Trucks World News: August 2005

HOS - USA - New hours rule restricts sleeper berth use

USA - eTrucker - 19/08/2005: -- The new hours-of-service regulations will require all drivers using sleeper berths to satisfy their mandatory rest requirements by taking at least eight consecutive hours off duty and another two hours off duty throughout the work day... The rule announced Aug. 19 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also grants a two work days of up to 16 hours within a week to short-haul drivers operating within 150 air miles of their base and returning home each night, provided the equipment is smaller than that requiring a commercial driver's license...

Crisis - USA - Hurt by fuel prices? Let ATA know how

USA - etrucker, by Andy Duncan - 31 Aug 2005: -- If high fuel prices have affected your business, the American Trucking Associations wants to hear from you: E-mail your story to: fuelcrisis@trucking.org... Collecting the stories of truckers and trucking companies will help ATA make its case in Washington that fuel prices are hurting the industry and the U.S. economy, said ATA President Bill Graves. “They are starting to become a drag on national economic growth,”...

EcoNews - Canada - Global Warming Doubt Dispelled? Not Really

Toronto,ON,Canada -The Toronto Free Press/www.junkscience.com, by Steven Milloy -Aug 31, 2005: -- Is the debate now over for skeptics of global warming hysteria? Readers of USA Today may certainly have that impression: "Satellite and weather-balloon research released today removes a last bastion of scientific doubt about global warming, researchers say", reported on Aug.12... Certainly that report was partially correct – the researchers did, in fact, “say” [read “claim”] that “the last bastion of scientific doubt” had been removed. But claims and reality often don’t match up... many key climate questions remain unanswered including: whether humans are causing significant warming; whether warming is undesirable; and whether anything be done to avert any undesirable warming...

Volunteer - USA - Truckers in hurricane areas

“People contact us to volunteer”
New Orleans,MI,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley, Miss), by Aaron Ladage -30 Aug 2005: -- As Hurricane Katrina comes ashore in the Gulf States, the opportunity to help those devastated by the disaster is growing... In the wake of a storm, truckers can play an important role in the relief effort by providing donated time, labor and, of course, transportation for supplies and rebuilding in crisis areas, said Patricia Kraemer, disaster and emergency services director for the Mississippi Gulf Coast chapter of the American Red Cross... "We always need trucks to pick up supplies and take them to shelters and such. We need transportation of supplies and free labor"... Although truckers’ help is always appreciated, Devorah Goldburg, spokesperson for the American Red Cross, said, but might feel that an overwhelming volunteer response from truckers could complicate the logistical problems in a disaster area...
The Seattle Times - Aug 31, 2005: -- Overwhelmed by the number of dead, county workers marked bodies with satellite-based locator devices for later pickup. The county had enough space on refrigerated trucks for 80 bodies. Officials ordered more trucks...
ajc.com/The New York Times -08/31/05: -- The 70-member groups of firefighters and medical specialists arrive with 18-wheelers and other trucks loaded with generators, chainsaws, tents and dogs that can sniff out the living and the dead.. .

Tests - USA - Discerns Gas-Saving Myths and Truths

Edmunds.com , Offers Tips in Time for Labor Day Road Trips
SANTA MONICA, Calif., USA - Automotive/PRNewswire -Aug. 31 2005: -- Edmunds.com, the premier online automotive resource, recently tested several of the most often cited gas-saving tips to see which are "urban legends" and which actually save consumers money at the pumps...
The tested tips and results were:

Tip: Use cruise control to save fuel. Test Result: True -- at a surprisingly significant level.
Tip: Driving with open windows is far less efficient than using air conditioning. Test Result: Negligible -- both methods produced roughly the same mileage per gallon.
Tip: To dramatically improve mileage, you must buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Test Result: False -- there are huge savings to be had for drivers who change their driving style from "lead-foot" to "feather-foot."
Tip: Properly inflated tires are more efficient than tires with low pressure. Test Result: True -- and there are other significant benefits, too, including safety and tire longevity.

Recalls - USA - GM & Hyundai & DaimlerChrysler's "Jeep Liberty"

WASHINGTON,DF,USA -9 & 10 News/AP - 8/30/2005: -- Problems with the antilock brake system are behind the decision by General Motors to recall about 800-thousandS-U-Vs and pickups in 14 northern states... Road grime causing corrosion to a plastic A-B-S sensor cover isblamed for more than 200 low-speed crashes. The recall involves 1999 through 2002 model years of the ChevyAvalanche, Silverado and Tahoe, along with the G-M-C Sierra, Yukon and Yukon X-L... In a separate move, Hyundai has issued a recall of about 36-thousand 2006 Sonata sedans because of problems with thedriver's seat belt getting caught up with a knob used to reclinethe front seat... And the government has announced an investigation of the 2002 Jeep Liberty amid complaints about problems latching the seat beltbuckle...

Cutting - USA - Freightliner announces to layoff 260

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C.,USA - The Beaufort Gazette/Associated Press-Aug 31, 2005: -- Freightliner LLC, blaming higher fuel prices, said it will lay off 260 people from its medium-duty truck plant in Mount Holly... The job cuts, announced this week, are scheduled to take effect by Sept. 26, company spokesman Jeff Fisher said. The company, which is based in Portland, Ore., will produce 100 trucks a day, down from 120, he said... About 1,280 employees would still work at the plant, the same number as a year ago...

Story - USA - From Lee, a truck driver

Re: A Word from a Liberated Truck Driver.....A former trainee of mine.
USA -Google Group: misc.transport.trucking - From: "Lee308" Lee ...@yahoo.com -30 Ago 2005: -- "While I agree in principal, leave women out of it, very few women driving trucks precentage wise. Face it, driving a truck is not condusive to hygine to start with. Like my old driver trainer said: "the job is what it is"... I keep my hair very short for practicle reasons. I go w/o baths for a couple days and long hair is a bitch to keep clean. There is no one I want to impress with my great looks out there anyway... If you bath everyday while on the road, please advise how. I hate truck stops and avoid them except for fuel. Why? the nastiness there, people peeing out doors onto the pavement, hookers, drugs, noise, smell, rude drivers racing through the parking area, bad food, I could go on". Lee

Shares - USA - Moody's rates GM, Ford stock junk

Detroit,Mich,USA -Detroit Free Press, by BILL KOENIG/BLOOMBERG -Aug 25, 2005: -- Stock shares of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the two biggest U.S. automakers, were lowered to junk by Moody's Investors Service... Moody's lowered Detroit-based GM's rating two levels to Ba2 and the rating on its finance arm to Ba1... Dearborn-based Ford was cut one level to Ba1, one step below investment grade...

Cutting 2 - USA - GM plant starts layoffs

Detroit,Mich,USA - Detroit Free Press -Aug 27, 2005: -- Five percent of the General Motors Corp. workers in Doraville, Ga., began receiving layoff notices Friday, a consequence of languid sales of the four minivan models assembled at the plant. The 155 layoffs take effect Sept. 6... The reduction will drop the Doraville work force to about 2,950. GM spokeswoman said additional trims via early retirement might follow. She said they might find replacement work through job banks within the company... AUSTRALIA TOO: GM Holden Ltd., the Australian arm of General Motors Corp., said it will slash jobs as it struggles with falling sales of its flagship Commodore model. As many as 1,400 jobs could be eliminated...

Losses - USA - REPORT: GM tops per-vehicle loss

Detroit,MIch,USA -Detroit Free Prees/AP/Bloomberg -Aug 30, 2005: -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, lost an average of $1,227 per vehicle sold in North America during the first half of 2005, the most of any U.S. automaker, according to an industry analyst... Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. car maker, had a loss of $139 per vehicle, while DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group produced a profit of $186, Laurie Felax, vice president of Harbour Consulting in Troy, said Monday... GM and Ford are trying to cut costs as they struggle with excess capacity while raw material prices and benefit costs rise. Ford has trimmed employees and has said more cuts will come, while GM is in talks with the UAW in an effort to lower health-care expenses... WINNERS: Nissan Motor Co. led the world's biggest automakers with a profit of $1,826 per vehicle, followed by Toyota Motor Co. with $1,488 and Honda Motor Co. with $1,203...

