in new EU Member States was 65.1%... Ten months into the year, new registrations of heavy trucks totaled 145,833 units, down 47.7% from the same period last year. According to ACEA, Germany remained the largest market despite a 41.8% drop, closely followed by France with 40.6% fall... Further, the association said new commercial vehicle registrations in Europe declined for eighteenth month in a row in October. Registration decreased 30.7% in October from the previous year and declined 35.3% during January to October...

* Australia - Tough trucking task

Australia -etruck -November 26, 2009: -- It can be hard working in the trucking industry and today etruck is getting a taste of reality for truckies in the city. Today’s test drive is of a Fuso Canter with a 6 speed auto box around the mean streets of the Gold Coast... This truck is easy to drive and it has enough power and torque to get the job done safely and swiftly. Another vast improvement has occured in steering both in terms of power assist and turning circle...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

Deadly Driving Distractions * USA - Include More Than Texting

Over 37K lives are tragically lost each year on US roads

Washington,DC,USA -PRNewswire/Automotive Digest -November 20, 2009: -- Distractions can cut reaction time in half w/ vehicle still moving toward crash... Driver fatigue leads to driver inattentiveness and 100K crashes/yr... Phone conversations, even hands free, or daydreaming take attention from road... Adjusting radio or MP3 player demands attention... Lazy lane changes w/o checking over both shoulders lead to crashes... Texting is just latest in long line of distractions that are having deadly consequences...

Labels: fatal accidents

Road Tax * Holland - Changing to Discourage Driving

Traffic jams are a constant problem in the Netherlands

La Halle,The Netherlands -NRC Handelsblad/Automotive Digest - November 16, 2009: -- Dutch plan aimed at eliminating chronic traffic jams and cutting carbon emissions. Dutch currently paying annual road tax which will be abolished. Currently paying 600 euros per year for a mid-sized car. Will pay few cents instead for every kilometer on the road... New car prices will drop about 25% in 2012 w/ abolition of purchase and road tax... Singapore has similar scheme for charging according to amount of travel. London created congestion charges to control traffic in downtown areas only... (Photo from i39.tinypic: A28 near Zwolle during a traffic jam)

Labels: road taxes

Engine Ecology * USA - "Making your engine run greener"

Modifications enforcing a cleaner burn inside the engine. The result is a reduced carbon footprint exiting your engine

Glendale,CA,USA -Engine Ecology (PR), by Dan Renner -18 Nov 2009: ... Engine Ecology brings about greenhouse gas pollution reduction very simply with our engine air intake system modifications... Burn more fuel inside of your engine rather than spitting it out of your exhaust with Engine Ecology's modifications to your engines air intake system. This creates:

* Less unburned fuel particles exiting the engine
* A reduced carbon footprint
* A cleaner burning engine
* A more powerful engine

"We simply make your engine burn its fuel more completely"... Better performance is simple if your engine sends 1/4 ounce of fuel into a cylinder to burn, but only 3/4 of that burns -- and it has to burn for you to get power, are you getting the performance you are already paying for? Right! ... Better mileage is a normal side effect of Engine Ecology's modifications to your engine air intake system, however, we will not state any results regarding this to you due to the wide variety of engine and vehicle sizes and condition that can effect these numbers. We will state that the most dramatic mileage result we have had reported to us was with a turbo-diesel engine... (Photo from ironmax: Mitsubishi's Dry Cargo-Delivery)

* This it's one test - Thanks to Dan Renner, Founder Engine Ecology

Hello Santiago: I would like to tell you that we are now undergoing testing of our product in the Philippines on diesel-engined trucks from Mitsubishi delivery vans to Isuzu tractor-heads with 10PD & 10PE V10 engines... All drivers with our unit installed stated that they have more power and better acceleration... The owner of the company has impeccable records for maintenance, fuel and emissions on all of his trucks for the last 3 years... We expect to run the test for 2 months before gathering data for comparison and final reports... I will let you know when the results are tabulated if you wish... Cheers !!! ( Photo from dodongflores.multiply: A Isuzu Water Tanker Truck in Philippines)

Labels: green trucks

Trucking Markets * Australia - Last straw for container transport industry

After a number of weeks of problems, the situation at the port reached a crisis point over the weekend, with in temperatures hovering around 38.5 degrees

Sydney,NSW,Australia -Transport & Logistics -25 Nov 2009: -- New South Wales’ peak trucking industry body, ATA NSW has urged the State Government to act on landside reforms at Port Botany, following another week of delays at DP World’s terminal... Chair of ATA NSW’s Container Section Sub-Committee, Mike Moylan, said the weekend’s situation was the final straw for the trucking industry... Despite several requests, the stevedores refused to make today a storage-free day because of the maritime union’s stop-work meeting, which stopped all deliveries for hours this afternoon... But just to add insult to injury, after bringing the matter up last week of storage applying today with the MUA stoppage... (Photo by Greg Wood/AFP, from abc.net.au: The TWU wants Patrick to set up facilities for waiting truck drivers to offload their deliveries)

* Germany - DHL Eyes Sale of French Parcel Business

Francfurt,Germany -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Nov 24, 2009: -- Unit to lose $90 million in 2009; two French groups seen as likely buyers... Deutsche Post DHL, the global mail and logistics company, is seeking to sell its loss-making French parcel delivery business... The parcel unit, which employs around 3,500 of DHL's 14,000 strong French payroll, is expected to book an operating loss of around $90 million this year on revenue of $525 million... Unions, which revealed DHL's plans, said a sale likely will result in 1,000 to 1,500 job losses and could have a negative effect on the German company's other operations in France, including express and freight transport... Mory Groupe, a leading French logistics company with 7,000 employees and 2008 revenue of $1.35 billion, and Caravelle, a Paris-based private investment group, have emerged as the most likely buyers for the business...

Labels: trucking markets worldwide

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - YRC Sells Contract Carriage Business to Greatwide Logistics

Overland Park,Kansas,USA -Transport Topics -24 Nov 2009: -- YRC Worldwide said Tuesday it sold its dedicated contract carriage business to Greatwide Logistics Services for $34 million... The transaction includes customer contracts, trucks, trailers and about 600 employees, all of which were part of the contract carriage unit within the YRC Logistics segment, YRC said... YRC said its clients have been “very supportive” of the sale and that Greatwide is working with YRC to simplify the transition for the employees involved... YRC will use the money from the purchase to pay down its revolving credit facility...

* Kansas - Jim Palmer Trucking sold to Chicago businessmen; company emerges from bankruptcy

Missoula,MT,USA -The Missoulian, by BETSY COHEN -November 24, 2009: -- Jim Palmer Trucking, a Missoula-based national trucking company that has been fighting its way out of bankruptcy, has been sold to a pair of Chicago-based businessmen with plans to expand the company... On Monday, the new owners were at work in the company’s headquarters on Derby Drive near the Wye interchange... The company’s new owners are Milan Kangrga, 53, and Blazo Gjorev, 31 – who are American residents originally from Croatia. The men currently operate a small flatbed truck service out of the Chicago area and are partners in other businesses, but did not elaborate on the nature of those businesses... (Photo by hopewalk1.files.wordpress)

Labels: trucking industry news USA

Ignition Interlocks * USA - Days numbered on New Jersey bill mandating

Trenton,NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 23, 2009: -- As state lawmakers put on a final push in New Jersey to approve bills before the regular session ends in about seven weeks, an effort to toughen the penalty for driving under the influence could draw consideration... Awaiting clearance to the Assembly floor for a vote, one bill is intended to increase the use of ignition interlock devices for drunken drivers. The measure was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee during the spring but has since remained in the Appropriations Committee... Interlocks are hooked up to the ignition of vehicles. Once such a device is installed, a driver must blow into a mouthpiece, which measures the amount of alcohol on a person’s breath. If the driver blows clean, the car will then start; if not, it won’t budge... (Photo from fashion-res: Ignition Interlock)

Labels: ignition interlocks

Security * USA - Expert warns of smuggling via prescreened trucks

Austin,Texas,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Reed Black -November 23, 2009: -- Prescreened Mexican trucks account for 6 percent of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism traffic, but account for half of all the security violations. One homeland security analyst says that the CT-PAT program that expedites Mexican border crossings for prescreened companies and drivers is being exploited by drug traffickers... David McIntyre, director of Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M University, says drug trafficking, illegal immigration and Mexican border gang violence are just symptoms of a bigger problem. He is quoted in an Associated Press story on Monday that says drug gangs are sometimes targeting the prescreened trucks, then intimidating or bribing the drivers and loading the trailers with tons of marijuana... He told OOIDA’s radio show, Land Line Now on Sirius-XM,that that problem is corruption...

