Trucks World News: January 2005

COMMENTS - USA - GM’s vote of confidence

Fort Wayne,IN,USA - Fort Wayne News Sentinel - Jan. 27, 2005: The automaker’s new investment helps preserve existing jobs in suppliers, too... General Motors’ announcement that it will invest $176 million in its Fort Wayne assembly plant, bringing another 203 jobs to the community, caps the best week of business news in many years... The General Motors commitment to reinvest in its plant here is particularly encouraging .. Manufacturing jobs at the plant pay strong, middle-class wages adequate to support a family on a single income. The estimated payroll for the 203 jobs averages $77,000 each...

RECALLS - FORD recalls almost 800k trucks, SUVs

SAN FRANCISCO,USA - MarketWatchLast,by Shawn Langlois - Jan. 27, 2005: Ford Motor said Thursday it will recall about 792,000 SUVs and trucks, including the Ford F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the United States... Other vehicles covered in the recall include 2000 model year Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators, as well as 2001 F-Series Supercrew trucks made during the same time... The No. 2 U.S. automaker said the speed control switch in these four-to-five year old models could cause fires under the hood...

ECOLOGY - USA follows Scandinavia in call for heavier trucks to save fuel and cut CO2

London,UK - AWKnowledge (subscription) - 26/JAN/2005: ... According to the study, an increase in the maximum permitted all-upweight of trucks on US highways -- from a typical current state limitof 88,000lb -- to ...

PRODUCTION - THAILAND - Ashok Leyland, Summit may assemble trucks

New Delhi,India - Financial Express - Jan/27/2005: Ashok Leyland Ltd, India’s second-largest truckmaker, is in talks to make Ashok Leyland vehicles with Thai Summit Autoparts Industry Co in Thailand. This is Ashok Leyland’s first Southeast Asia venture ... Thai Summit, Thailand’s biggest supplier of motorcycle parts with clients including Honda Motor Co, will make fuel tanks, bumpers and other components for Ashok Leyland’s trucks...

PRODUCTION - USA - GM to add 200 jobs to build ‘world-class’ trucks

Fort Wayne,IN,USA - Fort Wayne News Sentinel,By Doug LeDuc - Jan. 26, 2005: It’s official. General Motors Corp. will invest $176 million in its Fort Wayne Assembly Plant to prepare it for production of its next generation of full-size pickups... the planned investment in the local plant at a news conference today...

GROWING MARKETS - ESTONIA - Intermodal is the new buzzword among Baltics’ logistics operators

Riga,Latvia, ESTONIA - Baltic Times,by Ben Nimmo - 26.01.2005: Doubling up cargo handling services for both road and air, or intermodality, promises the best perspective for the future, say logistics experts... Whatever else can be said of the Baltic states’ entry into the EU, for the logistics sector accession has brought the biggest shake-up since the Russian crash of ‘98.

ESTONIA - See an unprecedented cargo boom

Interview with Illimar Paul, chairman of the Estonian Logistics Association...
Riga,Latvia,ESTONIA - Baltic Times,by Aleksei Gunter - 25/JAN/2005: .... "Trucks do not waste time anymore standing in border lines and taking care of custom formalities. The same amount of work can be done by fewer trucks...

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Online driver training

USA - eTrucker - Jan/2005: Wichita Area Technical College has created a distance-learning course for commercial truck drivers who need to prepare for and complete new federal training requirements... The New Entry-Level Driver Requirements program was developed in response to updated FMCA federal regulations for commercial truck drivers. These updates include hours of service, driver qualifications, driver wellness, and whistleblower regulations.

CANADA - 2003 Ranking of Top 100 Carriers

CANADA - Today's Trucking - Shown Total: - Trucks - Tractors - Trailers - O/OS - Employees

NAFTA: Roadblocks to Mexican trucks remain, audit says

USA - eTrucker.com,By Jill Dunn - 25/JAQN/2005: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should not grant long-haul operating authority to Mexican carriers until American and Mexican authorities agree on on-site safety reviews, according to a recent audit that also noted hundreds of Mexican trucks already operating well beyond designated border zones.

MARKET - CANADIAN TRUCK STUDY

CANADA - Today's Trucking: The Canadian trucking industry ... The Canadian Truck Market 2002 a very valuable resource. In fact, its first edition quickly became a must-have tool for marketing professionals across the continent who were looking to understand the potential of the Canadian trucking world...

OPINION - CANADA - Bridging the gap

CANADA - Today's Trucking,by Rolf Lockwood - Jan. 2005: Every time I drive across the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich.,... the only word I can find to describe the feeling of being on that long span a couple of hundred feet above the water --together with maybe 100 stationary trucks. I’m really not a nervous, fearful sort, but my imagination has no trouble conjuring up a collapse... The bridge, you see, was built in 1929 when trucks were just a tad lighter and not exactly as numerous. I don’t have traffic figures to compare then and now, but hell, cross-border trade has expanded by 100 times in those 75 years. Seriously, I have to ask if the bridge can take the 10,000 heavy trucks it now holds aloft every day.

OPINION - CANADA - Where the good drivers are ?

CANADA - Today's Trucking, by Rolf Lockwood - Jan/2005: You're never very deep in a conversation about this industry before somebody brings up the infamous “driver shortage” that's supposedly going to be the undoing of us all... The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council is eager to point out that we're going to need something on the order of 37,000 new drivers every year and that between 18,000 and 22,000 drivers will switch to other jobs at the same rate...

AWARDS - CANADA - Trucking companies make big splash on '50 Best Managed' list

TORONTO, CANADA - Today's Tucking -Jan. 18, 2005: Several Canadian trucking companies and related businesses were recognized for achieving the highest levels of business performance in Canada... Carriers inducted to the 2004 Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies list include: Transport Robert, Canada Cartage System, and Consolidated Fastfrate. Cummins Western Canada also made the list.

CITY PARKING - CANADA - City makes it harder for truckers to park

WELLAND, Ont.,CANADA - Today's Trucking - Jan,17, 2005: The City of Welland, Ont. near Niagara Falls voted to expand its ban on heavy-trucks on residential roadways... City councillors amended the old bylaw and increased the number of restricted roads from 19 to over 200 local streets... Truckers are allowed to make deliveries, but will be fined $110 if they're stopped or parked for any other reason.

SALES - DaimlerChrysler hits truck sales record

FRANKFURT, Germany - Toda's Trucking - Jan. 27, 2005: DaimlerChrysler is reporting a company record for commercial vehicle sales in 2004... The German-U.S. automotive giant, which is the parent company of Freightliner LLC in North America says a booming global freight market boosted commercial truck sales 42 per cent to a record 712,200 units last year... DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz truck business in Europe and Latin America boosted sales 24 per cent to some 137,400 units with the rollout of the second-generation Actros truck, its flagship. In North America Freightliner trucks increased sales 28 per cent to 152,400 vehicles.

NAFTA BORDER troubles

DOT urges caution on Mexican border opening
WASHINGTON,USA - Today's Trucking - Jan.27, 2005: The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation issued report said no Mexican motor carrier should be issued authority to haul freight in the U.S. before a number of problems are addressed... According to the summary, "until an agreement or other understandings related to on-site safety reviews is reached with Mexico, FMCSA cannot, in our view, grant long-haul operating authority to any Mexican motor carrier... Additionally, given new background requirements for U.S. drivers applying for hazardous materials endorsements, an agreement will need to be in place with Mexico ...

Transportation STUDIES - INTERNATIONAL MARKET RESEARCH REPORTS

INTERNATIONAL BUSSINESS STRATEGIES: Examples: -- Bus and Bus Equipment in Spain / June 2003 -- Equipment for Intermodal Terminals in Mexico / January 2003 -- Intelligent Transport Systems in Hong Kong / September 2002 -- Intelligent Transportation Equipment in Taiwan / May 2004 -- Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Market in Korea / September 2003

STUDIES - RUSSIA - Mass Transit Systems and Equipment in Russia

Summary: Overview of Russia's Mass Transit System: Mass transit system's position in the overall passenger transportation - October 2003 --Table 1: Passengers Transported by All Means of Transport (million passengers) Growth of the Private Sector in Mass Transit

CANADA / USA - Trucks haul 85 million tonnes across border

OTTAWA,CANADA - Today's Trucking News/USA - Jan. 24, 2005: Trade between Canada and the United States continues to be dominated by road transportation, confirms Statistics Canada. In terms of revenue, over 53 per cent of Canadian exports and 79 per cent of imports were moved by truck in 2003... Transborder movements accounted for 22 per cent of total shipments and 47 per cent of revenues. Carriers hauled 8.7 million shipments across the Canada–U.S. border in 2003, with freight totalling more than 85 million tonnes, generating $8 billion in revenues...