Cutting - USA - Ford to force out 400 white-collar staff

Cuts to salaried staff outlined in memo
Detroit,Mich,USA -Detroit Free Press, by SARAH A. WEBSTER -Aug 30, 2005: -- Ford Motor Co. is cutting its white-collar staff by 2,750, expects that about 400 of they it plans to eliminate this year will be forced layoffs... Cutting employees in this manner is an unusual move for the automaker... Internal memo said that the overall number of job reductions at Ford will result in a substantial change to the company's business model, "eliminating some of our historic structure, combining common operations wherever possible and reprioritizing our resources... We have been recruiting on a limited basis for critical skill positions that cannot be filled from within the company, such as engineers for our hybrid vehicle programs. We're also doing limited hiring in organizations that are under-running their budget and that require resources to run the business."

Guilty - Australia - Trucking greed 'out of control'

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Sydney Morning Herald (subscription)/The Newcastle Herald - 27 Aug 2005: -- A judge has attacked the trucking industry for being "out of control" and consumed by greed when sentencing the driver of a semitrailer for an accident in which a woman and her son were killed... In the District Court, Judge Geoff Graham said it was a constant theme within the industry for retail and corporate representatives, consumed by "sheer greed", to impose intolerable interstate deadlines and timetable pressures on drivers... Drivers were the "poor bunnies" who landed in court and then jail after driving when they were too tired, taking illegal drugs to delay fatigue and ultimately killing other motorists, he said... Judge disqualified Harm from driving for five years and sentenced him to a total of four years and nine months in jail, with three years non-parole... After the verdict, Mr Beddall called for the industry to be cleaned up and drivers to stop taking drugs.

Rebates - USA - Auto rebates don't help tax bite

In most states, the vehicle's full price is taxed before the rebate goes to the buyer
WASHINGTON,DF,USA -The Washington Post, by Albert B. Crenshaw -Aug 27, 2005: -- The recent explosion of cash-back coupons and rebates on the sale of cars and trucks has done great things for automobile manufacturers, for consumers, and -- largely unnoticed -- for many state tax collectors... Edmunds.com, which tracks the automobile industry, put total cash rebates last year at more than $28 billion nationwide. And lots of states are collecting sales or excise taxes on that amount, even though it is ultimately returned to customers... As a result, state tax collectors benefit two ways -- both from the rise in sales, which of course creates more revenue to be taxed, and from the tax on the higher, pre-rebate sales price...

Alarm - China - Plans to increase taxes for vehicles with large engines

Owners of sports cars, SUVs may pay up to 27% more in nation's effort to improve energy security.
HONG KONG,China -New York Times, by Keith Bradsher -Aug 28, 2005: -- Alarmed by high world oil prices and sporadic shortages of gasoline and diesel fuel in big cities this summer, China's leaders are drafting plans to impose steep taxes on cars and sport utility vehicles with gas-guzzling engines... The taxes would add as much as 27 percent to the price of vehicles with big engines, notably sports cars and SUVs, auto industry officials and people advising the government on the plan said... At the same time, taxes may be cut slightly for models with the smallest, most efficient engines, though the details of these cuts are still under discussion, they said... Under the new rules nearing completion, the taxes would range from 1 percent or 2 percent for vehicles with the smallest engines to 20 percent for vehicles with engines of four liters or more, said director of the Auto Project on Energy and Climate Change. That group is a nongovernmental organization in Beijing that has advised officials on fuel economy policy, though it has not been directly involved in drafting the new tax regulations...

Cheaper? - China - Losing cheap labor allure

More U.S. companies find savings are drained by errors, shipping costs and engineering changes.
STERLING HEIGHTS,Detoit,MI,USA -The Detroit News, by Ron French -Aug 28, 2005: -- Hal Zaima was in love with China... The rush to China has slowed to a jog. Companies lured to the communist nation by the promise of low wages are discovering much of the savings are being drained by transportation costs, engineering changes and error rates... While U.S. companies are still moving to China, industry experts say momentum has slowed, and a question that seemed unthinkable even a year ago now is being asked in the offices of Michigan auto suppliers: Is it really cheaper to produce parts in China?... The real winner might be American workers' original outsourcing nemesis: Mexico...
Foreign-owned factories along the U.S.-Mexican border, which had declined five years ago, have bounced back. More than 1,160,000 people now are employed in 3,288 plants. "Manufacturing isn't just increasingly global," Zaima said, "it's increasingly dynamic"...

Event - USA - Dinner, awards will honor 100 top women in the North American Auto Industry

USA -Automotive News -Aug 29, 2005: -- Automotive News will salute the 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry with a special issue published Sept. 26... Winners also will be honored at a gala dinner and awards ceremony on Sept. 28 at the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit...

Markets - USA - Chrysler: Big stocks will pay off

The plan: Bigger inventories will boost market share
DETROIT,MICH,USA - Automotive News (subscription), by Mary Connelly -Aug 29, 2005: -- Now it's Chrysler's turn... Now that General Motors' summer blowout sale has depleted its inventory of 2005-model cars and trucks, the Chrysler group appears ready to grab market share in September... The reason? This spring, Chrysler increased vehicle production in anticipation of market-share gains, says spokesman Kevin McCormick... "We're still heavy with 2005s," McCormick says...

Together - USA - GM and DaimlerChrysler Want to Play

USA-The Motley Fool, by Rich Smith -Aug 26, 2005: -- It's time to put the old saw to the test. Is it truly "better late than never"?... As fellow Fool Nathan Parmelee gently reminded the auto industry back in April, the party's already started in hybrid-car land. Toyota, Honda, and Ford, are doing the (gas-and-) electric slide all the way to the bank. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, are considerably more than fashionably late. However, according to a report published on CNN/Money last night, the world's No. 1 and No. 5 automakers have finally decided to get their rears in gear (so to speak) and get serious about designing real hybrid automobiles...

Production - Thailand - Debut for Mitsubishi's new Triton pickup truck

Thainland -gizmag/UK -Aug 26 2005: -- Mitsubishi Motors Corporation announced today the release on the Thailand market of the new “Triton” 1-ton pickup truck... the new pickup is assembled at Mitsubishi Motors local facility in Laem Chabang, Thailand. Following the Thai launch, the company plans to start shipping this pickup model to other countries and regions, and thus, it is expected to play a major role in terms of the Company’s global market strategy and of achieving the Mitsubishi Motors Revitalization Plan.

Trademarks - China - Fights auto counterfeiting

Seattle,WA,USA -Seattle Post Intelligencer -Aug 26, 2005: -- Nissan Motor Co. has become the first Japanese carmaker to be granted a trademark for its brand in China in a bid to ward off rampant counterfeiting... Nissan will now be able to take swifter legal action against car, auto part and other product companies that try to use its name in China, a spokeswoman said... China is considered the world's counterfeiting paradise, with many foreign companies falling victim to a thriving underground business selling knockoff consumer goods, from apparel to movies to software...

Safety - USA - Nader requests warning on Fords

WASHINGTON,DF,USA -Houston Chronicle News/Houston,TX -Aug. 27, 2005: -- Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader on Friday urged the government to warn consumers about Ford Motor Co. pickups and sport utility trucks being investigated for a potential defect that may have caused engine fires... Nader, a longtime auto safety advocate, wrote to Dr. Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asking him to advise the public about "life-threatening hazards" from a cruise control switch in Ford pickups and SUVs...

Take care - USA - Medline alcohol-free mouthwash products recalled

Salt Lake City,UTH,USA -The Salt Lake Tribune -08/26/2005: -- A recall was announced Friday for Medline-labeled alcohol-free mouthwash, sold by Irving, Texas-based Carrington Labs, because it may contain Burkholderia cepacia... Also recalled are Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline Industries Inc. Personal Hygiene Admission kits containing the same alcohol-free mouthwash... There have been two hospital illnesses in two states associated with the mouthwash, which was distributed to hospitals, medical centers and long-term care facilities nationwide... Burkholderia cepacia, which is often resistant to common antibiotics, poses little risk to healthy people, but those with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis may be susceptible to infections...