* New Jersey - Bill seeks help of truckers in reporting suspicious activity

Trenton,NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 24, 2009: ... A bill awaiting a floor vote before the full Senate would make an exception from the state’s cell phone law for truck drivers to assist in national security efforts. Assembly lawmakers already approved a similar version... However, with a little more than six weeks remaining in the legislative session, time is running out for the bill to advance to the governor’s desk, which would exempt the use of CBs and two-way radios from the state’s ban on hand-held communication devices while behind the wheel. They could be used by truck drivers to assist law enforcement efforts and communicate vital information while on the job. Operators of emergency vehicles also would be granted special privilege... (Photo from pfpa.mil: background suspicious)

Labels: border security

The Edge Of The Road * USA - Critics Say Roads Still Dangerous Despite Safer Design

Traffic fatalities hit a 40-year low last year, partly due to the recession — less money can mean fewer trips — and safer cars

Washington,DC,USA -NPR, by Brian Naylor -November 24, 2009: ... Better-designed highways also played a role in reducing those road fatalities. Straightforward safety improvements such as rumble strips warn drivers that they are running onto the shoulder. Caps on the ends of roadside guard rails prevent cars from running up on them and vaulting into the air. Cable guard rails, installed on many divided highways, keep cars from crossing medians... Safety advocates say that despite all the improvements, however, the road is still a dangerous place... Gerald Donaldson, senior research director for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, says that leaving the Interstate Highway System increases the chances for accidents because "you get down to some undivided four-lane highways and two-lane two-way rural roads," which often means narrow lanes and severe curves... According to Donaldson, a two-lane rural road is six to eight times more dangerous than an interstate... (Photo by Brian Naylor/NPR - This simulator at Virginia Tech's Center for Automotive Safety Research allows engineers to test how drivers will react to changes in the road such as road signs or different pavement markings)

Labels: infra...structures?..

TRUCKERS' CLAIM * Australia - Carriers fed up by Port Botany delays 'crisis'

Port Botany,Australia -ATN -24 Nov 2009: -- BOTANY BLUES: Tensions between truckers and stevedores heat up another another week of delays

Labels: truckers' complain

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* USA - How The Trucking Industry Reproduces

Salisbury,MF,USA -SBYNews, by Joe Albero -November 23, 2009: ... I always wondered where new trucks came from, now we know... But see the comments:

1) Anonymous said... TRUCKS HAVING SEX (REPRODUCING)

2) BackinBerlin said... This can't be right, those trucks have no driveSHAFTS!

3) Anonymous said... haha joe these freightliners are brand new and this is how they transport them to the freightliner dealer. these went to barr freightliner this morning then they call us (simpsons towing) to undeck them.

* Serbia - FAP and China’s Dongfeng sign deal to manufacture trucks

Belgrade,Serbia -Balkans Business News, by Marko Subotic -23 Nov 2009: -- Truck maker FAP and China's Dongfeng motors signed a business cooperation pact for the production of heavy-duty trucks, which could lead to privatization of the Serbian company... Cooperation could lead either to the privatization of FAP or creation of a joint venture. The Serbian government has expressed a willingness to help, Stojovic added... Under the initial agreement, the two companies will begin manufacturing and technical cooperation that will eventually lead to assembly by FAP of four of the Chinese company’s “Dongfeng” truck models, Dinkic told Novosti... (Photo from chinatruck: Dongfeng products)

* Japan - Hino to Build 3 Bln Yen Truck Factory in Indonesia

Tokyo,Japan -Bloomberg, by Makiko Kitamura -Nov. 23, 2009: -- Hino Motors Ltd., Japan’s biggest maker of heavy-duty trucks, is building its largest overseas factory in Indonesia to meet rising demand in Southeast Asia, the Nikkei newspaper reported... The company, 50 percent owned by Toyota Motor Corp., will spend 3 billion yen ($34 million) on the plant to produce 25,000 compact trucks a year in West Java, Nikkei said, without saying where it obtained the information... Hino may eventually export the trucks to other countries in the region, the newspaper said...

* UAE - Mitsubishi Fuso expanding into international markets with hybrid trucks

Oman,UAE -AME Info -November 23, 2009: -- Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, announced that it is expanding its business with hybrid trucks into international markets worldwide... MFTBC now delivers on its first commercial orders for Canter Eco Hybrid light-duty trucks to customers in Ireland and Australia. In Europe, these will represent the first commercially sold series-production hybrid trucks by any manufacturer... In addition, MFTBC announced it will begin regular sales of hybrid trucks in targeted export markets in 2010...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

STRIKE * Canada - DriveTest strikers protest during commercial road tests

Caledonia,ONT,CAN -Truck News -19 Nov 2009: -- Yesterday morning, Serco driver examiners, lead by United Steelworkers Union 9511 president Jim Young, protested at KRTS Transportation Specialists headquarters to oppose Serco management conducting road tests on site... The drivers being tested yesterday were clients of KRTS and have been waiting for up to 12 weeks for tests. Examiners were not testing the general public... The strike is entering its 13th week and it is estimated to have affected 300,000 people in the province... (Photo: About 50 strikers arrived at KRTS headquarters just after 8 a.m. to protest Serco management testing commercial drivers on site)

Labels: strikes and protests

e-LOGS * Canada - Wheels Logistics achieves cost savings with

Electronic logs have proven to be a hit with Wheels Logistics

Mississauga,ONT,CAN -Truck News -20 Nov 2009: ... The company says it began using Shaw Tracking’s Automated Hours-of-Service application in August and is reaping some tangible benefits... “We have been running live with automated Hours-of-Service since August. Our drivers are no longer required to fill out paper logs; it is all automatically recorded based on when the vehicle is in motion. We have been able to re-deploy two full-time positions since we have gone electronic. We no longer have to follow up with drivers on missing or incomplete paperwork and do not have to scan all the hard copies that came in. All of that has gone away,” said D.J. Massicotte, vice-president and general manager, Wheels Logistics... “Our dispatch team is also more effective without having to call drivers and see how many hours they have available,” Massicotte added. “They are able to proactively check drivers’ hours and dispatch accordingly. We are also able to coordinate with our customers more accurate ETA’s and ensure that our drivers are unloaded upon arrival. We now have that type of granular visibility”... Massicotte also said the company realized savings by eliminating the purchase of paper logbooks...

Labels: e-logs

TRUCK PARKING * Canada - Drivers asked to weigh on

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Truck News -23 Nov 2009: -- It’s no secret among professional drivers that there are too few places for truckers to stop for rest. Now it appears the situation is on the radar of some influential decision-makers... The Owner-Operator Business Association of Canada (OBAC) is asking all drivers and owner/operators to complete a Transport Canada survey that will be used to help identify the scope of the problem and maybe even influence future funding...