SPEED LIMIT - USA - Hamilton County could be first to reduce heavy truck speed limit

Biloxi,MS,USA - Biloxi Sun Herald/Associated Press - Jan. 24, 2005: MEMPHIS, Tenn - The state this week is expected to approve the first of several requests to reduce the speed limit in urban areas for heavy-duty trucks as a way to fight air pollution... Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner authorize posting 55-mph speed limit signs for trucks in Hamilton County... the next month, Shelby County could become the second metropolitan area approved for the 55-mph limit for trucks, ...

INVESTIGATION - USA - GOVERNMENT investigating Ford trucks

Australia - WDIV-TV Detroit/ Big News Network.com - 28th January, 2005: The US government was investigating Saturday a potential danger in the design of Ford F-150 trucks, reported Saturday...

SLOW TRUCKS - USA - SENATOR wants to slow trucks

Casper,WY,USA - The Casper Star Tribune - 22/JAN/2005: Larson's bill, Senate File 126, would set the speed limit at 65 for semis on Wyoming's interstate highways. Currently, all vehicles are allowed to drive 75...
People across Wyoming who have contacted Larson are "extremely concerned" about safety issues revolving around big trucks, he said.

USA - Neighbors press to muffle noisy trucks

Boston,MA,USA - Boston Globe, by Elaine Cushman Carroll - Jan/23/2005: "The property has been an eyesore for many years. For a while, I thought the lot was going to be completely cleaned up," said Bannister, president of the homeowners association for about 600 people who live at Greenbrook Condominiums, near the town line with Canton... "The trucks started coming," said Bannister, who has lived at Greenbrook for about 14 years. "Then the refrigeration units started running . . . and the noise."

STUDIES - USA - Creating a new traffic pattern for Downtown

Downtown Adrian traffic study exciting
Adrian,MI,USA - Adrian Daily Telegram - 23/JAN/2005: ... One of the biggest areas of concern is how to allow delivery trucks to continue to drop off goods to businesses without rear entries on Main Street. Currently, the trucks park temporarily in one of the traffic lanes, and traffic moves around them. If some, or all, downtown streets are turned into two-way streets, that can't continue. One of the biggest areas of concern is how to allow delivery trucksto continue to drop off goods to businesses without rear entries on MainStreet. ...

CANADA - "Keep the Trucks Off City Streets"

Fort St. John,British Columbia,Canada - Alaska Highway News/ Windsor Star,by Dave Battagello - January 22, 2005: Nearly a year in the making, a report by New York City traffic guru Sam Schwartz unveiled Friday is a far-reaching, billion-dollar transportation blueprint he says will return sanity to Windsor's streets... Schwartz, rejecting proposals to send border-bound trucks to a rail tunnel or a twinned Ambassador Bridge, called for a new bridge in the industrialized west end and a new truck route from Highway 401. The plan, he said, would end the clogging of city roads and reduce noise and pollution in residential neighbourhoods.

TOP SELLERS CANADA 2003

Ford F-Series trucks top sellers in Cda, Civic top passenger car in 2004
TORONTO,Canada - CBC News, by STEVE ERWIN - Jan 28 2005: For the second year in a row, Ford's F-Series trucks were the top-selling new vehicles in Canada in 2004, while the Honda Civic was once again the most popular choice among passenger cars. .. Full-year results also show that Japanese automakers are continuing their assault on the sedan market - with six Japanese nameplates among the top-10 passenger cars - while the Big Three dominate among light trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans...

PROTEST - USA - FORD agrees to sell electric Ford Rangers to protesting lease holders

KPalm Desert,CA,USA -ESQ -Jan,25,2005: ... A Mariposa County rancher and a Los Angeles County solar installer say their trucks cost little to maintain, require no fuel and free the nation from dependence on foreign oil... Ford says it's discontinued its electric vehicle program to focus on hybrids and eventual hydrogen-powered cars... The automaker produced 15-hundred of the trucks between 1998 and 2001 _ largely for a California market...
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2841121

ECOLOGY - JAPAN - Japan Tobacco To Switch Out Fleet for CNG and Hybrids

USA -Green Car Congress/Yomiuri Shimbun -Jan,23,2005: Japan Tobacco (JT) will replace all the vehicles in its fleet with CNG-powered or hybrid vehicles in an effort to curb CO2 emissions... JT will switch its fleet of 3,787 vehicles to more environmentally friendly vehicles when their leases come up for renewal...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/japan_tobacco_t.html

TECHNECOLOGY - GM, Shell Bringing Fuel Cell Vehicles and Fueling to NY

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan,24,2005: On Thursday of this week, GM and Shell will announce their plans to bring fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling to New York... GM will provide approximately 40 fuel cell-powered minivans and fuel cell-powered SUVs to the state of New York and Shell Oil will develop hydrogen refueling capabilities...The scale of the demonstration... which include: Fleets building up to 100 vehicles and beyond -- Fueled from mini-networks of 4-6 integrated hydrogen/gasoline stations
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/gm_shell_bringi.html

TECHNECOLOGY - USA - Prototype Bioreactor for Hydrogen Production

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan,19,2005: Infectech, a Pennsylvania biotech company, is developing a prototype bioreactor to produce hydrogen with the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Gannon University in Erie, PA.... is diversifying into technologies for the production of alternative sources of fuel and the remediation of toxic materials... There are two basic approaches to the microbial production of hydrogen: fermentative and photosynthetic...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/prototype_biore.html

ECOLOGY - USA - Caterpillar Pledges to Reduce GHG by 20% from 2002 levels by 2010

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan,19,2005: Caterpillar has pledged to reduce its direct global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its facilities by 20% from 2002 levels by 2010. Caterpillar is a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/caterpillar_ple.html

TECHNECOLOGY - USA - MACK Landfill Gas to LNG for Garbage Trucks

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan,20,2005: Mack Trucks and Acrion are wrapping up a program testing the conversion of Landfill Gas (LFG) to LNG to fuel garbage trucks... serving a landfill operation could be run on fuel made from LFG produced inside the landfill itself... Converting a 12-year-old diesel... reductions of up to 90% for particulate matter, 70% for NOx, and 80% for non-methane hydrocarbons... The key to the system is Acrion’s clever CO2 wash process...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/land_fill_gas_t.html

TECHNOLOGY - USA - IT poses challenge for trucking, says expert

USA - Fleet Owner,by Sean Kilcarr -Jan 20,2005: The acquisition and implementation of information technology (IT) is rapidly becoming a major cost-control battleground for the trucking industry, says one expert – one that could have a major impact on a carrier’s profitability.
http://fleetowner.com/news/IT_truck_trucking_industry_012005/

PRODUCTION - USA - International CXT’s big brothers

USA - Fleet Owner - Jan,20,2005: International Truck and Engine Corp. has unveiled three new International 7700 models designed for the severe-service market. The OEM touted the new trucks as the “big brother” of the company’s brawny pickup truck, the CXT...
http://fleetowner.com/news/international_7700_model_012005/

What do you know?

USA - Fleet Owner,by WENDY LEAVITT -Jan,1,2005 : Maybe you've heard some of the news coverage about the Houdini exhibit at the Outagamie Museum in Appleton, WI. The museum, based in magician ... For example, suppose a carrier uses new load and route optimization software to analyze the routing of a particular shipper's freight. In the process, he discovers inefficiencies, opportunities to combine some loads and reroute others to reduce the total number of miles the carrier's trucks must travel to deliver the shipper's products to their various customers... Does the carrier say, “This is obviously a way to bring more value to the shipper in the form of improved efficiency and decreased costs; I can't wait to tell them the news”? ... In other words, having knowledge is one thing, but using it successfully, wisely and well is the real magic. In today's information-rich and complex world, it might be easier to escape from a locked trunk.
http://fleetowner.com/information_technology/patentpending/fleet_know_2/

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Trailer tracking a hit

USA - Fleet Owner -Jan,1,2005: Fleets using trailer monitoring systems are quite pleased with those systems, according to a new report released by C.J. Driscoll & Assoc... The “Trailer Monitoring Systems and Services Study” interviewed 168 fleet executives from large, mid-size and small fleets in truckload, LTL and private fleet operations... Some 60% said they would be willing to pay for trailer monitoring equipment, and 70% said they would pay a monthly fee to monitor trailer locations and status...
http://fleetowner.com/information_technology/truckcom/fleet_trailer_tracking_hit/

TECHNOLOGY - USA - WIRELESS: The New Generation

USA - FleetOwner(subscription),BY JIM MELE -Jan,1,2005: EV-DO, EDGE, GPRS, 1XRTT, UMTS, 3G, 4G, CDMA, GSM, iDEN — it's called wireless communications, but sometimes it seems more like a Tower of Babel than a cell tower... The problem for trucking is that wireless communications is well established as an essential tool. If you aren't using some type of wireless system to manage your fleet, you're shopping for one...
http://fleetowner.com/information_technology/feature/fleet_wireless_new_generation/

REPLACEMENT - SWEDEN: Volvo Trucks appoints new head of global manufacturing

Bromsgrove,Worcs,UK -just-auto.com(subscription)- 19,Jan,2005: Leif Hultman has been appointed senior vice president of global manufacturing at Volvo Truck Corporation. He replaces Ulf Johansson ...

