trucks world news: February 2006

28.2.06

Discounts - UK - Business and Industry Demand Green Discount for Trucks

UK -TNN -28 Feb 2006: -- A group of business and industry groups has called on Transport for London to give commercial vehicles discounts on the London Congestion Charge if they meet certain emissions standards... The discount would help commercial vehicle operators off-set the cost of the any London Low Emission Zone scheme and provides a sensible carrot to encourage companies to invest in the cleanest, greenest vehicles...

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

* OOIDA opposes ATA speed limiter proposal
Grain Valley, Mo.,USA -Trcuk News, by Steven Macleod -27 Feb 2006: -- The Owner-Operator Independent Driver's Association (OOIDA) believes a recent proposal by the American Trucking Association (ATA) to set speed limiters at 68 mph on all new trucks could make roadways more dangerous for drivers of all vehicles.The ATA announcement to request the speed of trucks limited to 68 mph at the time of manufacture came in mid-February, as the speed limiter debate was peaking north of the border...

* ATA Truck Tonnage Index Rose 0.6 Percent in January
ALEXANDRIA, Va.,USA -BUSINESS WIRE -Feb. 27, 2006: -- The American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.6 percent in January, marking its fifth consecutive monthly gain... ATA recently revised the index back five years, which resulted in a slightly stronger 2005 performance than previously reported...

Survey - UK - 'Expensive' hybrid cars better than buses

UK -Auto Trader, by Keith Collantine -28 Feb 2006: -- ALMOST half of motorists expect to be powering their cars with alternative fuels within the next 15 years... These are the findings of a survey conducted by Auto Trader with it's business publication Dealer Update... Of the 3,000 people surveyed, 47 per cent said they are ready to take the plunge on an alternative-fuel car. 95 per cent of those who responded said they currently drive petrol or diesel-powered cars...

"Spidermen" - USA/Mexico - Delivering unfinished vehicles across Mexico

TEPEJI DEL RIO, Mexico -Arizona Republic (Phoenix,AZ,USA), by Chris Hawley -Feb. 27, 2006: -- As the sun sets over Mexico's Interstate 57, barreling down the road comes a bizarre sight: a man balanced on a wooden seat, zipping along on what appears to be nothing but four wheels and an engine. It's a "spiderman," one of hundreds of daredevil drivers who shuttle unfinished trucks and buses, or frames, between factories in Mexico. With no windshield, seat belt or even a bumper, it's like riding a go-kart at 70 mph, an adrenaline junkie's dream job... "I used to be a paratrooper in the army. This is the closest I can get to jumping out of airplanes," said Lucio Ceja Hernández, who has been a chassis jockey for eight years... The bare-bones vehicles he drives are called chasis arañas, or spider chassis, because their sprawling axles and exposed wires make them look like giant bugs. Truckers call the drivers arañeros, or spidermen...

Production - Vietnam - First made-in-Vietnam MAZ truck

Vietnam -Nhan Dan -Fef 28, 2006: -- Vietnam’s joint-venture automobile company, Mekong Co Loa in central Thanh Hoa province, has rolled out the first MAZ truck made in the country, thanks to technology transfer by Belorussian experts... The 230 Hp truck has a capacity of 11.5 tonnes. MAZ heavy trucks have proven themselves in operation worldwide in terms of endurance, environmental protection, fuel efficiency and off-road capability, especially in the northern mountainous areas of Vietnam...

Big diesels - USA - Dodge's Cummins and Ford's Powerstroke

USA -Autoblog,by Eric Bryant -Feb 27th 2006: -- Until GM grabbed the Duramax from Isuzu a few years ago, there were only two names that needed to be considered when talking about heavy-duty light-truck diesel power - Cummins and Powerstroke. While the Cummins has been through some revamps and the Powerstroke was completely redesigned for 2003, both engines maintain a fierce loyalty that goes beyond the nameplate of the truck in which they're installed. In fact, it's nearly impossible to overstate the importance of these engines in this particular segment of the market. Let's dive right in and see what makes these engines tick (or is that 'clatter and roar?')...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* Delphi posts $115 million U.S. operating loss in January
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Dave Barkholz -28 Feb 2006: Delphi Corp. posted a $115 million U.S. operating loss in January, bringing the distressed supplier's U.S. operating losses to $862 million in the period between its Oct. 8 Chapter 11 filing and Jan. 31...
* Tower asks judge to void union pacts
DETROIT,Mich,USA -The DetroitNews/Associated Press, by Dee-Ann Durbin -Febr 28, 2006: Tower Automotive Inc. on Monday asked a judge to cancel its union contracts as part of its restructuring in bankruptcy court, a spokeswoman for the auto supplier said...

* Chrysler sees flat 2006 sales
GENEVA,Switzerland -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Chrysler, the U.S. division of DaimlerChrysler AG, expects stable sales in 2006 before a rise in 2007, its president and CEO said on Tuesday. "For the total market in the U.S., we see ourselves as very stable (this year). In 2007, we see our volume going quite a bit higher," Tom LaSorda told reporters at the Geneva motor show...

* Nissan China JV to up output capacity
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Japan's Nissan Motor Co. said on Tuesday it would spend 600 million yuan ($74.6 million) to raise capacity at its Chinese joint venture car assembly plant by 80 percent to 270,000 units by the end of this year...

* Mazda says February global sales up 10%
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Mazda Motor Corp. said on Tuesday its sales rose 10 percent in February, driven by growth in Europe...

* Dacia to boost sales, models
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Dacia, the Romanian subsidiary of Renault which makes the runaway success, no-frills Logan, plans to boost sales and roll out new models, its managing director, Luc Alexandre Menard, said on Tuesday...

* Toyota eyes move into low-cost cars
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: -- Toyota Motor Corp. is considering making low-cost cars that could help woo customers in emerging markets, President Katsuaki Watanabe told reporters on Tuesday...