Labels: trucks' parking shortage

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Clean Diesel Requests Due Dec. 8, EPA Says

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -23 Nov 2009: -- Requests for funding related to the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act will be accepted until Dec. 8, the Environmental Protection Agency said... The requests for proposals under the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Funding Assistance Program and SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program will close at 4 p.m. on Dec. 8, EPA said... The programs give grants to implement idle reduction technologies, aerodynamic technologies, low-rolling resistance tires and retrofit technologies that reduce diesel emissions...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

OVER-CHARGING * Kuwait - Agility faces investigation by US Department of Justice

Kuwait -Transport Intelligence, by Thomas Cullen -23 Nov 2009: -- Agility's ascent into the top tier of global logistics companies has been remarkably smooth as well as fast. However the Kuwaiti-based company may have hit its first obstacle as it is sucked into the investigations around alleged over-charging in American military contracts – allegations which it vehemently denies... The United States armed forces have become key customers for Agility... What is more immediately of concern is the suspension of new business with the US Department of Defence that has been applied to the company whilst the cases are going through the courts. Agility has been very successful in winning business for logistics for the US military in both Iraq and Afghanistan... The problem of these allegations should not be exaggerated. Many large corporations have to face these issues at some stage. However they will test the diplomatic ability of the company's Chairman, Tarek Sultan, if Agility is to retain its strategic direction...

Labels: investigations

Key to Trucking Industry * USA - Profits Under New 'Hours-of-Service' Rules

White Paper Reveals: "Carriers must get a handle on their costs of operation if they are to successfully adapt to industry changes"...

Columbus,OH,USA -TRINCON GROUP, by Cheryl Claypoole/Unit 02 (China) -22 Nov 2009: -- As the clock ticks down to January 4, when the Department of Transportation's new 'hours-of-service' rules go into effect, long-haul carriers are bracing for impact... Although designed to improve highway safety by reducing fatigue-related crashes, the rules are expected to drive up carrier costs and, as a result, increase shipping costs... In the white paper, Duff Swain, president of transportation consultants the TRINCON GROUP, offers a comprehensive solution to the 'hours-of-service' problems that will force more carriers to consolidate or go out of business. He outlines options for increasing productivity, such as decreasing loading and waiting time and using drop-and-hook operations... The stakes are high. According to a DOT press release, a one-percent change in shipping costs has a $98 billion impact on the economy... "In a capital-intensive industry like trucking, it is imperative to make efficient use of equipment," he said... Accelerated depreciation allows a carrier to write off trucks over three years. The average truck has a warranty life of 700,000 miles and a useful life of 1 million miles. To maximize profitability, carriers should find ways to drive trucks at least 700,000 miles in three years. You cannot do that with a one-driver-per-truck operating philosophy"... He noted that an average driver turnover of 100 percent each year continued to aggravate a shortage of licensed truck drivers. "The new rules make efficient use of labor even more critical," he said...

Labels: USA and Canada TI profits and revenues

NOT SO CLEAR AIR INSIDE * USA - The air board’s shame

Staff never revealed internal scandal before crucial vote

Sacramento,CAL,USA -The San Diego Union Tribune -November 22, 2009: -- On Dec. 12, 2008, the California Air Resources Board unanimously approved groundbreaking new rules governing diesel emissions. Members rejected complaints from the trucking industry about their heavy cost and from some academics who said CARB grossly exaggerated the health risk posed by the emissions... Soon afterward, a Union-Tribune editorial writer confirmed allegations that Hien T. Tran – the lead scientist and coordinator of the study used to justify the stringent new diesel regulations – had lied about holding a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California Davis. Instead, it turned out, Tran had a mail-order Ph.D. sent to him from a “university” based at a mailbox at a UPS office in New York City – and that senior air board officials knew this before the Dec. 12 vote... Incredibly enough, air board Chairwoman, Mary Nichols, has pretended this is a minor problem... Tran wasn’t even fired, just demoted... This is not how a reputable government agency should behave. This is shameful... And at long last, someone with authority within the air board has finally figured this out... On Nov. 16, Dr. John G. Telles, a Fresno cardiologist appointed to the air board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in April 2008, wrote a letter to Ellen Peters, the air board’s chief counsel, in which he said the air board’s staff failed to meet its “ethical if not legal obligation” to provide all board members with pertinent information before a vote on a state regulation... Telles had never heard about Tran’s deception until a Sept. 24 air board meeting in Diamond Bar, when it was raised during public testimony about the harsh toll the diesel rules threatened to have on businesses whose trucks and off-road vehicles have to be scrapped or retrofitted at great cost... We could not agree more. Mary Nichols’ handling of this matter has been indefensible and outrageous... Will other air board members figure this out, too? Will the governor, whose office was informed about Tran’s deception last December?...

Labels: bureaucratic affairs

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Highways to Hell

Avalanche danger, gridlock and good old-fashioned road rage make these the 10 most treacherous, traffic-clogged roads in America

Atlanta,GA,USA -MSN Autos, by Claire Martin -13 Nov 2009: -- Road conditions vary from city to city, but here are some universal facts: 169,278 hours and 120,127 gallons of gas are wasted by Americans in traffic each year; 81 percent of fatal car accidents happen on rural roads; and 32 percent of traffic fatalities involve drunk drivers. For commuters, traffic is invariably worst on Fridays from 5 to 6 pm and best on Mondays. With all of that said, here are the 10 trickiest pieces of pavement to negotiate in the nation. Avoid at all costs.

Los Angeles 101 to I-405 Interchange

Colorado Highway 550

Atlanta I-285 at I-85 Interchange

San Diego I-5

Chicago Circle Interchange

Maine Highway 1

New York, I-95, Cross-Bronx Expressway

Nevada I-15

Providence, Rhode Island, I-95 at the I-195 Interchange

Louisiana, I-10

Labels: infrastructures

Study * USA - Class 8 Truck Fuel Consumption Could Be Reduced by up to 50% by 2017

Using Existing and Emerging Technologies; Current Payback Requirements Could Forestall Implementation

Washington,DC,USA - Green Car Congress -20 November 2009: -- A new study released today by the Northeast States Center for a Clean Air Future (NESCCAF) and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that fuel consumption of Class 8 trucks and the resultant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced up to 50% with the adoption of current and developing technologies and new operational measures by 2017... However, the study also concluded that given the current short payback period for investment demanded by the trucking industry, a number of the technologies that could enable such savings would not be adopted, absent regulation or a longer payback period... A total of 32 technologies and operational measures were identified and considered for inclusion. The technologies examined fell into five primary categories:

1. off-the-shelf aerodynamic improvement technologies;
2. off-the-shelf drivetrain technologies;
3. emerging drivetrain technologies;
4. emerging aerodynamic improvement technologies; and
5. operational measures.

Labels: green news

TRUCKERS' CLAIM * USA - OOIDA sues Minnesota over CMV enforcement

OOIDA claims that’s because the state had no authority to enforce federal regulations

Saint Paul,MINN,USA -Land Line Magazine -Nov. 20, 2009: -- More than six years’ worth of citations and out-of-service orders issued to truckers by the Minnesota Highway Patrol aren’t worth the paper they were written on, according to a lawsuit filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association... The Association and five members have filed a lawsuit seeking refunds of fines and penalties associated with citations involving motor carrier safety regulations, handed down by the Minnesota State Patrol. The lawsuit, seeking class-action status, was filed Friday, Nov. 20, with the Minnesota District Court for the Fourth Judicial District... In documents obtained by OOIDA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration determined in April 2008 that the federal regulations governing truckers and the trucking industry were not adopted into Minnesota state law... The state of Minnesota did finally adopt the federal regs Aug. 1... However, citations and out-of-service orders issued before Aug. 1, denied truckers and motor carriers alike their right to due process, the lawsuit claims... The state’s enforcement procedures – which lead to arbitrary determinations of driver fatigue – are challenged in the lawsuit on constitutional grounds; the lack of due process; and warrantless search and seizure... Research pertaining to the first lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s arbitrary enforcement of fatigue revealed that the state had not adopted the federal regulations – prohibiting them from enforcing any federal regulations governing truckers, Johnston said... That discovery immediately led to the Association’s second lawsuit...