RECOGNITION - Volvo Trucks CEO to chair SAE forum

USA -Fleet Owner(subscription)- Jan,18,2005: Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. president & CEO Peter Karlsten has agreed to serve as executive chair of the 2005 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress & Exhibition. The event is slated from Nov. 1 to 3 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago...
http://fleetowner.com/news/volvo_sea_exhibition_011805/

SAFER ROADS? - VIETNAM - Old trucks & buses to be retired

Ageing units may pose great danger to passengers and other road users.
Hanoi,Vietnam -Viet Nam News -24/01/2005: To make the roads safer this year, the Viet Nam Register will scrap some 17,000 old trucks and buses in early February under a new decree... The decree defined time limits for use of each vehicle: trucks may be operated for 29 years after the date of manufacture and buses for 23 ...
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=07ECO240105

INFORM: Transportation Boom in Asia, Crisis for the US

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan 23, 2005: INFORM Inc, a nonprofit research organization, is publishing a new analysis: The Transportation Boom in Asia: Crisis and Opportunity for the United States... The report provides a very useful summary and quantitative description of critical market drivers—the growth of transportation and energy use in China and India and the ongoing growth of oil consumption in the US...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/inform_transpor.html

INDIA - Calcutta to Phase Out Diesel Taxis for LPG

USA -The Telegraph/Green Car Congress -Jan 23, 2005: In a bid to clean up Calcutta’s air, the West Bengal state government is planning to phase out diesel taxis and replace them with cars operating on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/govrsquot_to_ph.html

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Johnson Controls Introduces New Battery for Hybrids

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan 18, 2005: Johnson Controls, North America's largest manufacturer of lead-acid batteries, introduced at NAIAS a new NiMH battery designed for hybrid cars. The new 7.2-volt, 7.0 Ah prismatic nickel-metal-hydride battery was developed ...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/johnson_control.html

ECOLOGY - EUROPEAN Parliament Calls for Legislative Restrictions on CO2 from New Cars

USA -Green Car Congress -Jan 18, 2005: Point Carbon. A resolution adopted by European MEPs at their Strasbourg plenary session last week calls on the European Commission “urgently to put forward proposals for binding CO2 limits for new vehicles”.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/european_parlia.html

ECOLOGY - CANADA - 'Keep the Trucks Off City Streets'

Fort St. John,British Columbia,Canada -Windsor Star/Alaska Highway News,by Dave Battagello -Jan 22, 2005: Gridlock Sam calls for new bridge, truck route. Windsor mayor vows to hold prime minister to his promise... rejecting proposals to send border-bound trucks to a rail tunnel or a twinned Ambassador Bridge... The plan, he said, would end the clogging of city roads and reduce noise and pollution in residential neighbourhoods.
http://www.canada.com/fortstjohn/story.html?id=ad5b7df1-b50c-44c1-9861-4d5777d0ea77

TECHNOLOGY - USA - New ANTI-THEFT system for trucks and cargo

USA -Fleet Owner(subscription)-Jan 21, 2005: Magtec Products, Inc. recently introduced an enhanced passive anti-theft system designed to prevent vehicle theft by shutting the engine down if an unauthorized person attempts to move or tamper with the truck... Integrated into the vehicle’s electrical system, the Magtec M5K and M5K-SC (Satcomm) units interrupt critical..
http://fleetowner.com/news/magtec_anti_theft_system_012105/

CANADA - NEW REGS leave some district truckers grumbling

Fort Frances,Ontario,Canada -Fort Frances Times,By Michael Hilborn -
January 19, 2005: The provincial government has served notice that truckers will be facing more stringent safety regulations shortly, with significant implications for log haulers in Rainy River District... The good news was most local operators probably are already in compliance with the new standards. The bad news is all of them will be required to spend more time checking the security of their cargo... has been redefined: “Cargo means everything on the truck, including tiedowns and the spare tire,” Boileau noted. Under the new regulations, all loads must be checked before entering... Thereafter, the load must be checked at every stop, every three hours, or every 240 km...
http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/2/2005-01-19/19816

USA - Gabriel Technologies and OOIDA Alliance Strengthens Homeland Security on Nation's Highways

OMAHA,Neb,USA -BUSINESS WIRE -January 19, 2005: Major Insurance Savings and WAR-LOK Security Locking System Distribution Program Unveiled... Gabriel Technologies Corp. founders of the WAR-LOK(TM) transportation security product line, today announced an unprecedented truck and cargo security and insurance alliance with OOIDA, the 119,061 member Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. The alliance has the potential to provide economic benefits to the two companies and their customers, and strengthen homeland security...
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050119005444&newsLang=en

IMPROVE ROADS from South NEPAL to INDIA

ADB loan to Nepal to pave way for Indian traders
Kathmandu,Nepal -Indo.Asian News Service -Jan 19 2005: A $20 million loan deal inked by Nepal ...pave the way to better business for Indian entrepreneurs, transporters and cargo operators... will be used to improve roads from the inland clearance depots (ICD) in south Nepal bordering India... The ICD leads to major gateways in Birgunj and Bhairawa and onto Nepal's main arterial highways and is important for commerce...
http://www.eians.net/2005/01/19/19loan.html

AWARD - USA - VOLVO Trucks Executive Named Chair of the 2005 SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress

WARRENDALE,Pa,USA -PRNewswire -Jan. 17 2005: The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) announced that Peter Karlsten, president and CEO of Volvo Trucks North America, Inc., has agreed to serve as the Executive Chair of the 2005 SAE Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress...
http://www.mysan.de/international/article25205.html

TIRES - USA - Goodyear rolls out self-sealing tires

Gel-like compound seals tread punctures on commercial tires
Akron,OH,USA -Akron Beacon Journal,By John Russell -Jan. 16, 2005: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is launching a line of truck tires with a gel-like rubber compound designed to instantly seal tread punctures... The goal is to help trash trucks, concrete trucks, logging trucks, mining trucks and other heavy-use rigs take a beating and keep on rolling...
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/business/10652908.htm?1c

What’s the Future Hold?

Green Car Congress/Detroit Free Press -USA -Jan 15, 2005: At NAIAS, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) hosted a panel comprising Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and auto executives to talk about the vision for the automobile in 15 years... Representatives from General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG, Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai-Kia Motors Co. participated in addition to the Governor...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/whatrsquos_the_.html

OIL - INDIA Goes Global for Energy Security

Green Car Congress/Indo-Asian News Service -USA -Jan 15, 2005: Indian companies have to go global to ensure energy security for the country that imports 70% of its oil needs, a top petroleum ministry official said Friday... India, with 15% of the global population, possesses less than 0.5% of global hydrocarbon reserves...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/01/india_goes_glob.html

PRODUCTION - N.A. - This week up 26.4 percent

WARD'S Reports Estimated Production
Castle Rock,CO,USA - ArriveNet -14/JNA/2005: ... production this week in the US, Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 322,282 units, up 26.4 percent from the 255,020 cars and trucks built last built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.
...