* Toyota: Lexus European sales advance
GENEVA,Switzerland -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Toyota Motor Corp. expects sales in Europe of its premium Lexus brand to rise to 65,000 units by 2010 from around 45,000 this year, Toyota Motor Europe Executive Vice-President Takis Athanasopoulos told Reuters on Tuesday...

* BMW CEO sees solid 2006 financials
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Germany's BMW, the world's largest premium carmaker, is confident it will post solid financial results in the current year, its chief executive told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday...

* Peugeot 207 sales will hit 500,000 in '07
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Peugeot aims to sell 500,000 units in 2007 of its 207 compact car that received its world premiere at the Geneva motor show on Tuesday...

* GM expects Europe market share growth in 2006
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: General Motors expects an increase in its European market share this year, the automaker's Europe chief, Carl-Peter Forster, said on Tuesday. "We are certainly (looking) for share growth in Cadillac," he told reporters at the Geneva auto show. "Saab could grow or at least maintain its share"...

* Audi grows deliveries by a fifth in Jan.-Feb.
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: Volkswagen's premium Audi brand increased car sales in the first two months of this year by a fifth to 131,000 vehicles, even before the hotly anticipated launch of its Q7 offroader in March...

* Zetsche: Mercedes Feb. European sales look good
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: European sales at DaimlerChrysler's premium Mercedes Car Group division were pleasing in February after a weak start to the year, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told reporters on Tuesday...

* Audi CEO: SEAT will see profit in 1-2 years
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: The chief executive of Volkswagen's premium Audi unit said on Tuesday he expected its loss-making Spanish unit, SEAT, to return to a profit within the next 1-2 years...

* Smart ramps up ForTwo output
GENEVA,Swiss -Reuters -28 Feb 2006: -- DaimlerChrysler's Smart small-car business is ramping up production of its two-seat ForTwo model, given solid demand, Smart division head Ulrich Walker said on Tuesday...

* Nissan picks site for Russian car plant
TOKYO, Japan -Reuters -Feb 28, 2006: Nissan Motor Co. has picked a site for a planned Russian car plant outside of St. Petersburg, Interfax news agency reported...

* Jerry York convinced Saab good for GM
USA -Reuters -27 Feb 2006: Director Jerry York is now convinced the Saab and Hummer brands are good for the automaker, a month after he suggested GM get rid of them, GM's vice chairman of global product development, ...

* Electric car maker Think Nordic declared bankrupt
OSLO, Norway -AP -Feb 28, 2006: The tiny electric car maker Think Nordic AS was declared bankrupt Tuesday, after failing to meet wage and other payment obligations...

* Nissan weighs strategy for commercial trucks
YOKOHAMA, Japan - Automotive News, by James B. Treece -Feb 27, 2006: Nissan Motor Co. has not decided whether its light-commercial vehicles will be sold through Nissan's U.S. and Canadian dealers... Nissan won't launch U.S. sales of light-commercial vehicles before March 31, 2008...

AUTOS' WORLD COMMENT & OPINIONS

* Guess who's spooking the Europeans?
As Japanese and Korean sales grow, everyone else is left to fight over the scraps
GENEVA, Switzerland: Geneva Motor Show, by Neil Winton -28 Feb 2006: -- European car manufacturers are about to whip the dustcovers off their latest creations at the annual Geneva Motor Show, and although they might not yet be dogged by bankruptcy concerns like General Motors and Ford in the U.S., the industry here is fighting a desperate, uphill battle to fend off the same enemy - competition from Asia... European car sales have stagnated in recent years - moving up about 1 percent one year, then down about the same the next. Investment bankers like Sabine Blumel, European analyst for Banca IMI of Italy, expect more of the same in 2006 - "growth” of not much more than about 1 per cent... But this moribund market masks a burgeoning threat... Asian sales have grown steadily, from a 12 percent market share in 2001 to over 17 percent last year... In 2005, Hyundai sold just over 300,000 cars in Europe and its Kia subsidiary just under 250,000. Hyundai has said it wants to more than double sales to 800,000 by 2010. Kia wants to double sales to 500,000 by 2008... Investment banker Morgan Stanley points out that the traditional barriers to competition in Europe with the elimination of the Block Exemption by the European Union are shaking up the business model. The co-called Block Exemption allowed many monopolistic and protectionists practices, but they were outlawed a couple of years ago... Capital spending by Europeans is at a 10-year low, according to Morgan Stanley... S&P said that the tough conditions in Europe underline the profit performance gap between general and premium manufacturers like BMW, which are likely to retain their above average profit margins...

* GM and Ford roll out new ideas for Europe
GENEVA, Switzerland: Geneva Motor Show, by Christine Tierney -28 Feb 2006: -- General Motors Corp. is putting order into itsEuropean lineup, slotting Chevrolet as an entry-level brand that allows the German Opel nameplate to move a bit higherand strengthen the pricing of its vehicles... At the Geneva motor show Tuesday, GM Europe unveiled the sporty Opel GT built on the same architecture as the Saturn Sky on the first press reviewday as well as a Chevrolet Captiva crossover developed at low cost by GM Daewoo in South Korea... GM's Saab brand displayed the Aero X concept coupe, which it unveiled Monday evening. The striking coupe is not expected to go into production but features design cues that are likely to appear on future Saab vehicles, assuming that Saab has a future...