Labels: truckers' complain

Traffic Control * USA - LA uses wireless to cut congestion

The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works' decided to use wireless technology to control 1,000 traffic signals with the goal of reducing congestion and the exhaust emissions that go with it

Angeles,CAL,USA -Fleet Owner, by Wendy Leavitt -Nov 20, 2009: ... Proxim Wireless Corp. and Systems Integrated (SI) took on the project, which recently earned the county a 2009 National Association of Counties Achievement Award-- in addition to benefiting from improved traffic flow... The deployment was a key element of LA County's Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) program, which is dedicated to reducing smog and traffic congestion with technology... According to the county, the wireless radio installation reduced both the setup and operating costs for signal communication, while helping to reduce traffic problems. Utilization of Proxim's wireless technology to connect the 1,000 traffic intersections is estimated to have already saved the County's ITS program $7 million in costs over traditional copper or fiber optic installations.... (Photo from japantrends: Tokyo traffic control cent)

Labels: traffic controls

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Scania’s R-series named Truck of the Year

Stockholm,Sweden -Fleet Owner (USA), by Brian Straight -Nov 20, 2009: -- Scania revamped its R-series of trucks to add more distinctive exterior styling, and to increase productivity and fuel economy. Those changes have paid off, as the R-Series has been named the International Truck of the Year by the European trucking press... The vehicle, which bested the Volvo FH16 60, MAN’s TGL/TGM 46 and the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter 23, debuted five years ago. Scania has delivered more than 200,000 of the trucks in that time... (Video from Youtube, by ScaniaGroup - 17 Sept 2009: Scania Driver Support is a new real-time support system that gives professional truck drivers hints and feedback to refine their driving style)

* China - A new route into

Hong Kong,China -Alibaba, by Sun Zhe -19 Nov 2009: -- Heavy truck manufacturers such as German-based Benz and Man are rolling into China... Man, the world's third largest heavy truck producer after Benz and Volvo, announced in middle October that it had acquired a 25 percent stake in Sinotruk, China's top heavy truck builder, for 560 million euros ($828 million)... It also said it would provide engine technology for Sinotruk to meet State IV emission standards, roughly equivalent to EU pollution caps, and to be enforced beginning in 2011... Shandong-based Sinotruk is eager to update its diesel engine technology to comply with the new law... Daimler, and Beijing-based truck maker Foton also inked an agreement to set up a joint venture in January 2010 to use the Benz engine and produce heavy trucks under the Foton brand. Co-investing 6.4 billion yuan ($937.4 million) each, each side will own 50 percent of the JV... Late September Jianghuai Auto Company (JAC), Central-China's Anhui-based truck maker, reached a framework agreement with NC2, a US-based heavy truck and diesel engine maker, to invest 2 billion yuan ($293 million) and provide cleaner engines for JAC's heavy trucks. JAC has been relying on Shandong-based Weifang Power for its engines... Technology sales are not really good business for foreign brands because the Chinese buyers will eventually become competitors, said Shangguan Zhoudong, a Beijing-based auto analyst... (Photo: CFP)

* South Africa - New range of vehicles to enter local market

Johannesburg,SA -Engineering News, by Eleanor Seggie -20 November 2009: -- Despite the current financial downturn, commercial vehicle company Iveco South Africa is experiencing good sales and also has a range of new vehicles that will enter the South African market in the future, Iveco South Africa MD, Eddy Chvatal, tells Engineering News... Iveco South Africa’s bus range is the company’s current best seller, with 277 units sold in 2008 and 320 sold this year. The company continues to experience good sales from its 3,5-t to 6,5-t Daily panel van range, as well as its heavy-duty, 480-hp Stralis range... Where new products are concerned, the company intends to distribute its new European Daily vehicles early next year... The Power Daily range, which was presented to the public at the Johannesburg International Motor Show, last year, is set for distribution in South Africa during the first quarter of 2010... (Photo from ngvaeurope: Fruit cng Daily tractor with trailer)

Labels: truckmakers' news worldwide

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Briefing Weekly News

from Freight Forwarding

* Not ‘Perfect Freight Storm’ but tough times for Panalpina and Expeditors
- It appears that the next stage in the freight forwarders’ market cycle has begun to affect companies such as US-based Expeditors International and Panalpina. Read Full Brief Here

* Asia will lead world recovery, says BDP
- Asia will continue to deliver economic growth, according to Richard Bolte, president and chief executive officer of freight forwarder BDP International. Read Full News Here

* Toll Group expands in Middle East
- Toll Group has acquired Logistic Distribution Systems (LDS), one of the leading private international freight forwarding companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Read Full News Here

* FedEx Trade Networks adds to freight forwarding operations
- FedEx Trade Networks has announced it has opened seven new freight forwarding offices across Asia and Europe as part of an aggressive global expansion plan. Read Full News Here

from Contract Logistics

* Wincanton holds up well in UK and Europe
- UK-based logistics company Wincanton has published its interim results, which show that revenues and profits have held up well in the circumstances. Read Full News Here

* Manheim Selects UPS to manage vehicle transport
- Manheim, a leading provider of automotive remarketing services, has selected UPS to oversee its entire supply chain for millions of used vehicles. Read Full News Here

* CEVA to manage key phases of the Carrier–Toshiba supply chain
- CEVA Logistics has renewed three separate one-year agreements with Carrier-Toshiba, the world’s leading producer of air conditioning systems. Read Full News Here

* Stobart wins distribution deal with Unilever
- UK logistics provider Eddie Stobart has secured a major distribution contract with Unilever UK. Read Full News Here

* Agility makes progress despite downturn
- Global logistics company Agility has reported continued profitability for the third quarter of 2009, despite the ongoing global economic crisis. Read Full News Here

from Express & Mail

* FedEx expands environmentally-friendly fleet
- FedEx Express has announced it will purchase 51 additional gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles from Azure Dynamics Corporation. Read Full News Here

* DHL Express expands relationship with shipping association
- DHL Express has announced that it has expanded its partnership with Retail Shipping Associates (RSA) in the US. Read Full News Here

from Air Cargo

* More signs of weak recovery in air cargo
- There are signs of a weak recovery in the air cargo market and, with capacity cut to the bone, this is having a major impact on rates and availability. Read Full Brief Here

* BA cargo revenues down nearly a third
- British Airways World Cargo has reported that its first half revenues have shown a decrease of 31% against the same period last year. Read Full News Here

from Shipping/Ports

* Special Briefing: Cuts in shipping capacity 'risk empty shelves'
- To mark the end of the BBC’s year long project, ‘The Box’, which tracked a shipping container around the world, Ti’s Chief Executive, John Manners-Bell, was interviewed on radio and television about the state of the global shipping industry. This special briefing details some of the key points he raised. Read Full Brief Here

* Maersk forecasts a $1billion loss for full year
- Despite cuts in capacity and rises in freight rates, Maersk has continued to suffer from the global economic downturn, and forecasts a loss of $1 billion for the full year. Read Full Brief Here

* NOL expands in Western China
- Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has announced that it will establish an administration and service centre in Chongqing Municipality, western China. Read Full News Here

from Intermodal

* Construction on new DB Schenker Terminal comes to close
- DB Schenker is constructing a new logistics centre near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. Read Full News Here

from IT Solutions

* Keystone Distribution adopts Manhattan platform
- Manhattan Associates, Inc. has announced that Keystone Distribution UK has completed a successful implementation of Manhattan Associates’ Warehouse Management solution. Read Full News Here

from Humanitarian Logistics

* Raleigh International seeks logistics professionals
- Leading education and youth charity Raleigh is on the hunt for talented and enthusiastic logistics professionals to volunteer in some of the world’s most stunning locations. Read Full News Here

(Photo from joc.com: Houston419)

Labels: transport and logistics news

Electric Trucks * USA - Top CEOs launch electrification coalition

Washington,DC,USA -Today's Trucking -19 Nov 2009: -- More than a dozen business leaders banded together to increase the use of electric vehicles in North America... The Electrification Coalition released the Electrification Roadmap, a report detailing the dangers of oil dependence, explaining the benefits of electrification, describing the challenges facing electric cars, and providing specific policy proposals to overcome those challenges... Among its many policy recommendations, the Roadmap proposes the creation of electrification 'ecosystems,' geographic areas in which all of the elements of an electrified transportation system are deployed, thus providing a crucial first step toward moving electrification beyond a niche product into a dominant, compelling, and ubiquitous concept... (Photo from blogcdn: EVI electric trucks)

Labels: electric trucks stops

PROGNOSIS * USA - Trucking market shifts into its next cycle

After a truly bumpy road for the past 18 months, the trucking market has bottomed and is seeing signs of increased demand. Now, freight buyers should prepare for carriers to start looking to make back some of the rate they lost

Oak Brook,IL,USA -Purchasing, by David Hannon -19 Nov 2009: -- By nearly all accounts 2009 was an unprecedented year for the trucking industry. With demand crashing and shippers being pressured by costs at all turns, there was a record amount of bidding and re-bidding of less-than-truckload and truckload contracts. Some carriers chose to bid low and grab market share at the expense of margins. Others focused on maintaining margins and losing volume, while others just plain couldn't keep up and closed their doors... But in recent weeks, there are signs that the demand dive has bottomed and overcapacity in the trucking market may have seen its most bloated days. And while that will eventually mean tighter capacity and higher rates, freight buyers have time to develop sourcing strategies heading into the next cycle...