Recalls - Greece - Double program by HYUNDAI

Athens,Greece -Macedonian Press Agency -26 Aug 2005: -- The HYUNDAI Hellas in cooperation with the Mechanical Inspection Office implement a program of double recall for the Sonata-NF and the Tuscon-JM models, according to the Ministry of Development consumer general secretary Thanasis Skordas... The first recall concerns 109 Sonata-NF cars (23 of them have been sold and 86 are still in automobile dealerships). They were manufactured in the period of May 1, 2005 - May 5, 2005 and their ESP system needs reprogramming... The second recall concerns 25 Tuscon-JM cars manufactured in the period of March 29, 2005 - May 20, 2005 with a possible handbrake malfunction...

Recalls - Greece - MERCEDES-BENZ's "Actros" trucks recalleds

Athens,Greece -Macedonian Press Agency -26 Aug 2005: -- The Mercedes-Benz ACTROS trucks are being recalled by MERCEDES-BENZ HELLAS in cooperation with the Mechanical Inspection Office, according to the Ministry of Development consumer general secretary Thanasis Skordas... The recall concerns 10 trucks manufacture series 950-954, code F156, Megaspace driver's cabin... The problem is traced to the specific model's steering-wheel compartment that can be corroded by moisture and dirt and in extreme cases this could lead to steering-wheel failure...

Ban - USA - Supervisors reduce speed limit on some roads

Ban trucks from others
San Luis Obispo,CA,USA -San Luis Obispo Tribune, by Bob Cuddy -Aug. 25, 2005: -- The county Board of Supervisors has set or lowered speed limits on half a dozen roads throughout the county and banned commercial vehicles from a pair of others, in response to complaints... People have complained about commercial vehicles taking shortcuts along Nipomo's Juniper Street between Pomeroy Road and Mary Avenue and on Viejo Camino from the Atascadero city line as far as El Camino Real, Glenn L. Priddy, deputy director of public works, wrote to supervisors... Commercial vehicles will no longer be allowed to take those roads...

Products - USA - Volvo rolls out VT daycab

Offers e-support for line-haul version
DALLAS,Tex,USA -Today's Trucking News -Aug. 25, 2005: -- Volvo's heavy-duty VT 880 is getting a daycab sibling, the truckmaker announced... And like its long-haul big brother, the new VT 800 daycab comes standard with the powerful Volvo D16 engine, with up to 625 hp and 2250 lb-ft of torque and Volvo Intelligent Torque (I-Torque) torque management system. The Cummins ISX engine, which provides up to 565 hp and 1850 lb-ft of torque is optional...

Technology - Canada - Turbo Combo A Tasty Treat for VW Lovers

Toronto,Canada -Auto Service World -8/24/2005: -- Volkswagen has developed a combined supercharger-turbocharger system that will boost power and fuel economy of small gasoline engines.The SuperTurbo Compounding system will make its debut on the 2006 VW Golf...

Research - USA - Flameless Ignition for engine's pistons

Toronto,Canada -Auto Service World - 8/16/2005: -- The reality of a highly efficient combustion technology that boosts fuel economy and does away with spark plugs may arrive soon... The announcement of $2.5 million U.S. in research dollars over three years will help Robert Bosch GmbH, General Motors Corp. and Stanford University develop homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) technology that could increase fuel economy by 20%... HCCI is able to achieve increased fuel efficiency in gasoline engines and decreased emissions from diesel engines because it uses a flameless ignition method instead of a sparkplug to create the explosion that moves an engine's pistons...

Discounts - USA - GM to Extend Employee Discount Program to Sept. 30

New York,NY,USA -Bloomberg -Aug. 25 2005: -- General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, will extend its offer of employee discounts to all U.S. buyers until the end of September as it tries to boost sales of its cars and trucks... The discounts apply to most 2005 models, GM spokeswoman Deborah Silverman said today. Some large 2006 sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks will be added to the program for the first time, she said. The promotion was to end Sept. 6...

Lowereds - USA - Ford Motor Debt Ratings Cut to Junk-Bond Levels by Moody's

New York,NY,USA -Bloomberg -Aug. 24 2005: -- Ford Motor Co.'s debt ratings were cut to junk by Moody's Investors Service, the second ratings company to rank the automaker below investment grade this year... Moody's lowered Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford one level to Ba1, one step below investment grade. The cut affects about $150 billion in debt, Moody's said in a statement...

Sales - Sweden - Volvo Jan/July truck deliveries up 20 pct yr-on-yr

STOCKHOLM,Swede3n -Forbes/AFX News Limited -08.25.2005: -- AB Volvo said deliveries from its truck operations, which include Volvo Trucks, Mack and Renault Trucks, rose 20 pct in the period January-July, compared with the year-earlier period. In total deliveries for the period amounted to 126,001 trucks, up from 105,423 a year earlier... In Europe, deliveries rose 4 pct in the first seven months of the year, while in North America they increased 44 pct compared with a year earlier. South America rose 32 pct, with Asian deliveries rising 36 pct...

Critics - USA - We Don't Need No Stinking CAFE

NEW YORK,NY,USA - Forbes, by Vahan Janjigian -08.25.05: -- Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary announced a plan to change Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for all light trucks (i.e., minivans, pickups and SUVs) sold in America. The plan is expected to save 10 billion gallons of gasoline over the lifetime of vehicles manufactured between 2008 and 2011. Environmentalists criticized the proposals even before details were released... The plan’s most notable feature is the creation of six categories based on size, defined as the vehicle's footprint (i.e., wheelbase multiplied by track width). Instead of having just one fleet-wide average mileage figure that manufacturers must meet as current rules require, the proposed plan calls for a different average mileage figure for each category. The smallest light trucks would have to average 28.4 miles per gallon by 2011. The largest would have to average only 21.3 mpg. Furthermore, vehicles weighing more than 8,500 lbs., such as the Hummer 2, would be exempt from the rules. Critics say the new plan isn't stringent enough and favors companies that already make bigger vehicles such as Ford Motor and General Motors...

Controls - USA - Authorities check trucks

Sweep targets hazmat safety, emissions
Long Beach,CA,USA -Long Beach Press-Telegram, by Tracy Manzer -Aug 23, 2005: -- Truckers by the dozens were flagged down by local, state and federal authorities throughout the Port of Long Beach on Tuesday in an effort to cut down on hazardous materials threats... Commercial Enforcement officers with the Long Beach Police Department and Brea Police Department joined U.S. Coast Guard inspectors and California Highway Patrol officers for the daylong sweep, which saw big rigs bearing placards for hazardous materials checked, air quality emissions for all trucks tested and trailers searched for explosive materials by a bomb-sniffing Labrador named Dusty...

Thirsty - USA - The Gas-Guzzler Relief Act

NEW YORK. NT,USA -Forbes, by Jonathan Fahey -08.24.05: -- The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's elaborate proposal to update the 30-year-old regulations that govern the fuel economy of U.S. ... may or may not end up make the United States less thirsty for oil... But it was clearly designed to help out the automakers most thirsty for profits, the struggling General Motors and Ford Motor. Current rules, known collectively as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, force automakers to average 21 miles per gallon for all of the so-called light trucks, far easier for carmakers that make mainly smaller vehicles, such as Honda Motor, Toyota Motor, and Hyundai, to meet the regulation than carmakers such as General Motors and the Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler... A 2002 National Academy of Sciences report on CAFE effectiveness sharply pointed out this problem, and provided a major impetus behind yesterday's proposal. "The distinction between a car for personal use and a truck for work use/cargo transport has broken down," the report reads. "The car/truck distinction has been stretched well beyond the original purposes"... A main issue for environmentalists: The proposal doesn't guarantee the nation's fleet will get any less thirsty. Because the system would be based on the size of the vehicles, and not force automakers to reach an overall target, overall fuel economy could conceivably worsen if automakers built, and drivers bought, more and more bigger vehicles...

Health - USA - Doctors worrie about Cumberland County's trucking boom.