* It's a thin line between profit and loss
USA -Automotive News, by Edward Lapham -Feb 27, 2006: -- The financial fate of car dealers frequently reflects what's going on with their factories during good times and bad... Right now for example, a lot of Ford, Lincoln-Mercury and Chevy dealers in the United States are finding it tough to make a buck, while most Toyota dealers are having another pretty darned good year... Thinner margins were among the most common gripes during the make meetings at NADA. Sometimes the thin margins are because new-vehicle sales are lousy, and sometimes it's because an automaker has changed its pricing structure and reduced the difference between the wholesale price the dealer pays and the sticker price... When that happens, margins get smaller, and even dealers selling the most successful, upscale brands can get squeezed, whether in North America or Europe... In Germany, for example, franchised BMW dealers are going bankrupt while the factory rings up record profits. Last year six BMW dealerships declared themselves insolvent, and 22 others just went away... The reason for the problem in Germany is simple, according to Automobilwoche, a German-language publication that ir's published by Crain Communications Inc.: Stores owned by the factory are competing aggressively with the independent dealerships. That destroys the profit margin... You see, even in the car business, it's tough to beat the house...

27.2.06

Warning - Germany - Token strikes planned at 3 big German firms

BERLIN,Germany -Automotive News (USA)/Reuters/Frankfurter Allegemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper -Feb 27, 2006: -- Warning strikes will begin on Wednesday, March 1, at three major German companies as engineering union IG Metall tries to put pressure on employers in wage talks already underway, a senior union leader told a Sunday newspaper... The warning strikes in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg will affect DaimlerChrysler, Porsche and Bosch, which have tens of thousands of employees...

Collaboration - USA - Detroit Diesel and Freightliner LLC Demonstrate EPA '07 Readiness

With Extensive Testing and Close Collaboration

PORTLAND, Ore.,USA -PRNewswire/Auto News -Feb 27, 2006: -- Detroit Diesel Corporation and Freightliner LLC today announced that their joint testing activities are the cornerstone for a successful launch of new engines in 2007 to meet the new emissions standards... Detroit Diesel and Freightliner's testing program is comprised of various components, including: test cell dynamometers, reliability testing, durability testing, and an extensive customer demonstration program. In total across all three engines, more than 24 million test miles will be accumulated before launch in 2007...

AUTOS' WORLD COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* Auto woes cross borders - Like the U.S., Europe faces job cuts, Asian onslaught

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Christine Tierney -26 Feb 2006: -- The models and brands are different, and so are the languages. But the litany of problems sounds the same... As Wolfgang Bernhard enumerated the challenges he's tackling at Volkswagen AG, he could have been describing the difficulties he faced as the former No. 2 at DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group: Bloated costs, vehicle quality that isn't up to snuff, excess production capacity, rigid work rules and relentless Japanese and South Korean rivals... Across western Europe, car manufacturers are under the same pressure as Detroit's automakers to overhaul operations, shift production to low-wage regions and cut jobs to better compete against Asian carmakers... Just as General Motors Corp.'s downsizing plans cast a pall over the North American International Auto Show last month, the looming restructurings in Europe will be a dominant theme at the Geneva motor show this week... (Photo: Output at DaimlerChrysler's Smart plant in Hambach, France is falling well below capacity, contributing to the unit's financial troubles.)

* E85 fuel has big appeal, but do numbers add up?
Detroit,Mich,USA - The Detroit News, by Daniel Howes -Feb 26, 2006: -- Detroit's automakers have a new religion. Its colors are maize, as in corn, and good ol' environmental green... Turbo-charged by the Bush administration's self-evident declaration that "America is addicted to oil," Motown is using newspaper ads, CEO speeches and production plans to build consensus around a new fuel that's not so new... E85 contains 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol that can be manufactured right here at home -- as soon as (if?) more people can be persuaded to invest in the infrastructure to make and sell the stuff... E85 has to be as much as 30 percent cheaper than gasoline to be viable. That's easy if instability and demand keep oil expensive, but less so if prices ebb because global turmoil subsides or ethanol production ramps up in the United States... Two things here: First, if reducing national dependence on Middle East oil is a goal, increasing taxes on gasoline isn't the only way to get there. Gas-electric hybrid vehicles are an option; clean diesel engines are an option; ethanol and bio-fuels distilled from grass to vegetable oil are an option -- and all of them deserve scrutiny... Second, as much as Detroit rightly sees forces aligning in favor of E85, there's equally powerful evidence suggesting the hometown automakers are making it tougher for themselves to be heard in Washington... A new report by JPMorgan says plant closings and job cuts by GM, Ford and Chrysler have "weakened" their "ability to shape political outcomes."... By 2008, only eight states could be home to major Detroit-based plants. As many as six states -- and their 12 senators -- could see Detroit-owned plants disappear...

* Nader Rebukes Domestic Auto Industry for Failure to Innovate, Says Solution to Industry Quagmire is in Safety, Fuel Economy Engineering
WASHINGTON,DC,USA -U.S. Newswire -Feb. 27, 2006: -- Today Ralph Nader issued a stinging indictment of the domestic auto industry's failure to stimulate innovation, "Innovation and Stagnation in Automotive Safety and Fuel Efficiency."... The report details glaring oversights by the auto industry, identifying specific missed opportunities in the areas of safety and fuel economy, and provides a blueprint to jolt the domestic industry out of its downward slide... Nader, a longtime auto safety pioneer, is issuing the report now to call on automakers to reverse decades-long trends of putting marketing hype before engineering quality-ignoring advanced product designs and stifling innovation from parts suppliers. "General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have always preferred to squeeze their suppliers on price rather than seek technological improvements. It's a short-term, bully's approach to a business relationship that should be collaborative, cooperative, and dynamic. Even as some Japanese and European manufacturers prove that advanced technology sells -- especially in safety and fuel efficiency -- the market-shrinking domestic auto industry thinks that the only path to profitability is penny pinching on parts."... The report also underscores the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's foot-dragging on new safety and fuel economy technologies. "NHTSA schedules the standardization of safety technology that's already commercially available -- it doesn't challenge manufacturers to deliver innovative solutions," Nader said...