Labels: trucking markets prognosis

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - 1 clean truck program, 2 ports, and now 2 strategies

The port of Los Angeles continues to fight challenges to pollution controls in court. In Long Beach, harbor commissioners are trying to end the same lawsuit

Pasadena,CAL,USA -KPCC (Southern California Public Radio), by Molly Peterson -Nov. 19, 2009: -- A year after the Clean Trucks program began at the harbor complex, the two ports in San Pedro Harbor are headed in divergent directions. The port of Los Angeles continues to fight challenges to pollution controls in court. In Long Beach, harbor commissioners are trying to end the same lawsuit... Representatives of the trucking lobby say often that they have no problem with the Clean Trucks program. They say they accept the idea that the oldest, dirtiest trucks must stop working the ports, and that new, less-polluting trucks must replace them. The California Trucking Association's, Matt Schrap, says companies get it. "The question of clean air isn't so much ‘why?’ anymore, it's ‘how?’," he said... Still, the trucking industry is trying, in court and at a federal commission, to block the legal contracts the ports first chose to enforce environmental and other rules... Port Commissioner, Mario Cordero, said the Long Beach harbor commission should let the courts decide which agreements can enforce environmental rules. He stood alone – other commissioners approved the settlement and the new agreements. The Natural Resources Defense Council and a coalition of labor and environment groups have appealed that decision to Long Beach city officials. The city council plans to hear that complaint next month... (Image from wikimedia.org / wikipedia: LA Harbor plan 1900)

Labels: Clean Trucks Program

Bigger Trucks * USA - Study says: Greener in Maine

Trucking group finds fuel, emissions benefits to use of heavier tractor-trailers

Augusta,Maine,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Nov 19, 2009: -- In a study researchers found that allowing 100,000 pound trucks already permitted on state roads in Maine to use Interstates could reduce the fuel they consume and emissions... Federal law allows those trucks on state highways, the Maine Turnpike and a portion of Interstate 95 in Kittery... The Maine Department of Transportation contracted the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI is an affiliate of the American Trucking Associations), to study what would happen if the exemption were broadened to other Interstates in Maine... Using simulation modeling, ATRI compared the performance of a six-axle, 100,000-pound tractor-trailer over I-95 versus Route 9 between Augusta and Brewer, just outside Bangor... On the simulated I-95 route, the truck’s fuel efficiency was 14 to 21 percent better while carbon dioxide emissions decreased 6 to 11 percent compared with Route 9. Nitrogen oxide and particulates emissions were cut 3 to 8 percent, said ATRI... Over a week, those savings would be even greater, amounting to 338 to 675 gallons of fuel... (Photo from hankstruckpictures, by Andy Bruchey: Empty Western Star logger returning from the log yard in Millinocket, ME)

Labels: bigger trucks

TRUCKS MARKETS * India - Study: Average speed of trucks on Indian roads is 20 km/hr

Slowed by poor roads, check-post delays

New Delhi,India -The Hindu Business Line -Nov. 18, 2009: -- Owing to poor road conditions and check-post delays, trucks in India travel for 20 days a month on an average compared to 25 days in developing countries. This is according to a joint study by Transport Corporation of India (TCI) and IIM-Calcutta... The delays could range from five per cent of time taken in a journey to a high of 25 per cent (details in table)... The average speed of trucks on Indian roads is about 20 km/ hour, it says. So, a truck in India can cover only 250-300 km a day compared to 700-800 km in developed countries such as the US and Europe... The study, based on a survey carried in 2008, took into account 50 trips on 10 routes... Truck drivers face delays at check-posts and on-road for filling in forms required by various government departments, checking of documents and physical checking of the vehicles, drivers and consignments by Regional Transport Offices and traffic police, and collecting highway toll and taxes... On top of this, the study said, there are police harassment and soliciting unofficial payments from drivers... Mr Brahm Dutt, Secretary, Department of Road Transport and Highways, pointed out that the safety on Indian highways is infamous... “The working conditions for the truck drivers have to be improved…They work for long hours, resulting in high stress and fatigue, which leads to accidents,” Mr Dutt...

Labels: trucks' markets

RULES * Canada - Saskatchewan jumps on the ban-wagon

Regina,Saskatchewan -Today's Trucking -18 Nov 2009: -- Saskatchewan has added itself to the list of provinces hanging up on distracted driving, but they won’t be cutting the chord on CB radios... The province aims to make roadways safer by introducing legislation to ban talking and texting on handheld cell phones while driving. The new law prohibits all drivers from using handheld cell phones to talk, text, e-mail or surf the Internet while driving... Experienced drivers will be allowed to use hands-free devices while driving. New drivers, meaning drivers in Saskatchewan's Graduated Driver's Licensing program, can not use cell phones of any type while operating a motor vehicle... (Picture from cohp.org: Logging truck SK Rte 9 cropped)

Labels: rules and regulations

CHANGE FUEL ALLOWED * Canada - Feds may allow high-sulfur diesel during future fuel shortages

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Truck News -18 Nov 2009: ... The trucking industry was nearly crippled by two fuel shortages in recent years, the first in the winter and spring of 2007 and then a year later by another in Western Canada. At the time, Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), suggested the feds allow on-road truckers to use off-road dyed diesel like locomotives can... The off-road diesel contains more sulfur, however at the time most of the engines on the road were of the pre-EPA2007 variety. Environment Minister of the day John Baird, said his hands were tied because there was no regulatory mechanism in place that allowed him to allow for the use of off-road diesel in on-highway trucks... Yesterday, however, regulatory language was published in the Canada Gazette that will give the Minister of the Environment more flexibility should the need arise again in the future...

Labels: alternative fuel

FUEL NEWS * France - Sources Say World’s Remaining Oil Supply Less Than Reported

International Energy Agency has purposely painted overly rosy picture of remaining oil supply to avoid public panic

Paris,France -Automotive Digest (UK) -November 13, 2009: -- Inaccurate oil supply has been result of heavy pressure from United States... Many inside IEA believe maintaining oil supplies at 90M to 95M barrels a day would be impossible... But there are fears panic could spread on financial markets if figures brought down... Sources say Americans worry it would threaten their power over access to oil resources... IEA plays key role in determining world's energy outlook; has large influence on oil price and demand... Many of world's largest governments have used IEA reports as basis for driving energy, environmental policy... Heart of the issue is looming question of peak oil... Whether or not we've already entered production decline. Or if world can still increase oil production to meet demand into near future... IEA has consistently said world can increase production through at least 2030... Whistleblower: IEA has held back analysis, data showing world may have already entered decline phase of peak oil...