CONGESTIONS - Prediction: More trucks, tieups

Asbury Park,NJ,USA -Asbury Park Press,By BILL BOWMAN -1/13/05: Drivers weary of playing hide-and-seek with trucks on Shore area roads will get no relief in the years to come... The drivers may have to sit in traffic each year could increase to 126 hours -- a 598 percent jump -- by 2020, when the miles of county roads traveled by trucks is expected to increase by 82 percent ... The prospect is just as bleak for Ocean County roads: a more than 600 percent increase in the hours each year drivers sit in traffic -- to 36 hours -- and an 81 percent increase ...
http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1173779,00.html

STOLEN: CHEVY trucks top the list of most stolen vehicles

Houston,TX,USA -ABC13 Eyewitness News -01/13/05: If you own Chevy truck, make sure to lock it up tight. Thieves stole that vehicle more than any other last month here in Houston... HPD's auto theft division says thieves ripped off 167 Chevy trucks in December. Next on the most stolen list are...
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/automotive/011305_automotive_stolencars.html

SALES - INDIA - VOLVO India exports hi-tech trucks to Korea

Bangalore,Ernakulam,Kerala,India -New Kerala/Business India - 13/01/05: Volvo India Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of Swedish global... begun exporting hi-tech trucks to South Korea... Though Volvo India has been exporting its hi-tech buses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka... this is the first time the subsidiary has bagged huge orders from its 20-billion-euro parent company to export its M12 8x4 trucks to South Korea.
http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=59899

RECALLS - USA - GM Recalls Over 98,000 Trucks on U.S. Market

DETROIT,ILL,USA -Reuters - Jan 11,2005 -- General Motors Corp. is recalling more than 98,000 pickups, vans and sport utility vehicles because of a potential problem with their power steering and braking systems, federal safety regulators said on Tuesday... said the problem -- which can hamper but not eliminate the ability to stop or steer the vehicles -- stems from fractures in their hydraulic pump driveshafts...
http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7293038

ACCIDENTS - USA - Rain Is More Lethal For Drivers After A Long Dry Spell

Berkeley,CAL, USA - Science Daily/University Of California Berkeley - 2003-11-05 -- Going out for a drive in the rain? A study by a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, provides new data on how risky that road trip might be... In an analysis of more than 1 million fatal crashes in 48 states ... was surprised to find that the more it rained or snowed in a month, the fewer deadly traffic accidents there were. Specifically, ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031105065123.htm

ACCIDENTS - USA - Rural Roads In Southeast Are Deadliest In Nation

Accidents Waiting to Happen
Georgia, USA -Science Daily/Georgia Institute Of Technology - 2004-12-31 -- Rural two-lane highways are the largest single class of roads in the United States — and they are the deadliest, especially in the Southeast... A traffic fatality study by Georgia Tech shows the Southeast's rural two-lane highways are the deadliest roads in the nation. One contributing factor may be the 2.5- to 5-inch pavement drop-offs often found on rural highway edges. Drop-offs develop as roads are repaved and/or soil erodes along the shoulder...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041219183141.htm

TECHNOLOGY - USA - CO2 Injection Boosts Oil Recovery, Captures Emissions

Tulsa,Okla,USA -Science Daily/National Energy Technology Laboratory - 2005-01-10 -- Technology advances, economic improvements, and environmental needs have aligned to create a "perfect storm" of growth opportunity for a proven method for enhancing oil recovery in the United States: carbon dioxide (CO2) flooding... A watershed project in Kansas funded by the U.S. Department of Energy seeks to demonstrate that this technology’s time has come ... The project then recovers some of the CO2 that is a byproduct of the fermentation process ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050110091718.htm

TECHNOLOGY - UK - Discovery Is A Step Towards Pollution-free Cars

Newcastle,UK -Science Daily/University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne -2004-11-03 -- Scientists have made a world-first discovery which is a step towards using environmentally-friendly hydrogen to power our cars... A team from ...in the UK, have found a safe way of storing and releasing hydrogen to produce energy. They do this using nanoporous materials, which have tiny pores that are one hundred-thousandth (100,000th) the thickness of a sheet of paper...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041030145144.htm

TECHNOLOGY - USA - GM Joins With Sandia To Advance Hydrogen Storage

DETROIT, Mich., and LIVERMORE, Calif., USA - Science Daily/Sandia National Laboratories -2005-01-11 -— General Motors Corp. and Sandia National Laboratories have launched a partnership to design and test an advanced method for storing hydrogen based on metal hydrides... Metal hydrides — formed when metal alloys are combined with hydrogen — can absorb and store hydrogen within their structures. When subjected to heat, the hydrides release their hydrogen. In a fuel cell system, the hydrogen can then be combined with oxygen to produce electricity...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050110092105.htm

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Computer-Controlled Differential Braking Can Prevent Heavy Truck Rollover Accidents

PENNSILVANYA, USA -Science Daily/Penn State -2001-11-14 -- Penn State researchers say a computer program they developed and have tested in simulation could automatically adjust the brake forces on the right and left sides of a heavy truck cab and prevent rollover accidents during cornering maneuvers... A 1988 report ... showed rollover occurred in 52 percent of the heavy vehicle accidents in which the driver was killed... Another report concluded that heavy vehicle rollover was responsible for 95 percent of the bulk spillage of hazardous materials...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011114071946.htm

TECHNOLOGY - USA - LOW-DRAG Trucks: Aerodynamic Improvements & Flow Control System Boost Fuel Efficiency In Heavy Trucks

Georgia,USA -Science Daily/Georgia Institute Of Technology -2005/01/10 -- Low-Drag Trucks: Aerodynamic Improvements & Flow Control System Flow control techniques and aerodynamic improvements developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology could save the U.S. trucking industry hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel per year... "Aerodynamically, we have resolved unknowns raised in earlier testing, and the next step is to get this into a fleet of trucks for more extensive testing ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050106113455.htm

COMMENTS - USA - Old-line industry needs new-age speed

Detroit, ILL, USA -The Detroit News,By Daniel Howes -January 9, 2005 -- ... And the biggest players in consumer products -- global automakers -- are tailoring more new vehicles to promising niche markets. But they aren't much closer to attaining the Holy Grail of speedy made-to-order cars they started touting nearly a decade ago... That's an Old Economy-New Economy chasm that will only grow wider until someone figures out how to build and deliver cars and trucks as fast as Dell delivers PCs and laptops to your subdivision. To the winner will go bigger shares of lucrative, consumption-obsessed markets like the United States -- and a lot of feel-good attention.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/09/B02-54286.htm

STORIES - USA - Small trucking companies facing rough roads

EDINBURG, USA -The Monitor,by James Osborne -January 09,2005 —- Homer Salazar quit his job as a truck driver in the mid-1990s to start his own trucking company... He pieced together his savings, bought a semitrailer truck, and put up a sign identifying his new venture, Nicole’s Transportation, named for his wife... NAFTA had passed not long before, and produce from Mexico and manufactured goods from the North were moving through the Rio Grande Valley at an accelerating rate. Salazar was able to buy five more trucks, and even found his new business turning a profit...
http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=5101&Section=Local

TECHNOLOGY - USA - HYBRID Cars And Trucks Needed (Temporarily) For Research

USA -MixedPower.com - 8/Jan/2005 -- CRC (Coordinating Research Council) is looking for a few good hybrid vehicles to test at their upcoming Driveability Workshop in February 2005... Vehicles will be tested using 2 different formulations of gasoline (one winter grade, one like summer grade with ethanol) to see how they start, idle, and drive in cold (but dry and ice free) conditions...
http://www.mixedpower.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=301

LAWA - USA - Convicted arsonists to get special licenses so they can drive

U.S. wants to let arsonists drive gas, hazardous-cargo trucks

Seattle,WA,USA -Seattle Post Intelligencer,By LANCE GAY -January 8, 2005 -- The Federal Government wants to change its current rules to permit convicted arsonists to get special licenses so they can drive gasoline tankers and trucks loaded with explosives and hazardous materials... "Arson is not always an act of terrorism," the Transportation Security Administration declared in proposing the new regulations, which would permit... licenses allowing them to drive gasoline trucks, or other vehicles carrying hazardous materials...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/207052_arson08.html

On the Road- USA's: Top 10 of 2004

ELLSWORTH,ME,USA -Waldo Village Soup,By Tim Plouff -Jan 5,2005 -- The year 2004 was great for the American auto industry. Full of constant changes, '04 brought more hybrid-powered vehicles to our market ... General Motors lost some market share... Ford lost some sales volume, too, but truck sales are strong and there are... Chrysler made a huge splash with its new 300-series rear-drive sedan.. Toyota is the big elephant in the room... is poised to pass the whole Chrysler Corp. in total sales in 2005... Honda, Nissan and the Korean makers all had a good 2004 as the industry exceeded projections and again totaled more than 16 million new units sold...
http://waldo.villagesoup.com/Community/Story.cfm?StoryID=29653