* Georgia Gets Kia Nod?
USA -THe Car Connection, by Peter Chang and Marty Padgett -27 Feb 2006: -- South Korea's second-largest automaker, Kia Motors, is considering building its planned U.S. plant in the state of Georgia, not in Mississippi, a local report from the latter state said... If Georgia does win the battle of state incentives, it will be out of keen economic need. The state is faced with the loss of about 5000 jobs in the next two years as Ford closes the Hapeville plant that builds the Taurus and the Doraville plant that builds GM minivans. Both plants are in the metro Atlanta area, while the site of the new Kia plant would likely be a Greenfield location on the I-85 corridor linking Atlanta and Montgomery, Ala., the site of Kia sister company Hyundai's new assembly plant. Georgia is also facing the bankruptcy of Delta Airlines and the loss of a huge military base within the city, Fort McPherson..

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

* Peru - "Bus-Trucks" notoriously dangerous
Lima,PERU -The Chicago Tribune (USA) -26 Feb 2006: Flatbed trucks that have been modified into bus-trucks known here as "bus-camiones" are notoriously dangerous and were banned in 2002... Bus companies, however, found a loophole in the law to keep them on the road... When 45 people died in two accidents Feb. 14, one involving a bus-truck, police launched a nationwide raid to confiscate the vehicles, but drivers kept them off the roads... Most buses of any kind here are poorly maintained and risky...

* Judge asked to block P&O takeover
London,UK -Breaking News (Ireland) -27 Feb 2006: A High Court judge in London was asked today to block the controversial takeover of shipping giant P&O by Dubai Ports World (DPW)... Objections to the takeover were raised by Miami-based Eller & Co, which has a joint venture agreement with a P&O subsidiary and claims that the deal will harms its interests...

* Mullen continues acquisition strategy, buying three more trucking companies
CALGARY, Canada -CBC News, by JAMES STEVENSON -Feb 24, 2006: Mullen Group Income Fund, says continued acquisitions are the only way to grow its business in the frenzied oilpatch where its existing trucking and services divisions are already going flat out... Late Thursday, southern Alberta-based Mullen announced that it was buying three more small western Canadian trucking firms for $31 million... The three trucking companies that Mullen hopes to have finalized by the end of February were not named. But they include a Saskatchewan-based crude oil transporter, a Calgary-based heavy haul business and a flat-deck carrier out of Edmonton...

* Summit seeks some solutions
Manitoba, Canada -Brandon Sun, by Matt Goerzen -Febr 25, 2006: Canada’s running short of qualified truck drivers, but a cross-section of Canada’s trucking industry, government agencies and training institutions have banded together to try easing the pain... “We are entering a time in the transportation industry where we are looking at the potential loss of 3,000 drivers per month,” said Roy Craigen, chairman of the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council...

* Carrier Transicold award top prize in technical achievement
TAMPA, Fla.;USA -Truck News, by: Adam Ledlow -24 Feb 2006: Deltek hybrid diesel electric technology from Carrier Transicold won top honours in technical achievement from the Truck Writers of North America at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations...

* Dongfeng Honda Completes Auto Plant Expansion - Increases Annual Production Capacity to 120,000 Units
Tokyo, Japan -JCN Newswire via COMTEX -Feb 27, 2006: Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., the automobile production and sales joint venture of Honda and Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. in China, yesterday celebrated completion of the construction to expand its automobile plant in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China. The annual production capacity of the plant was quadrupled from the previous 30,000 units to 120,000 units...

* Daimler may launch Smart minicar in U.S.
FRANKFURT,Germany -CNN Money/Reuters -Feb 26, 2006: The car manufacturer is also considering selling the unit... DaimlerChrysler is leaning in favor of launching its struggling Smart minicar brand in the United States, its chief executive told a German newspaper on Sunday... Smart narrowed its operating loss in 2005 from about 600 million euros ($714 million) in 2004, Zetsche told an analyst conference call earlier this month...

* Mazda, Ford eye stake in each other
Shanghai,China -Shanghai Daily, by Jin Jing -28 Feb. 2006: Cooperation between Mazda Motors Corp and Ford Motors Corp in China will become more intensive as both parties are looking forward to acquiring a stake in each other's company... Yin Jiaxu, chairman of Chang'an Motor Corp, the 50-50 joint venture formed by Ford and its only domestic partner, Chang'an Group, said Chang'an Ford would buy a stake in FAW Mazda Motor Sales Corp, Mazda's venture with First Auto Works Corp... Without giving details on the proportion of shares for each side, he disclosed that the stake transfer was under government approval... At the same time, Mazda, one-third owned by the Ford Motor Corp, said it would acquire a stake in Chang'an Ford Motors Corp...

* Ford Sued in Argentina, Charged With Kidnapping and Torture During 1970s and 1980s
BUENOS AIRES,Argentine -Edmunds.com -27 Feb 2006: The Ford Motor Company is being accused of some very grave human-rights violations by former workers in Argentina. In a lawsuit that seeks monetary damages and a public apology from Ford Argentina and the Ford Motor Company, the workers claim members of the Argentine military kidnapped 24 workers from inside a Ford plant in General Pacheco, near Buenos Aires...

Safety - USA - Delphi Provides Advanced Collision Warning System

For New European Ford Models

TROY, Mich.,USA -Rhe Auto Channel -Feb. 27, 2006: -- Delphi Corp. announced that it will provide its Forewarn(R) Smart Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning (with audible and visible warnings) and Collision Mitigation (by pre-charging the braking system) for Ford of Europe's all-new Galaxy and S-MAX family vehicles. Ford will market the optional system to customers as Adaptive Cruise Control with Forward Alert... Delphi's Forewarn Smart Cruise Control measures the distance and relative speed of the vehicle ahead using a radar sensor located in the front of the vehicle...