* UK - Free biodiesel for fleets in CO2Sense Yorkshire vegetable oil trial

Yorkshire,UK -Fleet News, by Gareth Roberts -17 November 2009: -- CO2Sense Yorkshire has announced it is backing a demonstration project for a recycled fuel oil that it claims could cut the cost of transport for the region’s businesses and reduce carbon emissions... CO2Sense Yorkshire, a not-for-profit company funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund, is supporting trials that will investigate the commercial viability of using waste vegetable oil collected and processed in Yorkshire and Humber to fuel cars, trucks and buses... Businesses volunteering to take part in the project will receive 3,000 litres of 100% waste vegetable oil biodiesel fuel free of charge. Vehicles using the biodiesel fuel will be monitored between December 2009 and February 2010 and records of their performance will be used to further develop recycled oil services...

Labels: fuel news

Hours Of Service * USA - Trucker’s Dream? Obama Reconsiders 11th-Hour Bush Decision

Chicago,IL,USA -In These Times, by Stephen Franklin -November 18, 2009: ... Urged on by the trucking industry, the Bush administration twice before tried to boost drivers’ hours and loosen the regulations controlling them. The trucking industry had rolled out a heap of explanations why longer hours for drivers was good for business, good for the economy and just plain good for the country... And both times federal courts knocked down the government’s efforts... Even the government’s own Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA), part of the labor department, opposed the rule changes proposed by the Bush administration, saying it would put more tired truckers on the road... But in October 2008, the Republican White House went ahead with a rule not very different from the others that the courts overturned... That was the situation until the current administration worked out a deal last month (October 2009) with the Teamsters Union, Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition. Because the government agreed to reconsider the rule, those organizations dropped their lawsuit against it... Meanwhile the 11-hour rule governs the road... Nor does the 11-hour rule matter to the truckers who see how much more money they can make by pushing their freight hours beyond what they are allowed... Drivers who cook their books don’t worry because they know there are numerous ways not to get caught. And they also know that the government hasn’t been trying very hard to catch so them... But it’s also a matter of concern to truckers who know they are driving themselves to death... Several years ago, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association came up with startling figures. By its calculations, its average member was dropping dead at 55 and its members were running a higher than average suicide rate... (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images - A truck stands idle on the Interstate 15 freeway northwest of San Bernardino, Calif)

Labels: HOS debate

STUDY * USA - Hybrid trucks gaining ground globally

Boulder,COL,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -Nov 18, 2009: -- A new study forecasts a big global spike in hybrid purchases by fleets over the next five to six years, with medium- and heavy-duty trucks along with buses comprising the biggest growth categories... According to consulting firm Pike Research, cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles in the fleet sector should total nearly four million worldwide between 2009 and 2015, with hybrid fleet sales increasing from 300,000 units in 2009... He projected that in North America nearly 10% of buses sold in 2015 will be hybrids. North America will be the leading region in terms of hybrid fleet penetration, with hybrids reaching 8% of all fleet sales in the next five years. Government, university, and utility company fleets will be the biggest purchasers. Asia Pacific will be the leader in terms of unit volumes by that time, reaching 420,000 fleet hybrids sold per year, though the hybrid penetration will be somewhat lower than North America’s... Pike’s projections parallel other forecasts for commercial hybrid vehicle growth. California-based Clean Transportation Technologies and Solutions or “CalStart,” for example, predicts that between 40,000 and 60,000 medium- and heavy-duty hybrid trucks are expected to be on the road in North America by 2015...

Labels: hybrid trucks

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA & Canada

* California - Up to 1,000 Oakland Truckers Will Be Out of Work

Oakland,CAL,USA -East Bay Express -November 18, 2009: -- Up to 1,000 independent truckers at the Port of Oakland will be out of work by January 1 because of the port's new ban on older, dirty diesel trucks. The truckers had hoped to receive public funding to buy new trucks or retrofit their existing ones, but the Bay Area Air Quality Management District ran out of money, the Trib reports...

* Wiscosin - Schneider to Provide Dedicated Service for Emerson

Green Bay,Wisconsin,USA -Transport Topics -18 Nov 2009: -- Schneider National said it will take over the transportation operations of Emerson Electric Co., an appliances and electronics manufacturer... As part of the agreement between the companies, Schneider will provide Emerson with a dedicated fleet, including about 300 drivers, by the end of the year, Schneider said in a statement Wednesday... The fleet will replace Emerson’s own transportation division, a fleet that was established in 1962 and operated 170 trucks, Schneider said...

* California - This week’s CARB meeting to hit on trucking-related topics

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -November 16, 2009: -- The California Air Resources board is preparing to hold a two-day meeting later this week, and it appears the board’s planned discussion of trucking measures will attract some interest from an alliance within the trucking industry... CARB’s board is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday, Nov. 19-20, in Sacramento, CA, and will include presentations on new air quality legislation from the state assembly and on diesel emissions... Staffers also will give an update on the implementation of California Assembly Bill 32, the 2006 global warming legislation that gave CARB much of its authority to enact recent aggressive diesel emissions rules on trucking, shipping and other businesses... The West State Alliance – a group of motor carriers, including many from Oakland – said in an article on its Web site that it plans to attend this week’s meeting. The alliance blasted CARB for postponing a workshop scheduled for Oct. 28, which would have included discussions on the economic impacts of the air quality agency’s emissions enforcement... (Images from balqon: Lithium-Ion Battery Powered Drayage Truck, Los Angeles,CAL,USA)

* Canada - Rocky road for B.C. gravel haulers

Vancouver,BC,CAN -Today's Trucking -16 Nov 2009: -- As the hourly rate for gravel haulers in B.C. slides downward, truckers are looking to their union for a solution, which might include a work stoppage... More than 200 gravel haulers gathered last week in Surrey, B.C. to ask the Teamsters Union to come up with some options to deal with unacceptably low trucking rates. The focus of their anger is the decision by Peter Kiewit and Sons, the lead contractor on the Port Mann Bridge expansion project, to reduce the gravel haulage rate from previously established levels... The hourly rate for a tandem gravel truck in the B.C. government’s Blue Book is $93.45 an hour, but the union says Kiewit is only paying $65 an hour... Don McGill, president of the BC Teamsters Union said, the truckers in the meeting – both union and non-union – were clear and direct. They can not survive with these low haulage rates, particularly if they become the standard on other projects such as the South Fraser Perimeter Road... In June of 2004 BC’s independent truckers shut down the construction industry for two weeks. The issue at that time was haulage rates as well as gasoline surtaxes. The truckers went back to work only after government-appointed mediators engineered an industry-wide agreement on rates...

* D.C. - Wetlines Proposal Unnecessary, Dangerous, ATA’s Windsor Says

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -16 Nov 2009: -- A proposal to prohibit the transportation of flammable liquids in unprotected product piping would not improve safety and would be dangerous to technicians an American Trucking Associations official told a House subcommittee Monday... Barbara Windsor, first vice chairwoman of ATA, gave her remarks at a Baltimore field hearing on the Hazardous Material Transportation Safety Act, ATA said in a statement... Windsor told the committee that the odds of being killed in a wetlines incident are one in 30 million... Furthermore, the $8,000-per-truck retrofits would require welding, which would be dangerous to technicians, Windsor said... Windsor asked that Congress require an in-depth study of the issue before making a decision, to properly assess the risks involved... (Photo from upload.wikimedia.org: Diesel truck)

Labels: trucking industry USA

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Volvo’s October Deliveries Drop But Orders Show Improvement. Regional Decline Bests Global Downturn of 41%

Gothenberg,Sweden -Transport Topics -18 Nov 2009: -- Volvo AB said Wednesday its North American deliveries fell 28% in October from a year ago, but said orders rose from September... North American sales for the month fell 1,755 units from 2,443 units a year ago, the company said in a statement... The majority of the truck operations noted an increase of deliveries in October from September, and for the Volvo Group in total the increase was 12% from the previous month, the company said... Total truck unit sales worldwide fell 41% to 13,050 units from a year ago, led by a 70% decline in the Middle East and a 71% drop in Eastern Europe... The Volvo Trucks brand fell 50% worldwide and 39% in North America, while Mack Trucks sales fell 24% overall and just 10% in North America...