Scranton,PA,USA -WNEP-TV -Aug 25, 2005: -- More than 100 physicians signed onto a letter published as a paid advertisement in The Patriot-News, urging limits on the increase in trucking in the areas. The doctors cite what they say is dangerous air quality along the so-called "Miracle Mile" of truck stops lining Harrisburg Pike... says American Lung Association findings indicate that the air in the midstate area, especially Cumberland County, has more diesel exhaust pollution than the New York City-Newark, New Jersey area. The respiratory specialist Doctor Philip Carey, pointed to a state and federal study projecting that 36 thousand tractor-trailers a day will travel through Carlisle on Interstate 81 by 2030, more than double the 17 thousand a day in 2002... Jim Runk, the president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, says truck emissions have been cut by about 90 percent from 1990 levels, and the federal government has mandated a 90 percent reduction in sulfur emissions by 2006...

Profits - Australia - Trucking company K & S posts record half-year

Mount Gambier, South Australia -ABC Online -Aug 24, 2005: -- Australian trucking company, K & S Corporation, has posted a record half-year profit of almost $20 million... The figure is up by 63 per cent from the $12 million for the corresponding period last year... The result has been attributed to higher sales, tighter cost control, asset sales and the settlement of fraud-related legal actions...

Prices - USA - Oil, Gas Rise as Storm May Threaten U.S. Rigs in Gulf of Mexico

USA -Bloomberg -Aug. 24, 2005: -- Crude oil rose and natural gas reached $10 for the first time in 30 months in New York on concern a storm developing near the Bahamas may become a hurricane and threaten rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, the biggest source of U.S. production... Oil for October delivery climbed 58 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $66.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:19 p.m. London time. Natural gas for September delivery gained as much as 44.5 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $10.128 per million British thermal units on the Nymex...

Avoiding - India - 65 trucks a night, but only 4 pay taxes!

Pune,India -Express News Service -Aug 23, 2005: -- At least 65 trucks loaded with construction material pass Nagar Road everyday. But only four or five pay octroi (taxes). This startling revelation came from Additional Municipal Commissioner D S Zagade who informed the Pune Municipal Corporation’s General Body about the racket that was unearthed surprisingly after a scuffle between a Shiv Sen corporator and octroi department staff... He denied he or other Shiv Send workers collected duty from truck drivers and also alleged that no senior officer from the octroi department visited the post that night despite repeated calls...

Inspections - USA - Trucks taken off roads

HARTFORD, Conn., USA -Associated Press,by SUSAN HAIGH -August 23, 2005: -- Recent inspections of 25 in-state trucking companies found violations serious enough to warrant taking vehicles off the roads, the governor's office announced Tuesday... A total of 61 vehicles from 17 companies were taken out of service, the governor's office said... Inspections are still being conducted at three other companies, and five firms were removed from the list of 25 for various reasons...

Sales - Brazil - Up to July, Volvo in Brazil exported 280 trucks to Saudi Arabia

Sao Paulo,Brazil -ANBA, by Alexandre Rocha -08/23/2005: -- The Brazilian Volvo has exported about 280 trucks to Saudi Arabia between January and July. According to information by the company's press advisory, throughout the year, shipments to the Arab country will reach 480 units. The total value of the contracts is of about US$ 25 million... The vehicles sold, the majority in dissasembled kits, are destined for the transport of heavy cargo...

Protest - Thailand - Truckers issue threat to move their protest to Bangkok

Bangkok,Thailand -Bangkok Post -23 Aug 2005: -- To date, over 3,500 of 7,400 cargo trucks in the Northeast have stopped running. Many businesses were also operating at a loss, he said. ...

Nomination - Canada - Bridgestone/Firestone solicits 2005 Truck Hero for annual award

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Canada -Canada NewsWire (press release) -Aug. 22, 2005: -- British Columbia's Phil Tarrant, an employee of Vedder Transport in Abbotsford, B.C, saw a partially submerged vehicle in the water but did not think twice about stopping to rescue the occupant of the vehicle. Today, the driver of that vehicle credits their life to Mr. Tarrant... This and countless other acts of heroism are performed on the highways and byways across North America and often by commercial truck drivers who probably log more miles than most travelers on the road these days. That is why, for nearly 50 years, Bridgestone/Firestone Canada has worked to recognize those truck drivers who perform such acts of bravery through its annual Canadian Truck Hero Award...

Products - USA - VisionEdge Marketing Helps Companies Compete in Rapidly Evolving Markets

AUSTIN, TX, USA -MARKET WIRE (press release) -08/23/2005: -- VisionEdge Marketing, Inc. (VEM), a strategic and product marketing consulting firm, announces two new customers are leveraging their expertise to formulate marketing strategies and processes to enable them to compete and grow more aggressively... For SkyBitz of Sterling, Virginia, VEM validated market demand and feature preferences for systems that track tractor trailers throughout North America. By conducting primary research with trucking fleets across the country, VEM recommended marketing strategies. "SkyBitz has successfully marketed our Global Locating System to trucking companies for over two years, we reached a point where it was time to refine our message and sales strategies to accelerate growth. VisionEdge Marketing's research and analysis provided us with the information we needed," said...

Release - USA - From ATA re: "HOS Rules"

RE: Clarifications to news coverage of federal Hours-of- Service rules for professional truck drivers

WASHINGTON,DF,USA -Newswire -Aug 23, 2005: -- Recent national and local news coverage of changes by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to the current Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules for professional truck drivers overlooked key truck safety information and necessary context. In future coverage of the issue, reporters should refer to the following information:
-- The HOS rule is not "new" as reported. It has been in effect since January 2004. On Friday, August 19, FMCSA merely announced its court-ordered adjustments to a portion of the current rule.
-- While driving time is increased by one hour to a total eleven hours under the current rule, overall on duty time has been cut to fourteen hours, a drop of one hour. Further, required rest time has been increased by two hours to a total of ten hours. Fatigue experts say this is adequate time within which a truck driver can gain sufficient rest.
-- Current FMCSA research shows that drivers are not driving longer under the current rule, but are averaging 8.8 hours per day, not a marked increase from the old HOS rule.
-- There were 5,190 fatalities in large truck crashes in 2003, 154 more than 2002. In regards to driver fault, however, FMCSA and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety say that up to 75 percent of all fatal car-truck crashes begin with an error on the part of the car driver.
-- The large truck fatal crash rate is at a record low of 1.9 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT), a 29 percent drop over the past decade though VMT has increased by 42 percent in the same period.
-- Federally-funded truck safety research shows that contrary to trucking critics and news reports, most truck-involved fatal crashes occur in the first four hours of a shift and not as driving time increases to ten or eleven hours. Only four percent occur after eight hours of driving.
-- New in the FMCSA announcement was their estimate that only 5.5 percent of large truck crashes were fatigue-related. This is down from their original estimate of 15 percent and the 40 percent rate often stated by trucking critics.

Innovation - France - Digital Tools to Optimize Production System and Reduce Overhead Costs

ArvinMeritor Visualizes Real Cost Savings with DELMIA Digital Manufacturing
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.,USA -BUSINESS WIRE -Aug. 23, 2005: -- Dassault Systemes, today announced that ArvinMeritor has selected DELMIA QUEST and DELMIA Process Engineer (DPE) to evaluate its current assembly processes... A recent pilot project was implemented at ArvinMeritor's York, SC, facility, which manufactures axles for heavy-duty trucks... The demand for heavy-duty axles has increased recently, and this JIT facility had been challenged with determining the most economical way to keep up with growing demand...

Results - USA - About New "HOS Rules"

Redwood Shores, CA,USA -keepmedia.com -Aug 2005: -- On Jan. 4, 2004, the U.S. government applied strict new hours-of-service rules (HOS) to trucking operations nationwide. For many North American shippers, these tough new mandates will affect their relationships with their trucking firms in ways that add complexity and cost. There may even be broader supply chain implications as well... Under the new rules, drivers are now considered on duty when loading and unloading or waiting to clear customs paperwork, for example. For this reason, most observers anticipate significant productivity losses, in some cases approaching 20 percent, particularly for truckload firms. Wal-Mart, which runs its own gigantic fleet, expects the rule change to add $25 million in the cost of new drivers and tractors alone...