Discrimination ? - USA - Female driver claims huge gender barrier remains in industry

Manitoba, Canada -The Brandon Sun, by Matt Goerzen -Feb 25, 2006: -- A newly licensed long-haul driver says it’s extremely difficult to land a job with a trucking company in Westman, and it’s not just because firms look for people with at least two to three years experience behind the wheel of a big rig... “I was told 80 per cent of the reason is because I’m a female,” said Brandon resident and long-haul hopeful Sherri Green, who has been sending resumes to trucking companies all over Westman and Winnipeg since August to try to find a job... While she has a job lined up in Winnipeg that could start next month, she said the last six months have been a nightmare...

Plan - Philippines - Color-coded garbage trucks eyed

Baguio,Philippines -Sun Star -Feb 27, 2006: -- The Baguio City Council committee on environment is pushing for the adoption of a comprehensive solid waste management program... In Balajadia's proposal, color-coded garbage trucks would collect the segregated waste in every household or establishment at a given day. Green trucks would collect recyclable waste, red trucks for waste that could be converted into compost and blue trucks, equipped with hydromex machine, would collect toxic waste. A hydromex machine could melt or shred toxic waste and its byproduct could be used as mixture for the manufacture of hollow blocks or other construction materials. Rubber could be melted and used as additive in asphalt...

Cleaner Air - USA - Garbage trucks to smell better soon

SAN LEANDRO,Cal,USA -Tri Valley Herald -26 Feb 2006: -- A partnership between the city and Alameda County Industries will soon result in cleaner air for residents... Through the collaboration, the City Council applied for and received a grant for more than $200,000 from the local air districts Transportation Fund for Clean Air... The filters will reduce particulate emissions by 85 percent, McCrea said...

25.2.06

Port Security - USA - Dubai firm: We're not a threat

DP World released a statement that the company is a first-rate port operator that doesn't threaten American security

USA -Miami Herald, by Steve Harrison -25 Feb 2006: -- Facing blistering criticism over its purchase of terminals at six U.S. ports -- including the Port of Miami-Dade -- executives of Dubai Ports World have been exporting their own message this week: The firm is a deep-pocketed, skilled port operator that poses no threat to American security... 'We're a poster child for globalization,'' DP World executive Vice President Michael Moore said in a phone interview from Washington D.C.... ``Three of the members of the board are American. Two are Indians. One is a Dutchman. Two are British. Three are Emiratees.''... DP World said Thursday it would hold off taking over the American port terminals even after its $6.8 billion purchase of the British firm P&O Ports closes on Thursday.

Takeover - USA - Dubai Firm May Delay Ports Takeover Deal

Administration, Under Criticism, Scrambles to Gain Support

USA -TTNews/Washington Post -24 Feb 2006: -- The United Arab Emirates company seeking to take over management of six U.S. ports offered late Thursday to delay part of its $6.8 billion deal as the Bush administration said it would agree to a delay for the deal, which is facing intense political opposition... The move by international ports-management firm Dubai Ports World may give the administration to try to sway the takeover plan’s many critics — who range from local to state to federal lawmakers of both major political parties — that the planned deal does not present an avenue for terrorists, reported....

Jobs - Canada - Seek Ways to Retain and Recruit Drivers:

Canada -Truckline Express -24 Feb 2006: -- Canadian carriers have tried everything to hold onto their drivers, including paying their tuition. ATA Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council members can read more in the

Penalties - USA - PHMSA Revises Hazmat Ones

USA -Truckline Express -Feb 24, 2006: -- The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a final rule Feb. 17 revising the civil and criminal penalties as required by the Hazardous Materials Safety and Security Reauthorization Act, enacted on August 10, 2005, as part of the highway reauthorization bill. The final rule implements the following statutory changes: (1) The maximum civil penalty was increased to $50,000 for a knowing violation and to $100,000 if the violation results in death, serious illness or severe injury to any person, or substantial destruction of property; (2) The minimum civil penalty has been reduced to $250, except a minimum civil penalty of $450 applies to a violation related to training; (3) Criminal penalties now apply to both reckless and willful violations of Federal hazardous material transportation law or the regulations, orders, special permits, and approvals issued thereunder; (4) The maximum criminal penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine in accordance with Title 18 of the United States Code ($250,000 for an individual, $500,000 for a corporation) was retained, except the maximum time of imprisonment has been increased to 10 years in any case in which the violation involves the release of a hazardous material that results in death or bodily injury to a person. The rule also revises PHMSA's hazmat transportation civil penalty guidelines (Appendix A to 49 CFR part 107). The final rule is effective immediately...

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

* Trailer orders positive, but off pre-buy pace of trucks
NEW YORK,NY,USA -Today's Trucking -23 Feb 2006: Trailer orders were better than expected this January, despite lagging behind class-8 tractor sales, according to Bear Stearns, a leading global investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm in the U.S... Demand is firm, but trailer OEs challenge is earnings... While the news is a positive signal for underlying trailer demand, the firm says total trailer orders were up 4.0 percent from last year's monthly mark compared to class 8, which is up 35.0 percent...

* Navistar Signs $1.5B Loan Agreement
WARRENVILLE, Ill. ,USA -Netscape News/AP -24 Feb 2006: Commercial truck manufacturer Navistar International Corp. said on Friday it has finalized a three-year, $1.5 billion definitive loan agreement... The loan agreement, announced earlier this month and signed on Wednesday, secures a commitment arranged by Credit Suisse. The lender group includes JP Morgan Chase Bank, Banc of America Securities and Citigroup Global Markets... Navistar also said on Friday it has launched a cash tender offer to buy back $220 million in 4.75 percent senior notes due 2009...

* ATA Board Agrees to Seek Increases In Size, Weight Limits
TAMPA, Fla.,USA -TTNews -22 Feb 2006: American Trucking Associations’ board of directors endorsed a new truck size and weight policy that backs larger and heavier commercial vehicles, a move association officials said was a first step toward getting the federal limits changed...