* USA - Kenworth offering Primaax EX suspension

Kirkland,WA,USA -Fleet Owner -Nov 18, 2009: -- Kenworth T800, W900 and C500 heavy-duty truck models for vocational applications now can be spec’d with Hendrickson Primaax EX suspensions, the OEM has announced... The Primaax EX is a premium heavy-duty air suspension designed for the rigorous demands of vocational, severe-service and heavy-haul applications, the company noted. It is designed to enhance stability, durability, reliability and handling and includes higher roll stiffness, optimized suspension geometry for increased roll stability and a redesigned U-beam assembly, air spring, torque rod bracket and frame bracket... The suspension is available in tandem configurations rated at 46,000 lbs. and 52,000 lbs. and in a tridem configuration rated at 69,000 lbs... (Photo from indivor: New Kenworth T2000)

* Austria - Owners of start-up Holland company aim to revolutionize the North American truck industry

Salzburg,Austria -Rapid Growth/Bob Hakken, Wingliner North America -November 19, 2009: -- Two Holland entrepreneurs are aiming to revolutionize the North American truck industry by introducing drivers to an innovative Austrian-designed truck trailer with side panels that lift up with a push of a button... Bob Hakken, 52, and Duke De Leeuw, 47, signed a deal this month with Wingliner International to become the sole distributors of Wingliner System kits for sale in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The start-up venture, Wingliner North America Inc., would produce and sell the kits used to transform new truck chassis into a Wingliner truck... Wingliner International was started in 1996 in Salzburg, Austria after Johann Strasser Sr. invented the Wingliner System. Since then, thousands of Wingliner kits have been sold all over the world, including China, Europe, Japan, South America and Australia... (Video from YouTube, by RagomexMexico - 13 July 2009)

Labels: truckmakers' news worldwide

TECHNONEWS * USA - Smart Traffic Lights: BMW Pushing For, to Aid Fuel Efficiency

Palo Alto,CA ,USA -The Car Connection, by Bengt Halvorson -November 12th, 2009: -- Creeping along from red light to red light on your way from a major sports event or concert, or stopped by every red light on the way home late at night, on empty roads, you've probably wondered why traffic lights in the U.S. aren't a little more adaptable... The short answer: they're not at all smart, and at least here in the U.S. they're horribly outdated. The typical U.S. traffic signaling system is 30 to 40 years old. And the result of these inflexible geezers signaling traffic is a lot of needless idling and the lack of easy adaptability in most cases to either sudden events like traffic accidents or even daily events like traffic congestion in a certain direction at a particular time... Vehicle miles traveled have grown in recent years 15 percent faster than our country's roadway network itself. And congestion keeps getting worse, leading to increased fuel consumption and increased emissions—plus growing economic consequences...

(Smart signals to solve traffic snarls)
Developments like start-stop systems, which shut off the engine when sitting still in traffic, along with full hybrid systems that help increase fuel efficiency especially in low-speed stop-and-go traffic can help, but they're only part of the solution. That's why BMW is pushing for upgraded, smart traffic signals that would have the capability to adapt to traffic congestion, whether it's expected or not... Traffic signals have been one of the initial research subjects for the group. In its initial research, the group studied so-called Green Waves—a minimum of four signals in sequence that can eb synchronized for better traffic flow. Simply by changing the timing of traffic lights on a test stretch of roadway in Munich, the engineers were able to nearly double the fuel efficiency of a BMW 530d test vehicle—from 22 mpg to 42 mpg. That being an idealized situation, the company expects an overall 10 to 15 percent decrease in urban fuel consumption due to smart traffic signaling. Considering that motor vehicles use about 175 million gallons of fuel annually, and urban areas make up a significant chunk of miles traveled, that's a tremendous potential improvement... (Photo thecarconnection: Traffic)

* USA - Wireless Vehicle Communication at Heart of US DOT IntelliDrive Program

Washington,DC,USA -MSNBC/Automotive Digest (UK) - November 11, 2009: -- Wireless communications will become car's "heartbeat" within 5 years. The technology will enable self-steering cars... Early benefits will be improved safety, better information about traffic and weather conditions... US DOT's IntelliDrive program launched summer 2009. IntelliDrive envisions wireless communications in every new car broadcasting continuously... Information will include speed, location, direction, and systems state anonymously... Collective data will provide real-time traffic and weather information. Driver assist systems could automatically adjust speed to traffic... "The big opportunity here is to use wireless communication to extend the range beyond what the driver or the vehicle can detect." -- Luca Delgrossi, research and development group manager, Mercedes-Benz, North America... (Figure: Wireless connectivity would enable roadway users to receive information to provide 360° situational awareness. In unsafe situations, IntelliDriveSM applications provide alerts and advisories, or take action to help roadway users avoid or mitigate crashes)

Labels: technonews

Coin-free Parking * USA - Coming to city soon

Port Elizabeth,South Africa -Weekend Post, by Luyolo Mkentane -11 Nov 2009: -- A new parking management system aimed at replacing conventional coin-operated parking metres will be unveiled in Nelson Mandela Bay next month... With the MobiPark Electronic Management System, the brainchild of local company Jongisizwe Traffic Solutions, coin-operated parking meters would be replaced by parking attendants with handheld HTC cellphones... The devices, which will be permanently linked to the municipal traffic management system, would capture vehicle information and calculate the parking fee due... Parking without paying would result in a fine... Besides being neat in appearance, the 160 attendants had been screened by the SA Police Service. They had also been tested for comprehension and aptitude...

Labels: trucks parking's solutions

Road Trains * USA - Highways Become Public Transportation

(Picture from Flickr, by David Vincent Johnson - Photo of traffic on Highway 401 in Ontario)

New York,NY,USA -Autopia, by Keith Barry -November 10, 2009: -- Researchers in the European Union are using telematics to create “road trains” that join the benefits of carpooling with the freedom of driving alone... The latest concept, part of the EU’s Safe Road Trains for the Environment initiative, groups cars with similar destinations into road trains over long stretches of highway. The lead vehicle will be driven by an experienced motorist — it may even be a bus that regularly travels the route — while the functions of each following vehicle will be automatically controlled and tethered to the actions of the lead car so that individual drivers can hammer out e-mails or eat breakfast. Despite the project’s name, cars can exit at any time... While the project, which goes by the acronym SARTRE, sounds futuristic, all it requires are navigation systems that communicate with the lead vehicle and control acceleration and steering. The project’s lead agencies estimate that vehicles will begin testing in 2011 and say a full-scale rollout is likely within a decade... According to Ricardo UK, the firm in charge of SARTRE, no infrastructure investment will be necessary... At the same time, Ricardo estimates that fuel savings from efficiency and aerodynamics gains will be upwards of 20 percent, while road capacity will increase at the same time that accidents from distracted or drowsy drivers decrease...

(Graphic of the road train: Ricardo UK. here)

Labels: road trains

DRUNK DRIVERS * USA - NY Governor and Legislature: Historic DWI Law

MADD Praises for

Albany,NY,USA -MADD (PR) -17 Nov 2009: -- Many of you have heard about recent drunk driving crashes in New York that claimed the lives of several children. MADD has been working with political leaders in the state and we have some exciting news... Yesterday, the New York legislature and Governor Paterson came to an agreement on lifesaving legislation. The legislation was signed this afternoon. This makes New York the 12th state to require ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders and only the third state to make driving drunk with a child in the car a felony. With this legislation, over 80 million people will be covered by all offender interlock legislation. Additionally, the child endangerment law is a victory for children around the state who don’t have a voice or a choice in who their driver will be... Research shows that first-time offenders arrested for drunk driving have driven drunk more than 87 times before their first arrest. Up to 75 percent of those whose licenses are suspended for DUI continue to drive anyway. Interlocks have been proven to reduce repeat drunk driving offenses on average by 64 percent...