TECHNOLOGY - USA - Automakers in Detroit likely to team up more for high tech

Detroit,ILL,USA -The Detroit News,By Christine Tierney -December 14, 2004 -- Two years ago, General Motors Corp. set out to become a leader in the development of fuel-cell cars, taking on front-runner DaimlerChrysler AG in a field that both companies believed was the next wave in automotive technology. .
http://www.detnews.com/2005/insiders/0501/12/B01-33096.htm

CHINA PIRACY - Automakers must toughen tactics to fight rampant

Detroit,ILL,USA -The Detroit News,By Christine Tierney -December 21, 2004 -- If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, foreign automakers must be feeling exalted in China... Local Chinese manufacturers are churning out copies of models built in China by General Motors Corp., Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and other ... Now Honda Motor Co. has identified 11 Chinese manufacturers that are making, or preparing to roll out, dead-ringers for its popular CR-V sport utility vehicle...
http://www.detnews.com/2005/insiders/0501/12/B01-38539.htm

SALES - USA - Sales of big rigs climb

Economists' holiday wishes come true as sales of big rigs climb
Detroit,ILL,USA -The Detroit News,By Doron Levin-December 28, 2004
... U.S. trucking companies, emboldened by higher demand for consumer and industrial goods, are on a spending binge, ordering big rigs to replace aging fleets and, in some cases, expand them... Sales of Class 8 tractors, the largest trucks, which are defined as those weighing 33,000 pounds or more (including load), increased 37 percent in November from a year earlier, according to Ward's Automotive Reports...
http://www.detnews.com/2005/insiders/0501/12/C01-43498.htm

INFRAESTRUCTURE - CHINA - A well-kept secret, quality highways

SHANGHAI,China -Autos Insider,By Michael Dunne -December 30, 2004 -- When it comes to infrastructure, China always thinks big... China is investing billions of dollars into world-class highways. Smoothly paved roads connect major cities with inland neighbors... Look no further than the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square or giant man-made canals to appreciate the nation's proclivity for massive public works...
http://www.detnews.com/2005/insiders/0501/12/insiders-45847.htm

AUTOMAKERS - 2005 Year of the Lawsuit.

For auto world, '05 looks litigious
Detroit,ILL,USA -The Detroit News,By Christine Tierney -January 4, 2005 -- If 2004 were the Year of the Car, this may be the Year of the Lawsuit... Detroit's automakers are embroiled in legal disputes ... at the least, or potentially devastating financial judgments... A verdict is still pending in ... case pitting billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian against DaimlerChrysler ... the 1998 deal between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler was a merger when he says it turned out to be a takeover... Ford Motor Co. is gearing up to refute accusations by former Ford of Europe president Martin Leach, who claims... But the case with the highest stakes is the increasingly bitter dispute between General Motors Corp. and Italy's Fiat SpA...
http://www.detnews.com/2005/insiders/0501/12/D01-48887.htm

SALES - HONDA's U.S. Auto Sales Rise 35% in December, 3.3% in 2004

USA -Bloomberg -Jan.4 2005 -- Honda Motor Co.'s U.S. sales in December rose 35 percent to 137,381 cars and light trucks, giving the automaker a 3.3 percent increase for all of last year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aayqWGJCY3Uc&refer=asia

RECALLS - USA - RECORD 2004. More than 30 million recalled cars and trucks

Carmakers staggered by record '04 recalls, dent quality image, bottom line.
WASHINGTON,USA -Detroit News,By Jeff Plungis -January 4, 2005 -- Automakers recalled a record 30.6 million U.S. cars and trucks last year even as independent surveys showed automotive quality continued to improve, according to figures released by the federal government Monday... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 598 recalls last year, affecting 30,556,064 cars, pickups, minivans and SUVs. The previous record number of recalls was 541 covering 24.6 million vehicles in 2000. There were 527 separate recalls covering 19.1 million vehicles in 2003...
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/04/A01-48858.htm

2004 RECORDS RECALLS cars & trucks

Carmakers staggered by record '04 recalls - More than 30 million recalled cars and trucks dent quality image, bottom line.
WASHINGTON,USA -Detroit News,By Jeff Plungis -January 4, 2005 -- Automakers recalled a record 30.6 million U.S. cars and trucks last year even as independent surveys showed automotive quality continued to improve, according to figures released by the federal government Monday... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 598 recalls last year, affecting 30,556,064 cars, pickups, minivans and SUVs. The previous record number of recalls was 541 covering 24.6 million vehicles in 2000. There were 527 separate recalls covering 19.1 million vehicles in 2003.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/04/A01-48858.htm

SAFETY - USA - Turnpike eyes better service for truckers

Segment in Fulton County may get new plaza complex
Toledo,OH,USA - Toledo Blade , By DAVID PATCH - 3/JAN/2005 -- A large truck stop and service plaza complex could be built in Fulton County on the Ohio Turnpike to replace two pairs of smaller plazas and entice more truckers to use the highway that stretches across northern Ohio... ... go 65 mph. "We want to get trucks to use the [toll] road and keep themon the road," Mr. Suhadolnik said. Turnpike officials have ...

SAFETY - USA - Turnpike eyes better service for truckers

Segment in Fulton County may get new plaza complex
Toledo,OH,USA - Toledo Blade , By DAVID PATCH - 3/JAN/2005 -- A large truck stop and service plaza complex could be built in Fulton County on the Ohio Turnpike to replace two pairs of smaller plazas and entice more truckers to use the highway that stretches across northern Ohio... ... go 65 mph. "We want to get trucks to use the [toll] road and keep themon the road," Mr. Suhadolnik said. Turnpike officials have ...

CONGESTION - USA - TDOT thinks HELP program helping fight city traffic congestion

Nashville,TN,USA - WKRN/AP - 3/jan / 2005 -- A Tennessee Department of Transportation program in the state's largest cities to provide roadside assistance to accidents and breakdowns is helping ease traffic congestion and improve safety, officials say... The program, called HELP, came to the aid of more than 92,500 motorists during the fiscal year that ended July 1, according to a recent annual report. That was up 9 percent from the previous year...

GERMANY - New Truck Toll Starts Without Glitches

GERMANY - Bloomberg - Jan. 3 2005 -- Germany's delayed highway truck-toll system is running without problems, countering fears that traffic jams, technical gremlins and fee-dodging might hamper its first full day of operation, Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe said...

GERMANY - New Truck Toll Starts Without Glitches

GERMANY - Bloomberg - Jan. 3 2005 -- Germany's delayed highway truck-toll system is running without problems, countering fears that traffic jams, technical gremlins and fee-dodging might hamper its first full day of operation, Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe said...

FRONTIER USA - 2004 was a big year for border issues

Brownsville,TX,USA - Brownsville Herald - ... The commercial FAST lane is intended to decrease the amount of timetrucks are at the border, but not all trucks can use the program...

USA - SAFETY, Clean Fuels May Steal Thunder at Auto Shows

Canton,OH,USA - Canton Repository (subscription) - 1/JAN/2005 -- ... The ultimate goal, of course, is to sell more cars and trucks and movemore products in the automotive aftermarket--that segment occupied bysales of tires ...

TRANSPORTATION - USA - Surge in truck sales may point to better times

An increase in demand for shipping sends trucking firms on a buying spree.
Duluth,MN,USA - Duluth News Tribune,BY PETER PASSI - 320/DEC/2004 -- Trucking companies in the Northland and nationwide have been beefing up their fleets with new rigs, an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy... "About 80 percent of everything that moves in this country goes by truck," he said, and as the economy revs up, trucking companies have had no choice but to respond. "Most of the nation's trucking companies are operating at or near capacity, and they need more vehicles."...

ECOLOGY - USA - OPTION for idle trucks

Fort Wayne,IN,USA - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - 20 DEC 2004 -- Indiana’s first “electrified” truck stop will improve air quality, reduce noise pollution and conserve fuel. It should become the norm throughout the state ... Idling trucks pump 11 million tons of carbon dioxide and 5,000 tonsof particulate matter into the air and waste 1 billion gallons of dieselfuel each year ...

PRODUCTION FAILED - JAPAN - FUSO says dealers failed to repair trucks correctly

Tokyo,Japan - Daily Yomiuri - 28 DEC 2004 -- Dealerships in five prefectures failed to carry out provisional repairs correctly on some of the 2,600 trucks that were recalled with faulty clutches in May ...