Damages - USA - S. Whitehall sues trucking firm over fuel spill

Allentown,PA,USA -Allentown Morning Call, by Elliot Grossman- Aug 22, 2005: -- South Whitehall Township is suing a New Jersey trucking company to recover about $200,000 that was spent to deal with a fuel spill.The township is suing Dana Transport System of Paulsboro, owner of the tanker truck that spilled 2,800 gallons of jet fuel in November...

Products - Australia - New storage system for sheet materials

Australia -Supply Chain Review/Ferret Web Report -22 August 2005: -- Rack Australia, trading as Century, has released a new storage system for sheet materials - the Sheetmaster. This is the latest addition of the innovative heavy duty Glide-Out racking range, which was designed to increase safety standards and efficiency... Glide-Out racking was designed for companies requiring safe and efficient storage for heavy and difficult to handle items such as heavy duty dies, mould tools, jigs, fixtures, electric motors and valves... Sheetmaster now offers safe storage and handling of sheet materials with up to 50 percent or more savings in floor space and reduction in handling times of up to 80 percent...

Story - Afghanistan - Trucking inside

Afghanistan Part II: Letter written by SFC Danny Anderson

Kabul, Afghanistan -layover.com (USA), by Dick Lower - Aug 2005: -- Continuation of the my mission here as Trainer/Mentor takes me over all 35 provinces (states) of the country of Afghanistan. We as a team drive Toyota Land Cruisers, pack various types of weapons that I won't elaborate on, eat a lot of Afghan food, drink bottled water, take Malaria pills, wash our hands a lot, and watch out for Taliban and cholera. Either one could be deadly to our health. Actually, this country is so riddled with land mines from the days of the Russian occupation that I pray I never have to get off a road...

Jobs - Sweden - Volvo to axe 1,000-1,500 jobs

Sweden -just-auto.com, UK (subscription) -23 Aug 2005: -- Volvo Car Corporation will slash between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs as part of an effort to cut costs by $US131 million this year, a spokesman told the Associated Press (AP) on Tuesday...

Alliance - Germany - Reports suggest DaimlerChrysler close to deal to build minivans for VW

Franckfurt,Germany - just-auto.com, UK (subscription) -23 Aug 2005: -- DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen are in advanced talks about having Chrysler build minivans to be sold in the US under the VW brand, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said, noting that the talks were first reported by German business daily Handelsblatt...

Award - USA - PACCAR Highlighted As Leading Manufacturing Company

USA - WebReport Paccar - Aug 2005: -- PACCAR Inc has earned the distinction of being selected by Industry Week magazine as one of the 50 best manufacturing companies in the United States... To select the top 50 performing companies, Industry Week evaluated three-year performance measures including revenue growth, profit margin, asset turnover, inventory turns, return on assets and return on equity. Performance for 2004 was weighted more heavily in the survey... PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light, medium and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates. It also provides financial services and information technology and distributes truck parts related to its principal business...

Prices - Irish - Hauliers Make Case for Excise Duty Cut

Irish - TNN News (UK) - August 2005: -- It is time for governments across Europe to re-think their taxation policy on diesel, according to the Irish Road Hauliers Association... Last month the association met with Irish Finance Minister Brian Cowen to seek a reduction in excise duty on diesel, in light of rocketing diesel prices...

Prices - France - French Won't Follow Belgians

Paris,France -TNN News (UK) - Aug 2005: -- With the world oil price still at a record high, pressure has been increasing on the French government to follow the lead of the Belgians and aid those hit in the pocket by current fuel prices... But, the options for the French government are limited. Despite the fact that a deliberate decrease in the price of fuel might help France's lacklustre finances, the country is running with an increasing trade deficit and public debt of more then €1,000bn... A reduction in government revenue now would seem to be more than the economy can take...

Prices - Belgium - Government moves to aid hauliers

Belgium -TNN News (UK) - Aug 2005: -- The Belgium Government has come to the aid of beleaugered hauliers by reducing excise duty on diesel at a time when fuel prices are soaring to record highs... At the beginning of July Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt reduced excise duty by 2.5 percent as the cost of diesel broke through the €1.11 per litre mark... With the average cost of a litre of diesel now standing at E1.112 per litre, hauliers have called on the Government to bring forward another cut in excise duty...

Innovation - UK - Flexliner Packs 'em In

UK - TNN News - Aug 2005: -- With fuel prices rising, the introduction of road tolls, and limits on drivers' hours, every efficiency saving is vital. The new Langendorf Flexliner is contributing to reducing lorry journeys and increasing efficiency by carrying 55 Europallets in a two-level trailer... The Flexliner keeps within the legal permissible dimensions with a length of 13.65m, height of 4m and a width of 2.55m despite of a loading capacity nearly two thirds larger than a standard trailer...

Dangerous - UK - Poor hazardous compliance revealed

UK - TNN News - Aug 2005: -- The results of roadside inspections by Avon and Somerset Police during 2004 have revealed poor compliance with regulations covering transportation of hazardous goods. During 2004, officers from the Road Policing Unit stopped 180 vehicles carrying dangerous goods throughout the force area, of those, 110 vehicles were found to be in breach of relevant legislation...

Saving - UK - Alternative fuel: new refuelling infrastructure grant launched

UK - TNN - 23 Aug 2005: -- The Energy Saving Trust will today start administering a new grant programme to support the development of refuelling and recharging stations for alternatively powered vehicles in the UK... Alternative fuels eligible for grant funding under the new programme include natural gas, biogas, bioethanol, hydrogen and electric recharging points... The grants of between 30 and 60 per cent of eligible costs for the installation of new infrastructure within the UK will be funded by the Department for Transport...

Advices - UK - Wake Up! - Don't Drive Tired

UK - tnn - 23 Aug 2005: -- The Freight Transport Association is pleased to support the North West launch of the Department for Transport's "Tiredness kills" campaign at Birch Services on the M62 in Greater Manchester on 23 August... FTA says that in order to minimise the risk of fatigue, drivers should properly prepare:

* Make sure you get adequate sleep.
* Before taking any medicine, ask your GP or pharmacist about the side effects and about non-sedating alternatives. Make sure you mention you drive for a living.
* Shift work can be hard for all the family as they have to adjust to your hours. It is essential that they understand how important it is for you to get adequate sleep.
* When going to sleep, take simple measures like taking the phone off the hook and letting delivery people know that there is a shift worker sleeping.
In the event of feeling sleepy while driving, FTA says that drivers should:
* Stop in a safe place. If on the motorway, that means taking the next exit and finding somewhere to park, or stopping at the next motorway service area.
* Drink a cup or two of strong coffee or a stimulation drink.
* Caffeine takes about 20 minutes to take effect, so try and have a short nap of 15-20 minutes but not more - otherwise there is the risk of waking up feeling groggy.

"UK lorries have an excellent safety record compared with other categories of vehicle, notably cars"...

Saving - USA - Fuel banks provide some with potential savings

USA - Autoblog,by Eric Bryant -Aug 23, 2005: -- Corporate buyers have had the chance to lock-in fuel prices by prepurchasing fuel from vendors like Fuel Man, but for most of us average guys, our ability to control fuel pricing is limited to say the least. First Fuel Bank has been offering pre-purchasing service to private parties in very limited areas in Minnesota since 1982, but the recent rise in gas prices has brought fresh attention to the idea. The plan has a $1 lifetime membership fee, and the only risk to members is that fuel prices may drop after the transaction is made. Is the pre-purchase of fuel a good idea? That’s hard to say given the dynamic nature of the market, but if we look at the trends over the past year, it would have been possible to obtain a 36% return on investment on fuel purchased at this time last year.

Complaints - USA - "Dump trucks ruined Yorkana"

FELTON,York,PA,USA -York Daily Record, by CAROLYN A MYERS -Aug 22, 2005: -- I feel so sorry for the people of Yorkana. It was such a beautiful town. The garbage trucks are ruining the town. I don’t go through often, but when I did, I was harassed and antagonized by the garbage trucks... I have been very upset by the landfill making money at the expense of Windsor Township and York County residents from the out-of-state garbage. Where are we to go with our garbage when the landfill has made enough money? Oh, yes I do get free garbage pickup when and if they feel like picking it up. If no pickup, I carry it back to the house again and again. Wonderful free service costing us a high price...