Labels: drunk tests

TAX POLICY * The Netherlands - Set to impose pay per mile

Amsterdam,The Netherland -The Green Car Website (UK) -17 Nov 2009: -- The Dutch government is set to be the first in Europe to replace annual road tax with a pay per mile system for motorists... The polluter pays approach to motoring taxation could help provide an incentive to drivers to cover fewer miles while ensuring a fairer reflection on car use... Proposals set before the Netherland’s cabinet on Friday would see a charge of 3 cents for every kilometre travelled introduced. The tax would be dependant on the installation of a GPS monitoring system and could prove a test case for other European countries to follow suit... The Dutch Ministry of Transport expects that the charge, to be introduced in 2012, will halve the number of traffic jams as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions... Road tax and purchase tax on cars will be abolished, leading to a reduction in the cost of purchasing a new car by around 25 per cent... The cost per kilometre will depend on the size of the vehicle, initially cars will pay 3 cents, while trucks and vans will pay slightly more. Each year the base tariff will rise until 2018... (Photo from kleyn.com: Kleyn Trucks B.V.)

Labels: taxes policys

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Australia - Bourkes Transport says its four Hino trucks have clocked two million kilometres

Taren Point,NSW,Australia -Earthmoving News, by Cameron Boggs -17 November 2009: -- HINO Australia says four original-condition HINO trucks have each racked up over two million kilometres for newspaper delivery business, Bourkes Transport Industries... Bourkes Transport says one of its oldest trucks is a HINO FD Ranger 6 Turbo purchased in 2003, which is estimated to have travelled over 2.5 million kilometres and is still in service... Irrespective of the high mileage, the company sees no need to move it on at the moment, with the decision to keep it working for another six to 12 months and then look at retiring it... HINO says Bourkes Transport recently purchased three new HINO FD 500s, a 1024, a GD 1227 and an FC 1018, which are part of its recent business expansion into Queensland, with a new depot at Tweed Heads... (Images: Toyota and Hino trucks)

Labels: truckmakers news Australia

"Illegal" * UK - Road Haulage Association Back B Double Long Freight Truck And Get A Seat In Europe

UK Haulier Launches “Illegal” vehicle whilst RHA Gain International Road Transport Position

London,UK –Handy Shipping Guide, by eter Cullum -17 November 2009: -- A British haulage company intends to launch a “B Double” or Longer Heavier Vehicle (LHV) by December this year, without the Government assent which is officially required. The British Government shelved the permission schedule for this type of vehicle some years ago, probably because the public perception of bigger trucks is of some smoke spewing monster which will cause carnage on the highways and damage to every road surface it travels on... Denby, the Lincoln based haulier, have announced that, in the light of extensive legal advice, they will proceed to use the rig and await results. They are prepared to meet the authorities in Court if necessary, citing scientific evidence that the huge vehicle is actually utilising less road space and producing fewer toxic emissions... B Doubles and even Triples are used extensively in many parts of the world but people have always been wary of extending vehicle lengths in the UK due to many road restrictions... Denby are confident that, provided they stay within existing weight and turning limits, the new vehicle is entirely legal. The Road Haulage Association have praised the company for keeping alive a debate which had stalled in the face of bureaucracy. It seems that negotiations with the Ministry of Transport have proved pointless and, should the vehicle be stopped by Police, the Court will be the final arbiter as to the legality of such equipment... (Picture from img.dailymail.co.uk: lorry DM)

Labels: larger and heavier trucks

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - Environment Group Wants Review

Natural Resources Defense Council questions Long Beach settlement with ATA

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bill Mongelluzzo -Nov 18, 2009: -- The Natural Resources Defense Council is asking the Long Beach City Council to review the Oct. 19 settlement reached by the Port of Long Beach and the American Trucking Associations involving the port's clean truck program... David Pettit, the NRDC's lead attorney in Los Angeles, charged that the harbor commission failed to perform a review of the proposed settlement agreement, as it is required to do under city and state law, to determine if it complies with the California Environmental Quality Act... Under terms of the settlement, the port agreed to drop the motor carrier concession requirements from its clean truck program and replace them with a registration agreement... The port can simply prevent non-compliant trucks on an individual basis from entering marine terminals. The burden of compliance is therefore placed on the owner-operator drivers rather than the trucking companies...

Labels: Clean Trucks Program

Drivers' Fatigue * USA - NTSB Chief Urges Fight Against

Hersman calls fatigue an 'insidious' problem throughout transportation

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Nov 16, 2009: -- Fatigue “is one of the most insidious issues in the transportation industry,” and more must be done to fight it, said Deborah A.P. Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which has issued truck driver hours of service rules three times since 2003, plans to propose a new HOS rule early next year... Companies as well as government need to do more to address the issue, she said, noting that many businesses don’t have fatigue policies or procedures that allow tired employees to take time off... The NTSB also has recommended electronic onboard recorders be installed in all interstate commercial trucks to collect data on the number of hours they are operated and accident conditions...

Labels: drivers fatigue

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26.11.09

TRUCKS SALES * WORLDWIDE

TRUCKS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

STRIKE * Canada - Teamsters hands CN strike notice

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

25.11.09

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Deadly Driving Distractions * USA - Include More Than Texting

Road Tax * Holland - Changing to Discourage Driving

Engine Ecology * USA - "Making your engine run greener"

Trucking Markets * Australia - Last straw for container transport industry

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - YRC Sells Contract Carriage Business to Greatwide Logistics

Ignition Interlocks * USA - Days numbered on New Jersey bill mandating

Security * USA - Expert warns of smuggling via prescreened trucks

24.11.09

The Edge Of The Road * USA - Critics Say Roads Still Dangerous Despite Safer Design

TRUCKERS' CLAIM * Australia - Carriers fed up by Port Botany delays 'crisis'

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

STRIKE * Canada - DriveTest strikers protest during commercial road tests

e-LOGS * Canada - Wheels Logistics achieves cost savings with

TRUCK PARKING * Canada - Drivers asked to weigh on

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Clean Diesel Requests Due Dec. 8, EPA Says

OVER-CHARGING * Kuwait - Agility faces investigation by US Department of Justice

23.11.09

Key to Trucking Industry * USA - Profits Under New 'Hours-of-Service' Rules

NOT SO CLEAR AIR INSIDE * USA - The air board’s shame

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Highways to Hell

21.11.09

Study * USA - Class 8 Truck Fuel Consumption Could Be Reduced by up to 50% by 2017

TRUCKERS' CLAIM * USA - OOIDA sues Minnesota over CMV enforcement

Traffic Control * USA - LA uses wireless to cut congestion

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Electric Trucks * USA - Top CEOs launch electrification coalition

PROGNOSIS * USA - Trucking market shifts into its next cycle

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - 1 clean truck program, 2 ports, and now 2 strategies

Bigger Trucks * USA - Study says: Greener in Maine

19.11.09

TRUCKS MARKETS * India - Study: Average speed of trucks on Indian roads is 20 km/hr

RULES * Canada - Saskatchewan jumps on the ban-wagon

CHANGE FUEL ALLOWED * Canada - Feds may allow high-sulfur diesel during future fuel shortages

FUEL NEWS * France - Sources Say World’s Remaining Oil Supply Less Than Reported

Hours Of Service * USA - Trucker’s Dream? Obama Reconsiders 11th-Hour Bush Decision

STUDY * USA - Hybrid trucks gaining ground globally

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA & Canada

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

TECHNONEWS * USA - Smart Traffic Lights: BMW Pushing For, to Aid Fuel Efficiency

Coin-free Parking * USA - Coming to city soon

Road Trains * USA - Highways Become Public Transportation

18.11.09

DRUNK DRIVERS * USA - NY Governor and Legislature: Historic DWI Law

TAX POLICY * The Netherlands - Set to impose pay per mile

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Australia - Bourkes Transport says its four Hino trucks have clocked two million kilometres

"Illegal" * UK - Road Haulage Association Back B Double Long Freight Truck And Get A Seat In Europe

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - Environment Group Wants Review

Drivers' Fatigue * USA - NTSB Chief Urges Fight Against