ACQUISITIONS - USA - ACCURIDE Corporation to Acquire Transportation Technologies

Combined Company Expects to Become One of the Predominant Suppliers to the Heavy/Medium Commercial Vehicle Industry
San Francisco,CA,USA - Business Wire (press release) - Dec. 27, 2004 -- Accuride Corporation, North America's largest manufacturer and supplierof wheels for heavy/medium trucks and trailers, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Transportation Technologies Industries, Inc. (TTI), one of the largest North American manufacturers of truck components for the heavy and medium-duty trucking industry. The common stock of both companies is privately held...

ECOLOGY - USA - Plan to Cut Port Smog to Be Unveiled

Potential new rules and initiatives to reduce air pollution could require widespread changes and cost billions of dollars.
Los Angeles,CA,USA - Los Angeles Times (subscription),By Deborah Schoch - December 27, 2004 -- In an effort to put a lid on Southern California's largest single source of air pollution, local, state and federal experts this week plan to unveil dozens of potential new rules and initiatives to cut smog from the fast-growing Los Angeles port complex... In all, the proposals could cost billons of dollars and demand widespread changes at the nation's busiest seaport...

TECHNOLOGY - CHINA - Luwan installs GPS in its garbage trucks

BEIJING,China - China View - Dec. 27 2004 -- The Luwan District Public Sanitation Bureau is installing satellite global positioning system in garbage trucks to better manage drivers, although some say the equipment isn't necessary... "The information we get includes where the vehicles are, how fast they are traveling, what direction they are traveling and where they have been," ...

AUSTRALIA - GREENS call for speed limit reduction on log trucks

Australia - ABC Regional Online - December 25, 2004 -- The Tasmanian Greens want the speed limit for log trucks reduced to 80 kilometres an hour... says he has obtained statistics which reveal log trucks are overturning at a rate of one per week... the Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association, says reducing the speed limit will cause more accidents as frustrated drivers try to overtake the trucks...

SECURITY - USA - Crackdown on Trucks' Unsecured Loads Is Effective

Albuquerque, SANTA FE ,USA- Albuquerque Journal - 12/22/2004 -- State Motor Transportation Division officials used to get four complaints a day about debris falling from trucks driving along Interstate 25 and cracking windshields... Officers issued 110 citations and placed 36 vehicles and 24 drivers out of service. Twenty of the citations were for unsecured loads, fifteen were for speeding.

SALES - INDIA - Tag a hike: trucks scale up price curve

New Delhi,India - Economic TIMES NEWS NETWORK, by LIJEE PHILIP - DECEMBER 21, 2004 -- With demand soaring, truck price tags are being marked up again... the industry moves to Euro II compliance norms next April, commercial vehicle (CV) makers across the board are talking price hikes... Ashok Leyland has already increased prices by 1.5%, Tata Motors is expected to hike them by 3-4% ... Fleet operators indicate that despite high diesel prices, profitability has improved due to high utilisation levels and robust freight rates.

TEDCHNOLOGY - USA - GM, DC Team for Dual-Stage Hybrids

Late to arrive to the party, GM and DaimlerChrysler combine for a novel twist on the hybrid idea.
USA - The Car Connection,by Paul A. Eisenstein - 2004-12-13 -- Slow to accept the concept of hybrid powertrains, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors are taken a bold step that they insist could “leapfrog” existing technology and put them in the lead in this small but fast-growing market segment... The two automakers have signed an initial memo to join forces on hybrid development...

SALES - USA - GM Trucks Leading the Sag

Older vehicles aren’t helping market share, Wagoner concedes.
USA - The Car Connection,by Joseph Szczesny - 2004-12-27 -- General Motors Corp. plans to defend its market share but its aging line of trucks and sport-utility vehicles is under intense pressure from the competition, GM’s top executive now admits.... “Last year was obviously a boom year, and we aren’t going to make those kinds of numbers this year. But we are hoping for a strong close,” ...

JORDAN - Record of trucks loaded at Aqaba Port

AQABA (Petra) - Jordan Times - 19/12/2004 — The number of trucks loaded at Aqaba Port on Thursday was a record 511 for the first time since 1952, according to the Danish APM Terminals Company entrusted with operating and developing the Aqaba Port's containers terminal. A company official said the waiting period for ships at the port has dropped from 128 hours at the beginning of the current year to only four hours at present.

SALES - INDIA - HEAVYWEIGHT trucks see highest jump

New Delhi,India - Economic Times, by SACHIN BAXI & JOSEPH PEREIRA - DECEMBER 20, 2004 -- Heavy tonnage trucks continued to their good run of sales this year. Total sales of the B1- B4 category of trucks classified by SIAM, which include trucks from 7.5 tonnes to over 35 tonnes, were 104,204 units in the period April - November ’04. Total sales for the same period last year were 78,108 units, which represents a rise in unit sales of 33% year on year...

TECHNOLOGY - Wireless cargo security solutions

BULLDOG Technologies Announces Field Trial Agreement
Castle Rock,CO,USA - ArriveNet (press release) - 6/JAN/2005 -- RICHMOND, British Columbia -- Bulldog Technologies Inc., an innovative provider of wireless cargo security solutions, today announced that it has entered into a field trial agreement with Shadow Lines Transportation ... Fifty trucks involving vans and flat decks are also dispatched to various points from this location. ... "We are often called upon to transpor thigh-value cargo. ...

FUEL - USA - Average diesel price drops again

USA - eTrucker,By Sean Kelley 30/DEC/2004 -- The national average retail price for a gallon of diesel fell three cents to $1.957 for the first week in 2005... The decline is the eighth such decrease in the past 10 weeks... Diesel prices set a record high at $2.212 on Oct. 25, before retreating below $2... Analysts say falling oil prices, rising U.S. stockpiles of fuel and a mild North American winter have influenced the price downward.

USA - Freight traffic keeps doing its part in U.S. economy

USA - eTrucker,By Lance Orr - 31/DEC/2004 -- The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation show that freight traffic continues to grow. The freight component of the federal Transportation Services Index increased in October to 127.6, a figure 5.9 percent higher than the previous October.

USA - POWERTRAIN SPECS Kenworth's, available online

USA - Kenworth White Paper on Powertrain Spec'ing provide useful informations and recommendations on the new generation on heavy duty engines, transmissions, cooling systems, and related technology to ensure maximum perfomance, fuel economy, and minimum vehicle life cycle costs

PRODUCTION - BRAZIL - Great Dane Trailers retool the refrigerated and dry freight trailer lines

usa - eTrucker,By Lance Orr - 4/JAN/2005 -- Great Dane Trailers will spend $5 million to retool the refrigerated and dry freight trailer production lines at its Brazil, Ind., manufacturing facility... All Great Dane Classic dry freight vans will now come from Brazil... The Brazil plant will also continue to produce classic refrigerated trailers.

TECHNOLOGY - MAVERICK invests in lane-alarm

USA - eTrucker,By Jill Dunn - 4/JAN/2004 -- Maverick Transportation has become the latest fleet to order the Iteris lane departure warning system for its trucks... Cargo Transporters ... on all new truck purchases, and Logex Corp... purchased 38 trucks with the technology ... system uses a windshield-mounted camera to identify lane markings. It emits a rumble-strip sound on the appropriate side of the truck if the vehicle crosses lane markings ...

USA - KEEPING our highways safe

Kingston,NY,USA - Kingston Daily Freeman - 3/JAN/2004 -- ... "Or sometimes a load is placed below or separate from a cargo areaand ... check their safety rating, history of violations, number of driversand trucks and see" .... The results of these inspections are then put on the troopers' laptop computers and updated at the end of their shifts to the state Department of Transportation and the federal Department of Transportation.

HAULING TRUCKS - USA - ... they "don't play well with others."

FREIGHT, people don't mix well
Everett,WA,USA - Everett Herald - 2/JAN/2005 -- ... We need the trucks for our economy, and while we can reduce the weight of the cab, the engine and the trailer, there's not much we can do about the cargo. ... And that does more than put a limit on how much we can reduce fuel consumption in trucks themselves... Part of the problem with freight-hauling trucks is that they "don't play well with others." ... They simply weigh too much to mix it up safely in high-speed traffic... Surviving collisions is tough enough now, but if we cut the weight of passenger vehicles in half, or by two-thirds ...

TRANSPORT CONTAINERS - CANADA - China's growth hits home in B.C.