Participation - USA - Hearing on truck routes tonight

Council to gather input; vote expected Tuesday
Fort Wayne,IN,USA -Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, by Dan Stockman -Aug. 22, 2005: -- Residents will have a final chance to voice their thoughts on heavy trucks roaring down city streets just a day before City Council members attempt to decide the issue once and for all... The Fort Wayne City Council will conduct a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. today in Room 128 of the City County Building, where council members will listen to residents on how the city should regulate truck traffic... “The two issues of real contention will be the same ones we’ve been seeing for a while,” Talarico said... The proposed law the council will consider Tuesday creates two different types of truck routes. One is called a “truck route” and allows all trucks to travel freely. Those are limited to state and federal highways and a few major city streets. A second set of routes, called “local delivery routes,” are limited to trucks coming from or going to somewhere in the city limits. Most of the city’s major streets are designated local delivery routes under the proposal...

Antiecology - China - Road rash of the Mongolian hinterland

BAYAN OVOO, MONGOLIA, China - The Globe and Mail (Toronto,ON,Canada), by GEOFFREY YORK -Aug 22, 2005: -- Every morning, the convoys of Chinese coal trucks crawl slowly through the Gobi Desert, kicking up clouds of dust and gouging ruts up to a half-metre deep in the fragile desert sands... The 18-wheel trucks, weighing up to 100 tonnes, plow through the soft desert sand on their way to the Chinese border. The only problem: There is no road to the border, so they simply create their own crude tracks, wider every day, destroying the land of Mongolia's nomadic herdsmen...

Health - USA - Even More Delivery Trucks With Unhealthy Food Products

Lansing,MI,USA -WLNS, by Anya Tucker -Aug 22, 2005: -- Delivery trucks transporting contaminated food are being discovered during routine traffic stops. We've found that the problem has not gone away... Police evidence in the form of photographs and video from confiscated delivery trucks paints the disgusting story. A truck is pulled over on a hot July day- i nside lay pounds of rotting food. Boxes marked "keep refrigerated or frozen" litter the delivery truck. A truck with no refrigeration. m eat that should be frozen hovers close to 80 degrees. Some of it casually tossed on top of raw vegetables...

Ports - USA - How Savannah brought new life to its aging port

SAVANNAH, Ga.,USA -The Wall Street Journal, by Daniel Machalaba -Aug 22, 2005: -- ... By 1988, Savannah's docks sat half-empty, decimated by an explosion of Asian products pouring into ports on the West Coast... Now, with the year's peak ocean-freight delivery season under way, ships are churning into Savannah again -- and bulging with Asian cargo. The Savannah port handled 1.7 million cargo containers in 2004, up from 550,000 in 1994... now ranks second among East Coast ports in attracting cargo from Asia, Savannah is the 10th-busiest overall... In an industry where business development once consisted of little more than waiting for ships to pull up to the dock, Mr. Marchand embraced just-in-time and supply-chain management techniques. He ordered containers taken off ships be readied for pickup by trucks the night before drivers arrive... To avoid having cargo trapped for weeks at a time on the West Coast, in recent years big freight customers and shipping lines started shifting more goods onto ships running through the Panama Canal and around the tip of Florida to reach the East Coast. The circuitous journey is often faster than docking in California and sending goods across the continent by land. A new generation of faster ships has shortened the trip even more...

Jobs - USA - Can't find any drivers? Switch to smaller trucks

Honolulu,HW,USA -Pacific Business News, by Prabha Natarajan -Aug. 21, 2005: -- When it couldn't find enough drivers to haul its fruits and vegetables, Armstrong Produce Co. took an unusual step... It leased smaller trucks so anyone with a regular driver's license could drive them... Using smaller trucks is less efficient because it means more trips to and from the warehouse, but Shigemura said he saw no alternative... At the end of 2004, 24,988 Hawaii residents had commercial driver's licenses, a number more than sufficient to meet the state's needs. So why is there a shortage?... many truck and bus drivers, who usually make between $10 and $17 an hour, have found they can make a lot more as union drivers working in the construction trades. Driving a dump truck or a cement mixer can pay from $30 to $60 an hour...

Prices - USA - Trickle Down Effect

As many cringe at the sight of the price of gasoline, some who require it for their livelihood say if the prices don't go down it could spell trouble.

Ghent,WV,USA -WVNS-TV, by Stacy Rich -8/20/2005: --- Trucking companies across the country are feeling the gas price pinch... Most tractor trailers have at least a 200 gallon tank, and those cost hundreds of dollars to fill every day. Larry Weaver is with Rhett Butler Trucking Company out of Alabama, and he says if gas prices keep creeping up, trucking companies won't be able to survive... Trucks get an average of 550 to 800 miles per tank. Gas prices in this area are now reaching $2.60 a gallon, with no indication that the rise will stop soon. Weaver says it also makes it impossible for a trucker to travel without a paid load...

Attack - USA - Al-Qaeda Has Infiltrated US Trucking Industry

An attack using our own trucks against us is likely and imminent.

Ferndale,WA,USA -PR Web (press release) -Aug 21, 2005: -- “The safety of the nation’s logistics industry and the security of the entire country has been seriously compromised by our failure to provide finger print screening for all Commercial Driver (CDL) applicants,” states Terry M. Evans, CEO of Fleet Defender Consulting Services, LLC, a private company providing anti-terrorism consulting to trucking companies. “Without question, terrorists, convicted felons and other undesirables are traveling the country, legally driving 80,000 lb. big rigs throughout every community in America. We have quite literally made our highways a welcome mat for terrorism.”...

Jobs - USA - So many trucks, so few drivers

There's a trucking shortage - nationally and in Hampton Roads - and moves are afoot to recruit more drivers.
Newport News,VA,USA -Daily Press, by PETER DUJARDIN -Aug 21, 2005: -- A representative from a steamship line placed an urgent call to Shirley Roebuck, president of Portsmouth-based Gilco Trucking, two weeks ago. He wanted 15 truck drivers to haul containers of machinery to Texas.Roebuck could spare five truckers - and the steamship line quickly took her up on it. But she wished she had another 10 people to offer."I could keep 10 more drivers busy tomorrow," said Roebuck, who has 30 truckers working for her. "I could use forty or fifty drivers. Every day, we turn away freight because there's not enough drivers to handle it."...

Inspections - USA - CHP Crack Down On Tanker Trucks

San Francisco,CA,USA -KGO -Aug. 20, 2005: -- The California Highway Patrol is cracking down on tanker trucks hauling hazardous materials over the weekend... Inspectors carefully checked out commercial vehicles with cargo tanks to make sure they're following safety guidelines... The CHP hopes to prevent spills like the one on Highway 101 in San Jose on Thursday that snarled traffic for hours...

Proposals - USA - Is more rail a good idea?

Carlisle,PA,USA -Carlisle Sentinel -Aug 21, 2005: -- ... Both of these problems could be moderated by revitalizing the railroads. For cargo, larger warehouses could feed goods to truck terminals via rail, and smaller trucks could complete the delivery. Warehouses designed to be served by rail could be farther off the beaten path, meaning less confrontation with residential property owners... We're aware that railroads are costly to maintain, let alone revitalize. But we also are aware that government subsidizes the transportation system we have now in ways we don't think twice about. For example, transportation experts concede that we overdesign new roadways to accommodate a growing number of the largest trucks, and that extra cost could be construed as a subsidy to encourage the use of trucks as cargo carriers... On the other hand, one could argue that Americans' recent tendency to shy away from acting as a community, as depicted in the book "Bowling Alone," might also be the reason we have allowed our railroads to shrink. We'd rather keep control over our personal cars, or a fleet of trucks, than surrender to the top-down authority of something like a national railway system...