* Truck Repossessions High Again in Fourth Quarter
USA -TTNews -22 Feb 2006: Repossessions and liquidations of tractor-trailer trucks nationwide rose in the fourth quarter, Nassau Asset Management said Wednesday... In November, Nassau reported that overall equipment repossessions and liquidations during the first three quarters of 2005 had increased significantly for the first time since 2002... That trend continued in fourth quarter for tractor-trailers, rising 145%, and construction equipment, up 44%, Nassau said...

* New Penn, USF Reddaway to Provide Transcontinental Service
USA -TTNews -22 Feb 2006: Regional less-than-truckload carriers New Penn Motor Express and USF Reddaway said Tuesday they will offer a new transcontinental service, making it easier for customers to get coast-to-coast coverage...

* Velocity Express Takes Fourth-Quarter Loss
USA -TTNews -22 Feb 2006: Package-delivery and supply chain management firm Velocity Express said late Tuesday it lost $3.7 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a $9.2 million loss a year earlier...

* Nippon Express, Mitsubishi Corp to begin China trucking service
TOKYO,Japan -Kyodo News/MarketWatch -Feb 22, 2006: Nippon Express Co. and Mitsubishi Corp., said Wednesday they will jointly engage in trucking services linking 80 cities in China... The new service will be based on a trucking company set up by Mitsubishi in 1996. MC Nittsu China Holdings Co., which was jointly set up last September by Nippon Express and Mitsubishi, will invest in the Mitsubishi trucking service unit to expand its service network to 80 cities including Shanghai and Beijing...

* Transport sector declared industry: Trucking fleet to be upgraded
ISLAMABAD,Pakistan -DAWN -Feb 23, 2006: The government has decided to elevate the transport sector to the status of an industry and formulate an integrated trucking policy whereby ageing trucks would be replaced with new fuel-efficient vehicles and a minimum standard would be observed for loading purposes... It has also decided to revise downwards customs duty on the import of trucks...

Pricing - Australia - Trucks may carry heavier cost burden

Australia -The Australian, by Katharine Murphy -Feb 24, 2006: -- Trucking companies could pay more to shift goods around the country following a Productivity Commission review into how to cope with a dramatic increase in traffic in the next two decades... The amount of freight carried on Australia's road and rail networks is forecast to double between now and 2020. By then, one in four vehicles on our roads will be a truck or a light commercial vehicle as companies shift freight off the rails... The review will consider whether transport pricing should move from uniform charges, like standard road tolls, to a more flexible system that would take into account factors such as the type of vehicle, where the road is located and the time of day...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* GM top officials to get options
Detroit,Mich,USA - Detroit Free Press, by Michael Ellis -Feb 25, 2006: General Motors Corp. granted on Friday CEO Rick Wagoner and other top executives the same number of stock options as last year, despite the automaker's $8.6 billion in losses in 2005... GM gave Wagoner options to buy 400,000 GM shares at a price of $20.90, above Friday's closing price of $19.99 on the New York Stock Exchange...

* DaimlerChrysler CFO's Contract Extended
FRANKFURT, Germany -News Day/AP -Feb 24, 2006: German-American automaker DaimlerChrysler AG said Friday it has extended the contract for its chief financial officer, Bodo Uebber, by five years... Uebber, who has been a member of the company's management board since December 2004, had his contract extended to December 2011. It was originally set to expire December 2006...

* Nissan recalls 475,400 Primeras, X-Trails globally
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters/AN-ANE -24 Feb 2006: Nissan Motor Co. said on Friday it would recall 475,400 units of its Primera sedan and X-Trail SUV globally to fix a faulty fuel filler tube...

* Toyota to build small cars in China in 2008
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters/AN-ANE -24 Feb 2006: Toyota Motor Corp. will add two small cars to its Chinese production lineup in 2008 to ride growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles amid rising oil prices, Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai reported on Friday...

* Audi sees annual China sales of 100,000 within 3 years
CHANGCHUN, China -Reuters/AN-ANE -24 Feb 2006: Audi AG expects to sell 100,000 units annually in China within three years, a senior executive said, as it banks on continued growth in the world's third-largest vehicle market...

* VW gets at least four Europcar bids
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/AN-ANE -24 Feb 2006: Volkswagen is very satisfied with the bids it has received for car rental firm Europcar but has not ruled out a public listing for the business, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday...

* BMW cuts Rolls-Royce stake, will post $356 million gain
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/AN-ANE -24 Feb 2006: German carmaker BMW will post a one-off, non-cash gain of $356.8 million (300 million euros) in the first quarter of 2006 by selling shares in aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce Plc, it said on Friday...

* Mazda Donates Tribute Hybrids to Orange County Fire Authority in California
Tokyo, Japan -JCN Newswire via COMTEX -Feb 24, 2006: Mazda North American Operations donated 10 clean-burning, fuel efficient Tribute Hybrid Electric Vehicles to the Orange County Fire Authority at a ceremony held on February 22, 2006, at the OCFA headquarters in Irvine, California...

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* Analysts forecast slight sales gain for February
DETROIT,Ill,USA -Automotive News, by Dale Jewett -Feb 24, 2006: -- The U.S. auto industry is expected to post a slight sales gain in February, compared with the same month last year, analysts say. Japanese automakers are likely to bite off a bigger chunk of the market... Two analysts -- David Healy of Burnham Securities Inc. and Jesse Toprak at Edmunds.com -- foresee February sales rising between 1 and 2 percent above the 1.25 million units sold in February 2005... If they are correct, it would mark a higher level of sales in the latter half of the month. U.S. retail auto sales through the first 12 days of February were down 8 percent compared with a year earlier, the Power Information Network unit of J.D. Power and Associates said on Tuesday, Feb. 21... Among the Big 6 automakers, only American Honda Motor Co. posted a retail sales gain in the first half of the month, the research firm said...