Those who handle trade traffic in and out of Vancouver say we risk falling behind
Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada - Vancouver Sun, by Bruce Constantineau - December 31, 2004 -- ... the Port of Vancouver more often result from poor management of cargoflows than ... but transport intermodal containers, which can be carried by trains or trucks. ...

TRANSPORT THRIVING - USA - PRICE attacks: are rampaging costs threaten area's burgeoning ...

Scranton,PA,USA - Pennsylvania Northeast Business Journal - 30/DEC/2004 -- ... Over the years Biondi has transported cargo that includes food, appareland Department of Defense items, and today each of his trucks log 144,000 miles annually ... The distribution industry in northeast Pennsylvania that features both trucking and warehousing is thriving, with total employment and payrolls that have grown to dwarf national averages... "Everyone gets excited about high-tech types of industry, but warehousing and trucking are definitely income- and wealth-generators in northeastern Pennsylvania," says ....

TECHNOLOGY - USA - MILES away from change

Riverside,CA,USA - Press-Enterprise (subscription) - 26/dec/2004 -- ... But Torlakson predicts that in 10 years transponder devices might befound on commercial cargo trucks and cars that want access to special freeways....

PRODUCTION - USA - NISSAN "Titan". PILLAR of power: tackles all comers with made-in-US

Portland,OR,USA - Portland Tribune,BY SAM MOSES - 24 dec 2004 -- The Titan was designed in California by an American team. It’s built in Mississippi, and the engine is built in Tennessee ... It’s the first time in Nissan history that a chief program specialist has been American, a move made because Nissan knows full-size pickup trucks are “uniquely American.” ... The convenience of this complete access to the cargo area behind the seats is so great that other trucks will be sure to copy this design.

UKRAINE - Attraction of large trucks for the cargo delivery

MARIUPOL: Illicha Steel Mill and port have held a record in steel

Donetsk,Ukraine - D V C News - 23 December 2004 -- According to the data of press service, the increase of reloaded volumes became possible only due to the attraction of large trucks for the cargo delivery to ...

JORDAN - Accord ends month-long dispute

AMMAN,Jordan - MENAFN/Jordan Times - 23/12/2004 -- ... companies, which own 3,800 trucks, over independent drivers, Jordan Truck Owners Association (JTOA), who own7,462 trucks. ... The deal also stipulates that truckers should deliver cargo heading for the ... dispute resulted from a government decision to exclude the country's 11 Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs) destined cargo transported from Aqaba Port from the "computerised ticket-system" advocated by the association.

SECURITY - FRONTIER USA - MEXICAN Drug Traffickers: A Byproduct of Poor Border Security

Guerneville,CA,USA - Men's News Daily, by Jim Kouri - December 21, 2004 -- ... Mexican drug traffickers are the primary transporters of the major narcotics imported into the US... The 2,000 mile shared border between Mexico and the US is the entry point for a large percentage of these drugs. During FY 2000, 89 million automobiles, 4.5 million trucks, and 293 million people entered the US from Mexico... For example, a tractor-trailer transporting legitimate cargo may also contain hidden bales of marijuana...

SECURITY - INTERNATIONAL Cooperation Key to Cargo Security

Akron,PA,USA - Layover, Fleet Owner - 12/21/2004 -- ... Some 10-million cargo containers are transported on vessels into US ports every year, and million of tons more [of cargo] arrive by air, truck sand rail,? ...

FRONTIER USA - Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS)

Government of Canada Newsroom (press release) - Canada - 20 DEC 2004 -- ... protecting that length of track and & preparing the site for the installation, by the U.S. government, of a (VACIS).... This is a state-of-the-art security system designed for rail cargo inspection ... Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS) can be used to inspect cars, vans and trucks as well as palleted cargo, freight cars, and air, sea and rail containers. It scan contents of freight cars and containers as trains roll by slowly....

SAFETY - USA - WIND gusts of 80 mph forces CHP to close I-8

Yuma Sun - Yuma,AZ,USA - Dec 18, 2004 -- ... The prohibited high-profile vehicles included tractor-trailers, two-axlecargo vans and trucks with camper shells, Turner said. ... CHP had considered completely closing the freeway to all vehicles because of the seriousness of the winds. He said that continued as a possibility....

SECURITY - CARGO security plan is taking shape

China Post - Taipei,Taiwan - 2004/12/18 -- WASHINGTON, AP-- The Homeland Security Department hasn't settled on a final plan to keep freight shipping safe from terrorism, but it has concluded that a top priority is faster deployment of more sophisticated radiation detectors at U.S. airports, seaports and border crossings. ... Officials released a draft cargo security strategy Thursday that stated its most important objective is to intercept any weapon of mass destruction at the U.S. border.

FRONTIER MEXICO - NAFTA troubles

LONG-HAUL Mexican trucks still idling
San Antonio,TX,USA - San Antonio Express (subscription), by Bonnie Pfister - 12/18/2004 --
... San Antonians saw the pact's plan to allow Mexican trucks to deliver... City over exactly how to monitor Mexico's traditionally less-regulated cargo carriers have ...

ECOLOGY - ITALY - SMOG: ROME in 2005, alternate plates & electric buses

Rome, Italy - Agenzia Giornalistica Italia/AGI - Dec. 30 2004 -- Alternate number plates will be banned every Thursday, besides the improvement of public transport with the introduction of electric buses, which will be the main measure adopted by Rome city council in 2005 to face up to the pollution emergency ...

FUEL ANTERNATIVES - CHINA is eager to acquire and develop new fuels

BEIJING, China - Beijing Review,By YAN WEI -
With an increasing number of automobiles,... about 85 percent of China’s annual gasoline output is burned in car engines, which is also how 20 percent of the country’s annual diesel output is used up.... Compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) are two such alternatives... to Beijing Evening News, there are over 1,800 CNG buses and 42,000 LPG cabs in Beijing.
http://www.bjreview.com.cn/200450/Cover-200450(C).htm

AWARDS USA - Clean Cities, National Partner Award

Washington,USA - US Dpt. of Energy -- In recongnition of their outsanding contributions of the alternative fuels and vehicles industries, 10 organizations earned Clean Cities National Partner Awards, and induction in to the Clean Cities Hall of Fame...
http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/national_partner_awards.pdf

GNG - Philippines - Cleaner, cheaper alternative

RP to field natural gas buses in 2004
Philippines -CyberDyaryo,By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo -29 DEC 2004 --... the government has drawn up plans to field natural gas vehicles, first in Metro Manila, then in the provinces. According to the Department of Energy, plans are afoot to field 100 CNG-run buses by next year. The Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. is also mulling the idea of CNG...
http://www.cyberdyaryo.com/features/f2003_1229_04.htm

CNG - IRAN - Strategy for use natural gas by transportations systems

Sharq,IRAN -Daily Newspaper,By Amir Hussein Mhadvai -- ... a comparison between the investment budget of two billion dollars and the six billion dollars worth of the transportation sector's annual consumption of gasoline and gas oil shows the reason for a strategy encouraging use of natural gas by the country's transportation system ...
http://www.netiran.com/?fn=artd(528)

PRODUCTION - EUROPE - GM cutting 2,000 jobs at plant in Ruesselsheim

BERLIN,Germany -Associated Press -December 15, 2004 -- Some 2,000 jobs will be cut at the main plant of General Motors Corp.'s Adam Opel AG unit in Ruesselsheim over the next two years,... The cuts come as part of the automaker's plans announced in October to slash as many as 12,000 positions in the next two years in Europe, most of them in Germany, in order to cut excess ...
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/16/autos-34225.htm

SALES - ITALY - 'ZERO KM' CARS DOWN

Rome,Italy - AGI - Jan.5 2005 -- The so-called 'zero km' models are no longer boosting car sales: over the past three years, their percentage on overall car sales dropped from 7 pct in 2002 (152,000), to 6.3 pct in 2003 (147,000) to 5 pct in 2004 (115,000...
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200501051620-1107-RT1-CRO-0-NF30

ADVERTISING - and GM DOIT !!

General Motors owed a refund from the P-I
I hope you will offer General Motors at least a partial refund on its full-page ad touting the great fuel economy of hybrid buses since you used a banner headline on page one to report exactly the opposite (Monday)- John Whittaker - Vashon

GM should spend its ad budget elsewhere
I find it quite ironic that General Motors had a full-page advertisement in the Monday issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the same issue that discussed the new hybrid bus fuel efficiency issues ("Hybrid buses' fuel economy promises don't materialize," front page, same day).