Prices - USA - Trucking industry feeling sting of high diesel prices

San Diego,CA,USA -San Diego Daily Transcript (subscription), by ERIK PISOR -Aug 19, 2005: -- As diesel fuel prices hit an all-time high in California, the state’s trucking industry is being directly affected, which is resulting in higher costs for companies and consumers, according to the California Trucking Association...

Accidents - Australia - Speed link to rollovers

Hobart,Tasmania,Australia -The Advocate on line, by DEBORAH COLE -Aug 20, 2005: -- HALF the heavy truck rollovers in Tasmania are caused by excessive speed through curves, a State Government safety report has found... Of the 162 heavy truck accidents investigated, 60 were rollovers. Of those, 43 were semi-trailers, 14 were truck-and-dog trailer combinations and three were B-doubles... Transport Engineering Research New Zealand was commissioned last March to do the investigation amid public debate about truck safety and crashes... The report found 50p.c. of the 60 rollovers were caused by excess speed through curves, notably by log, woodchip and stock trucks. It recommended the rollover stability of the poorest performing heavy vehicles be increased...

Award - USA - ATA to honor drivers with 20,000 phone cards

USA -Fleet Owner (subscription) -Aug 19, 2005: -- The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) is kicking off National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Aug. 21-27) by giving free 60-minute phone cards to over 20,000 professional truck drivers...
The telephone cards will be distributed to working truck drivers passing through weigh stations, rest stops and travel plazas along busy truck lanes in 17 states, and will be delivered by the truck-driving Captains of America’s Road Team; each of whom has been recognized by ATA for driving over one million accident-free miles...

Oil - USA - Closing Fuel Economy Loopholes Can Save Consumers Billions

New administration rules must plug leaks in America's oil security plan
Nevada City,CA,USA -YubaNet, by: UCS -Aug 19, 2005: -- Closing three loopholes in national fuel economy standards can reduce U.S. oil dependence by nearly 1 million barrels per day and save consumers $14 billion per year within a decade, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)... The report, "Fuel Economy Fraud: Closing the Loopholes That Increase U.S. Oil Dependence," tackles loopholes in fuel economy standards and investigates problems in the tax system that encourage automakers to produce gas-guzzlers... The Next Loophole? - NHTSA could implement a new system of fuel economy standards based on vehicle size or weight without including an oil savings backstop requirement. This would create a new family of loopholes that reward automakers for supersizing their trucks...

Oil - France - Plans Measures Over Oil Prices

Paris,France -Associated Press/Forbes (USA) - 08.16.2005: -- French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said that oil prices were expected to remain high for several years and, in the short term, the government plans to hand surplus oil tax revenues back to consumers... Workers for whom fuel makes up a majority of costs and those earning close to minimum wage would be among those to benefit from the redistribution, he said... With the cost of crude oil hovering around US$66 per barrel, Villepin also pledged unspecified emergency measures to assist "business categories most directly exposed to the price increases," including truckers, farmers, fishermen and taxi drivers...

Rules - USA - U.S. Retains Controversial Trucker Rule

Long haul and retailer drivers' new rules
USA - Forbes/AP -08.19.2005: -- Truckers can still spend six days on the road during the week and drive for 11 hours at a time, three hours more than safety advocates say they should... For 60 years, truckers could drive for 10 consecutive hours... A Federal Court struck down the rule, saying it was "arbitrary and capricious" and failed to consider truckers' health... Studies show the risk of deadly crashes significantly rises after the 10th and 11th hours of driving, said Joan Claybrook, president of the safety group Public Citizen. "Trucks are going to continue to be rolling time bombs on the on the highway. So many drivers are tired, and that's what causes so many crashes."... The Bush administration was left to revise it... Annette Sandberg, chief of the truck-safety agency, said the rule requires drivers to take at least 10 hours off between shifts, two more than before, and reduces the maximum work day from 15 hours to 14... But Claybrook said that drivers can drive 20 percent longer and spend 30 percent more time on duty under the new rule... The administration also announced a new set of rules for truck drivers who travel less than 150 miles in a day and don't need a commercial driver's license... Those drivers, who typically work for retailers and small package-delivery companies, would be partially exempt from the 14-hour workday. For two days a week, they could work 16-hour days, including breaks. Wal-Mart and other retailers have lobbied Congress to extend the workday for truckers to 16 hours, something labor unions and safety advocates say would make roadways more dangerous for all drivers...

Crashes - USA - Gov't Proposes New Car Roof Crush Standard

USA - Forbes/Associated Press -08.19.2005: -- Automakers would have to build stronger roofs for big SUVs and pickup trucks under rules proposed Friday to protect people in rollover crashes... The proposal would apply for the first time to large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks weighing up to 10,000 pounds. The current standard exempts vehicles over 6,000 pounds... The plan issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require roofs to withstand direct pressure of 2.5 times the vehicle weight, increasing the current rule of 1.5 times the weight. It also would seek new information on other ways to protect occupants in rollovers, including potential use of improved seat belt technology...

Production - Japan - Isuzu, Hino to lift supply of diesel engines to other companies

TOKYO,Japan -Forbes/AFX News Limited (USA) -08.21.2005: -- Isuzu Motors Ltd and Hino Motors Ltd plan to supply more eco-friendly diesel engines to other companies, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources... In order to achieve that it will increase the output of 6.6-liter V-8 engines produced at Dmax Ltd, an Ohio, US-based diesel engine joint venture with General Motors Corp... GM intends to begin mounting diesel engines produced at Dmax in large cargo vans and school buses, in addition to large pickup trucks, the newspaper said...

Emissions - USA - West Coast States Unite on Car Regulations

USA -Associated Press/Forbes -08.21.2005: -- Despite an effort by auto industry lobbyists to kill the move, two Pacific Northwest States - Oregon and Washington - are getting ready to adopt California's new vehicle emission standards to reduce greenhouse gases... When that happens, California's newly implemented emissions standards - the toughest in the country - will be in effect along the entire West Coast from Canada to Mexico... By 2016, all new cars, SUVs and light trucks sold in the West Coast states would have to comply with the tougher standards on emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which are believed to be a leading cause of global warming...

Claims - China - GM considers suing China's Jiangling for allegedly copying vehicle

BEIJING,China -Forbes/AFX (USA) -08.21.2005: -- General Motors Corp (GM) is considering legal action against a Chinese partner of Ford Motor Co, its main US rival, after Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd began exports to Europe of a vehicle GM believes is a copy of one of its off-road vehicles, the Financial Times reported, citing a statement from the company... The newspaper said GM claims Jiangling's "Land Wind" has the body of the "Frontera", a car made until two years ago in Luton, near London...

Anger - USA - Some trucks are a menace to city

Richmond,IN,USA -Palladium-Item, by Ryan Coby - Aug 19, 2005: -- There is a new problem on Richmond's streets, and it isn't hotrods, reckless drivers or endless construction. It's semi trucks. On Thursday, Aug. 11, I was nearly crushed in my car by a irresponsible semi driver at the North West Fifth Street and Richmond Avenue intersection. He didn't hit me, thankfully, but that was only because I managed to stop his rear tires from running over my hood with a 10-second horn blast. However, after he stopped he preceded in screaming at me from his window, which I returned back at him. I was then forced to move my vehicle so he could continue on his way, that intersection has a similar incident almost every day... I'm not speaking of all semi drivers and I do appreciate the long hours and hard work that most put forth. Quite frankly, it's the truck drivers that bully their way through town that are on my list. This is our city and not a shortcut. I'm not putting up with it any longer and be assured that the next time this happens to me I'm reporting each and every one of you to the police and to the trucking company...

Unsafe - Canada - One in nine rental trucks found unsafe

Stoney Creek,Ontario,Canada -Stoney Creek News, by Ray Yurkowski -Aug 19, 2005: -- Ontario's Ministry of Transportation has released the results of a month-long inspection blitz of rental trucks and trailers... One in nine rental trucks inspected was found not safe enough to be on the road and 74 vehicles have been taken out of service province-wide... "While any unsafe vehicle on our roads is unacceptable, there is a clear problem with this industry's safety standards," said... A total of 693 vehicles were inspected and 10.7 per cent had mechanical defects, primarily with brakes, lighting and steering...