* Downbeat news paints false portrait of industry
Toronto,Ont,Canada -The Toronto Star, by Paul Stern: President of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association -Feb. 25, 2006: -- During the past six months, the automotive industry has attracted some sensational headlines across North America... High energy costs, restructuring efforts, coming losses of manufacturing jobs and the volatility of the SUV market are some of the big news stories that have generated a lot of press... The media generally do a thorough job covering our industry and providing consumers with balanced reporting and insight into a highly complex sector. When it comes to understanding the ins and outs of the auto business, people today have access to a wealth of information... But is too much information always a good thing, at least where car buyers are concerned?... The only constant in the car industry is change; new-car dealers adapt to new situations all the time. It takes up to four years for auto makers to plan a new vehicle launch, during which time any number of factors could affect the eventual success — or failure — of that vehicle... In many cases, manufacturers get it right and a model's sales are strong. Sometimes, they aren't so lucky... If you feel overwhelmed by the plethora of models out there, try creating a manageable short list of your top choices... Remember, you are the ultimate decision maker when buying a car. Don't allow dramatic news stories or market predictions to interfere with your purchasing decision... Throughout the selection process, your lifestyle, your driving habits and your budget should be foremost in your mind — not the latest headlines...

* GLOBAL TRADE: Tariff on trucks backed
Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit Free Press, by Justin Hyde -Feb 23, 2006: -- Thailand pact could result in flood of pickups... Detroit's automotive industry is raising a ruckus over trade talks that it says threaten thousands of American jobs by opening the U.S. market to cheap pickups from Thailand... The carmakers, the United Auto Workers and their allies in Congress are reviving efforts to pressure the Bush administration to retain a 25% tax on imported pickups as it tries to reach a free-trade agreement this year with Thailand -- a deal that would normally do away with all such taxes... The union also notes that 200,000 auto jobs have disappeared since 2001, with GM and Ford prepared to pare another 60,000 this year... But opponents of the tariff note that large foreign automakers already build a variety of pickups in North America, and that the smaller, diesel-powered trucks assembled in Thailand aren't suited to the U.S. market...

24.2.06

Aging tires USA - Spark new safety concern

Michelin, Continental, latest to set 10-year limit -- Rotate tires as recommended by vehicle manufacturer or every 5,000 miles -- Check tire pressure monthly

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Scott Burgess -23 Feb 2006: -- Major U.S. tire manufacturers have a new warning for consumers and dealers: Any tire made before 1996 should be swinging from a tree... Michelin USA and Continental Tire North America Inc. have become the latest manufacturers to issue technical bulletins to dealers calling for the replacement of all tires 10 years or older... Some automakers -- including Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG -- advise owners that tires be replaced after six years...

Figures - UK - Numbers of eastern European trucks soar

Brinkworth,Wiltshire,UK -Transport Intelligence/FTA -24 February 2006: -- New UK government figures for 2005 indicate an increase in the number of foreign lorries working on UK roads... The UK’s Freight Transport Association estimates that over one in ten of the heaviest vehicles operating in the UK comes from overseas. The latest figures show that most of the increased traffic comes from the new EU accession states which joined in May 2004... Their numbers soared by 62% in 2005 against a 4% fall from other EU member states... The FTA is concerned that foreign vehicles pay zero taxes in the UK, very rarely buy fuel in the UK (because of cheaper duty levels in Europe), operate on relatively cheap labour and are thus able to offer haulage rates impossible for the UK industry to match without endangering their viability... The report is not all bad news for the UK industry, with figures showing journeys by UK international hauliers returning to levels last seen in 2001... However, the relative economy of using foreign haulage to deliver to the UK is demonstrated by the continuing fall in the numbers of unaccompanied trailers arriving in the UK, down again by three per cent. The figures suggest that it is cheaper to send a vehicle, driver and load to the UK than to ship the trailer to a UK port to be collected by a UK domestic haulier subject to UK costs...

Ranking - USA - Toyota Places Among Most-Admired Companies

USA -Forbes/The Car Connection -22 Feb 2006: -- Toyota ranked ninth on Fortune magazine's annual Most Admired Companies list. It marks the first time a non-U.S. company cracked the top 10. The magazine ranked 303 companies... DaimlerChrysler, which made the list, is sort of an American company. General Motors and Ford did not rank in the top half of the motor vehicle segment and weren't ranked in the overall list... The top five in motor vehicles were: Toyota, BMW, Honda, Nissan, and DaimlerChrysler. Ford ranked number six, while GM finished number nine, between heavy-truck manufacturers: Paccar Inc. and Navistar International...

23.2.06

TRUCKINGS' WORLD NEWS

* Goodyear announces Highway Hero finalists
USA -Fleet Owner -Feb 22, 2006: Goodyear North America has announced the four finalists for its North America Highway Hero Award, which recognizes truck drivers who perform acts of heroism while on the job.... And the finalists are: ** Michael Knott of Casselberry, FL, a driver for FedEx Ground... ** Douglas Crawford of Ashford, AL, a driver for Saia Motor Freight... ** Danny R. Wallen of Conover, OH, a driver for ABF Freight Systems Inc.... ** Robert A. Starr, of North Troy, VT, a driver and owner of Starr’s Transportation...

* CNF contemplates name change
USA -Fleet Owner -Feb 22, 2006: San Mateo, CA-based transportation conglomerate CNF Inc. is proposing to shareholders a name change to Con-Way Inc. and to adopt CNW as the new ticker symbol for the company’s publicly traded stock...

* Hino plant might take root in Canada
USA -AFX News -Feb 21, 2006: Hino Motors Ltd. is considering a plant to assemble trucks in Canada, which would make it the first Japanese company to build trucks in that country, according to an report... Currently Hino is rolling out trucks to the North American market from parent company Toyota Motor Corp.’s plant in Long Beach, CA...