Poor planning or coincidence, it had this reader laughing at how the claims made in the ad were discredited by the article. Perhaps GM could put its advertising budget toward more useful things, such as developing a viable alternative fuel (biodiesel) that truly would help the environment. - Colin Walker - Renton

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/203718_ltrs15.html

REPPLY - USA - EXECUTIVE Ron Sims' statement on hybrid

Seattle,WA,USA - King County (press release)- Dec. 13, 2004 -- "Last summer, King County Metro began taking delivery of the first of 213 hybrid buses in order to protect and improve the environment and the air we breathe. The decision to purchase these clean-air buses was a good decision .... Today's story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer indicates we are "disappointed" with the performance of these hybrid buses. That is not true... Given the decline in the Puget Sound's air quality and growing reliance on public transportation to help reduce traffic congestion, King County made the decision to be a leader in new cutting-edge technology to greatly reduce pollution-causing emissions....

PRODUCTION USA - Chrysler dangles more buyouts

The automaker aims to cut 5,000 skilled trades jobs by 2007 to better compete.
The Detroit News,By Brett Clanton -December 15, 2004 -- DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is offering early retirement packages to factory electricians, pipe fitters and other highly paid skilled trades workers as part of an agreement with the United Auto Workers union to cut 5,000 of the high-paying jobs by 2007... The automaker also is extending buyout offers to other hourly and salaried employees...
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/16/A01-34121.htm

SALES - DAIMLERCHRYSLER reports strong sales in commercial vehicles

Detroit,MI,USA-DetNews.com/Associated Press-16 DEC 2004 -- BERLIN -DaimlerChrysler's commercial vehicles division sold nearly 30 percent more trucks and buses through November 2004 than all of last year, the German ...By the end of November, the company sold more than 643,000 trucks and buses, compared to 501,000 for all of 2003, boosted by a strong rise in global truck markets as well as the ...

DIVORCE - FIAT: "Lacking foundation "Economy's" advances"

Torino,ITALY-AGI- 4 JAN 2005 -- "Draft of journalistic deductions completely lacking in foundation". Thus Fiat has answered, officially, to the news of "Economy" (magazine), ....
http://www.agi.it/news.pl?doc=200501041841-1188-ROM-ECO-A-&page=0&id=agionline.economia

PRODUCTION - JAPAN - Fire halts production at 2 Mazda plants in Japan

TOKYO,JAPAN -Reuters -December 16,2004 -- A fire halted production at two of Mazda Motor Corp.'s four Japanese plants although one later came back on-line, the company said on Thursday, adding to problems in an industry already hit by a steel shortage... The fire broke out on Wednesday night near a painting line at the company's Ujina No.1 plant in Hiroshima, western Japan, burning for about seven hours before ...
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/16/autos-35254.htm

FUEL ECONOMY - USA - HYBRID promises don't materialize

Older models have gotten better mpg
Seattle,WA,USA - Seattle Post Intelligencer,By JANE HADLEY - 13 DEC 2004 - .... Expensive new hybrid diesel-electric buses, that were portrayed by King County Metro as "green" heroes that would use up to 40 percent less fuel than existing buses, have fallen far short of that promise.... In fact, at times, the New Flyer hybrid articulated buses have gotten worse mileage than the often-maligned 1989 dual-mode Breda buses they are replacing... Yet the hybrid buses cost $200,000 more each than a conventional articulated diesel bus.... Metro's articulated hybrid buses were getting 3.75 miles a gallon in September.... The disappointing results are a far cry from the rosy predictions made by officials....
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/203509_metro13.html

CHINA - Intellectual property may theft a crime

BEIJING,China -Reuters/By Scott Hillis -December 16, 2004 -- China is to make it easier to fight intellectual property right crimes, a move that may ease U.S. concerns over rampant copying of movies, software and other goods that Washington says costs businesses billions of dollars a year.... "By promulgating and enforcing a new judicial interpretation, what was once a minor intellectual property infringement may soon be a crime," the China Daily quoted an official with the Supreme People's Court...
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/16/autos-35252.htm

TRANSPORT - S. AFRICA - DRIVERS May Face Rush-Hour Taxes

Johannesburg,- AllAfrica.com, by Brendan Boyle - December 13, 2004
- ... For those who do use public transport, the strong preference is for taxis and not trains or buses.... However, commuters will come under a lot of pressure to share transport. Options on the table include: a Los Angeles-style "diamond lane" open only to cars carrying at least two people; a London-style congestion tax on cars entering cities; and revenue-generating urban toll roads.... Similar plans would follow for Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.

TECHNOLOGY - GERMAN fuel cell industry calls for political boost

FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters -December 15, 2004 -- A group of major German companies called on Tuesday for government support to help the country compete internationally in fuel cell development and production... Germany's newly founded fuel cell alliance BZB, which represents around 300 firms, including car maker Daimler Chrysler, utility RWE and Siemens, said Germany could soon open production lines ...
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/16/autos-34229.htm

ECOLOGY ECONOMY ? - USA - DIESEL buses best RTD choice

Denver,CO,USA - Denver Post - December 14, 2004 -- Taxpayers would have to pay $89 million more in initial outlays to put those CNG vehicles on the road,... A CNG fleet would more than double pollutants in two of the four categories regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency....The current "clean diesel" is fairly low in sulphur but is only an interim fuel. While it is much cleaner than the higher-sulphur fuels it replaced, federal regulations require new ultra-low sulphur fuels in mid-2006.... Thus, by the end of 2006, the new diesels will be much cleaner than their CNG rivals in hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and particulate matter emissions, and basically tied in nitrous oxides. As a bonus, federal tests show the diesel buses are slightly quieter than their natural gas rivals.

DIVORCE - GM will pay 850-900 mls dollars to FIAT

Milan,ITALY-AGI- 4JAN 2005 -- "It'll be of 850-900 million dollars the price that General Motors will pay to the Lingotto in order not to load Fiat Car. Therefore, a divorce little oneroso of the previewed one for the House of Detroit, ...."
http://www.agi.it/news.pl?doc=200501041748-1173-ROM-ECO-A-

SALES 2004 - ITALY - CARS TOTALLED 2,258,861 IN 2004; + 0.53 PCT

Bologna,Italy-AGI-Jan.5 2005 -- Car sales in 2004 totalled 2,258,861 that's a 0.53 pct increase compared to 2003. That's what the survey centre Promotor reported, which considers the figure "relevant". In December sales went up by 5.22 pct (+149,900 units compared to December 2003)....
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200501051445-1086-RT1-CRO-0-NF30

ECOLOGY - USA, CALIF. air board ends voluntary emission program for trucks, buses

Waste News - Akron,OH,USA - Dec. 13 2004 - -- California regulators voted Dec. 9 to end a voluntary program and force owners of nearly 60,000 heavy-duty trucks, school buses and diesel-powered motor homes to upgrade computer software to reduce engine emissions.

OIL - CHINA's state oil company could get Yukos stake

MOSCOW, RUSIA - CBC Business News - 30 Dec 2004 -- China's state oil company could be offered a 20 per cent stake in the recently auctioned main production unit of former Russian oil giant Yukos .... said the China National Petroleum Corp. could be offered a one-fifth share in a new Russian state company that would be created to control the Yuganskneftegaz unit .... There had been speculation that the unit would become part of Russia's state-controlled natural gas company, Gazprom.

SALES - Global auto sales hit record high

TORONTO, CANADA - CBC Business News - 30 Dec 2004 -- Global auto sales climbed to a record high this year and will post a further moderate gain in 2005, .... Higher oil prices failed to dampen demand as sales volumes advanced by three per cent.... New vehicle purchases in Asia, excluding Japan, continue to advance at a double-digit pace and are expected to exceed 10 million units next year.... When full-year figures are tallied for 2004, China is expected to show sales of 2.3 million units, surpassing both Italy and France and making it the fourth largest car market in the world.

SALES - CHINA - Export cars to U.S.

The cars would be the first made in China to sell in the United States
NEW YORK, USA - CBC Business News - 03 Jan 2005 - A government-owned Chinese automaker founded in 1997 has signed a deal with a privately held New York company to sell Chinese-made cars to Americans in 2007.... Chery Automobile Co., one of the fastest growing companies in the fledgling Chinese auto industry, is teaming up with Visionary Vehicles of New York, which has backing from investment banking firm Allen & Co.

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Jan 28, 2005