Recalls - Japan - Mitsubushi Fuso recalls 41,548 Trucks

Tokyo, Japan -Kyodo News Agency(Japan)/Forbes, Associated Press (USA) - 08.19.2005: -- Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., a Japanese truckmaker plagued by a defect cover-up scandal, said Friday it was recalling 41,548 trucks, including some of its Super Great models, to fix a part connecting the engine and transmission... The trucks, built between November 1994 and July of this year, have bolts that can become loose, making it difficult to use the clutch and possibly impede the truck's movement, the Tokyo-based manufacturer said in a statement... Mitsubishi Fuso, 85 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany, has been embroiled in a cover-up scandal that first surfaced in 2000. At that time, the company, which was still part of Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said it had been systematically hiding auto defects for more than 20 years to avoid recalls...

Jobs - New Zealand - Drivers die as trucks sink

Wellington,New Zealand -Stuff.co.nz, by DAN HUTCHINSON -20 Aug 2005: -- Divers and salvage crews worked into darkness last night to remove two concrete trucks from Picton Harbour after they slipped from a barge, killing both drivers... Two Blenheim men died when their fully-laden concrete trucks got entangled and slipped off the side of the barge in darkness just after 6am yesterday... Police divers recovered the bodies several hours later but extracting the trucks from eight metres of water proved more difficult and eventually only one truck was hauled ashore by heavy machinery before darkness...

Stops - USA - Subject: Of the large truckstops....

Discussions
Google groups - misc.transport.trucking -17 ago 2005: --

From: Lee308 17 ago 20:42: -- Pilot, Flying J, etc, which seems to be better for shower cleanliness, lack of midnight door knockers. I've only experianced Flying J as that was the only place we could fuel...

From: Gringo 18 ago 23:11: -- Since you specifically mentioned Petro, let's do a point by point comparison.
FJ food: instant potatoes, instant eggs, uncooked bacon, canned veggies..... Petro food: REAL potatoes, real veggies cooked that day, real eggs if you order scrambled off the menu.
FJ showers: avg, small, no consistent quality between FJ's within the chain. Towels, small. Petro showers: Large towels, large than avg showers with nice shower heads, good water pressure
FJ fuel islands: few provide water to spray a windshield, some won't even provide a squeezee and a bucket of suds. Petro fuel islands: All petros provide high pressure water hose at every pump, and cleaner, etc.-- and it is unlikely you'll bust your ass on grease/spilled diesel.
Parking: FJ parking lots are smaller by far than the avg Petro, and you will NEVER find a camper or motor home inside a Petro's trucklot-- they have signs up, Trucks Only. FJ, on the other hand, advertises in RV magazines, bragging that they have plenty of free parking in their truck parking lots.
Now, we're speaking averages here. Some FJ's are managed well; some are not. But when I am hungry and have a choice, I stop anywhere else but Flying J.

From: Alpha 18 ago : -- Most drivers eat at decent truckstops that are smaller independant places. You can get a good breakfast for $8.00 or a rump steak for $12.00 coffee and tea are free for drivers. You always know who has the best food they have the most trucks parked there at dinner time...

Event - USA - The Big Rig Gig annual, at Friendship Park in Orion Township

Tots' love for trucks drives 2 local events
Clarkston,MI,USA -Clarkston Eccentric -Aug 19, 2005: -- Michele Harken stopped at the Big Rig Gig with her daughters, Britney and Rachel, and their friends, Rachel and Hannah Albright, on the way home from shopping Friday at Great Lakes Crossing Mall... "We were just driving by and saw it," said Harken, an Oxford resident... The Big Rig Gig is an annual event at Friendship Park in Orion Township celebrating trucks, tractors and other big rigs. Little boys and girls are especially giddy about the event because it gives them something other than a tree house to climb into...

Prices - USA - Gas prices soar

Hollister,CA,USA -Hollister Free Lance, by Luke Roney - Aug 17, 2005: -- Record gas prices at the pumps have Hollister motorists looking for ways to save money where they can - though driving less does not seem to be one of them... An informal Free Lance survey conducted yesterday found the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at $2.71 - up 30 cents from late May. Statewide, gas prices increased 18 cents in the last month to $2.77 per gallon, a record, according to AAA... There’s a simple explanation for the increase in fuel prices: the price of crude oil has gone up. More difficult to explain is the reason why crude oil prices are rising, according to Sean Comey, spokesman for AAA of Northern California... “We’re asking for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to either declare a state of emergency or issue an executive order to lift the ban for the time being (on) importing oil from other states,” said Tony Luiz, owner of T&L Trucking near Watsonville... Sixteen months ago, T & L Trucking was charging customers such as farmers and construction companies $68 an hour but now charges $85, he said...

Alerts - USA - Truckers maintain watch on highways

Salt Lake,UT,USA -The Salt Lake Tribune, by Patty Henetz -17/08/2005: -- A truck accident last week that detonated nearly 18 tons of explosives, demolished a section of federal highway and sent 20 people to the hospital has raised questions about what can prevent deliberate acts of treachery on the myriad trucks that carry hazardous materials every day... Truckers have already thought of that... Twenty-five thousand of them across the nation are now card-carrying members of Highway Watch. Hooked into a national alert system, the professional drivers are on the lookout for people and situations that seem odd enough to pose threats to public safety, David Creer, executive director of the Utah Trucking Association, said Wednesday... "They know what trucks are right or wrong," Creer said... The brainchild of the American Trucking Associations and the federal Department of Homeland Security, Highway Watch teaches truckers to watch for the out-of-the-ordinary...

Violations - Japan - Police raid trucking companies

KOBE, Japan -Japan Today (Tokyo) -August 18, 2005: — Police raided seven trucking companies in Hyogo, Kyoto and Osaka prefectures on Thursday over operating trucks equipped with decorative boards and windshield film which restrict the driver's view of the road, the police said... The police said they suspect the trucking firms allowed their employees to drive trucks fitted with such devices between May and July this year although they knew that installing such equipment is a violation of the road traffic law... Comments: what about: drugs, young japanaese girls prostituting, yakuza crime, and other stuff that is occuring. a raid is a little too intense for such police measures concerning that but then again maybe it is not. afterall i would not wish for a truck to hit me due to poor visibility for the driver. so safety in japan does come first.2005 japan a safer japan!

Sales - China - Benz's Chinese partner leads nation in growth of truck sales

Beijing,China -People's Daily Online -Aug 17, 2005: -- Baotou North-Benz Heavy-duty Truck Co. LTD in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, jumped to the top in growth rates of heavy-duty truck sales for the second quarter of 2005, amid a nationwide downturn in the heavy auto industry... As the first heavy-duty truck company in China to cooperate with Mercedes Benz, the company has outdone its competitors by applying advanced technology and updating managerial concepts... According to statistics, the company has so far sold a total of 291 types of trucks, 149 of which meet the new company requirements...

Prices - USA - Amid record diesel prices, truckers demand surcharges

USA -eTrucker, by Lance Orr - Aug 2005: -- Record diesel prices are prompting truckers from the Pacific Northwest to South Florida to agitate for relief in the form of fuel surcharges... Tracy Lutton, who owns a log trucking company based in Aberdeen, Wash., is one of many feeling frustrated by negotiations with shippers.“The timber companies have always told us what they would pay us, because we are a small, specialized industry,” Lutton said. “Now that the fuel price is getting up, we are getting to where we can’t run. They still want to pay us an amount that goes back to almost the 1980s.” In protest, 200 members of the Northwest Log Truckers Co-Op parked their trucks Aug. 10... The same day, on the other side of the continent, 652 owner-operators roared bobtail from Hialeah, Fla., to the Miami City Hall in a Teamsters-led protest... Steamship companies pay a fuel surcharge to the companies that move their cargo overland, but those companies do not pass the surcharges along to their leased owner-operators, Scott said... Almost all the truckers participating in the drive were immigrants from Latin America, Scott said. “One of our arguments is that this immigrant population is being exploited in South Florida.”

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Aug 31, 2005