* China and Iran signed biggest ever auto export contract

China -People's Daily News -Feb 23, 2006: China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd (CNHTC) singed a $350 million auto exports deal with Iran Khodro Industrial Group on February 21. This is so far the largest export deal inked by a Chinese auto company... In accordance with the contract, CNHTC will export 10,000 Sinotruck-H7 heavy duty trucks to the Iranian car manufacturer this year and will increase the exports by 5% to 20% in the coming 10 years...

* CBP Port Inspection and Surveillance Technologies
USA -Fibre2 Fashion -Feb 22, 2006: US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses intelligence and a risk-based strategy to review information on 100 percent of all cargo information entering US ports. All cargo that presents a risk to our country is physically inspected using large x-ray and radiation detection equipment...

* CEO, founder sells trucking firm Comtrak Logistics for $48 million
Memphis, Tenn,USA -The Commercial Appeal, by Jane Roberts -Feb. 22, 2006: Mike Bruns, chief executive officer and founder of Comtrak Logistics, has sold the trucking company he started in 1983 for $48 million to Hub Group Inc., the largest intermodal marketing firm in the nation...

* Bird flu causes heavy loss to truck owners
New Delhi,India -Chennai On Line -Feb 22, 2006: Truckers have been hit by the bird flu scare in various parts of the country with the restriction on movement of chicken causing losses of around Rs 150-200 crore over the last five days, according to a study of Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT)... The foundation, which carried out a survey over the last five days to examine the impact of bird flu on operations of truck business dedicated to poultry/hatchery trade, said currently there were 70,000 light and heavy trucks engaged in moving the poultry products all over the country... It said as many as 20,000 light trucks with load capacity ranging 7.5-10 tonnes gross load capacity are engaged in ferrying chicken in specially designed cargo body, with cages mounted on them to provide ventilation to the birds. On the other hand, 16.2 tonnes capacity heavy trucks are engaged in moving eggs in crates on closed body structure...

* New Orleans' raison d'être
USA -Strategic Forecasting, by George Friedman -23 Feb 2006: New Orleans is battered and submerged today. But it will rise again because it is — and always has been — the single most important cog in the nation's economy. Today, the Port of South Louisiana is the largest port in the United States by tonnage, and the fifth-largest port in the world. A large percentage of the bulk farm commodities of the upper Midwest are still loaded on barges and shipped down the Mississippi to be offloaded onto cargo ships near New Orleans. Massive cargo shipments come to the United States through the port as well. Steel, cement, rubber — the nuts and bolts of American industrialism — all flow upriver... The alternative shipping routes for these goods aren't a good substitute. There aren't enough trucks or railroad cars to haul these materials long distance, and other U.S. ports don't have the capacity to make up for New Orleans, even if they had the rivers. Only river transport is cheap enough to be economically viable, and only river transport can handle the tonnage involved...

* Bush, Snow Didn't Learn of Port Deal Before Approval
USA -Bloomberg -Feb. 22, 2006: President George W. Bush didn't know of the sale of six major U.S. port facilities to a Dubai company until after the deal was agreed to and federal approval was granted, his spokesman said. Treasury Secretary John Snow said he learned of it ``by reading it in the newspapers.'' ... Bush was made aware of the $6.8 billion sale of London- based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to DP World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, in ``the last several days,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. By that time, congressional opposition already was bubbling up...

Ecologicals - Europe - Volvo Trucks' Belgium Plant to be Carbon Dioxide Free

Volvo Trucks has decided to make its truck assembly plant, entirely free of carbon dioxide

Ghent, Belgium -TNN (UK) -22 Feb 2006: -- Three wind-power generating stations will be built beside the plant along with a new biofuel production facility to supply electricity and heating without making any net contribution to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere... The Volvo Trucks assembly plant in Ghent, Volvo Europa Truck NV, currently relies mainly on natural gas for its heating. In order to make the plant free of carbon dioxide emissions, it will switch entirely to environmentally compatible energy sources...

Alloweds - USA - Appeals court rejects state's ban of big trucks on local roads

TRENTON, N.J.,USA -Associated Press/Newsday, by JEFFREY GOLD -Feb 22, 2006: -- Big rigs passing through New Jersey must be allowed to roll on local roads, according to a federal appeals court ruling that invalidated the state's effort to restrict double-trailer trucks and many tractor-trailers to major highways. The 7-year-old ban violates the U.S. Constitution's "commerce clause" since New Jersey is discriminating against interstate commerce, according to the unanimous ruling of a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

China News
* Auto export keeps vigorous growth momentum
China -People's Daily News -Feb 21, 2006: The two-way trade of China auto industry in 2005 has witnessed sharp changes: on one hand the market demand on imported cars continued to shrink; on the other hand auto export continued momentum of fast growth... News from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said that the volume of foreign exchanges earned through exporting cars has maintained vigorous growth... Driven by fast auto and parts exports, China has netted a total of 19.715 billion US dollars...

* FAW exports nearly 15,000 vehicles in 2005
China -People's Daily News -Feb 15, 2006: Since topping 10,000 units in export of whole cars in 2004 First Automobile Works (FAW) saw considerable growth of whole-vehicle export in 2005 both in terms of quantity and trade value. According to statistics, FAW exported 14,256 vehicles in 2005, up by 40 percent year on year...

PRODUCTS' WORLD NEWS

* New Shell Donax TX transmission fluid
USA -Fleet Owner -Feb 22, 2006: -- Shell Lubricants has introduced Shell Donax TX, a heavy-duty semi-synthetic automatic transmission fluid. It is designed for use in Allison heavy-duty automatic transmissions and those of other heavy-duty transmission manufacturers... The transmission fluid offers a high performance additive package that allows for extended drain intervals up to 100,000 miles in normal service, said Shell Lubricants. Field trials of equipment with Allison heavy-duty automatic transmissions have shown a drain period of 50,000 miles in severe service to be appropriate...

* ArvinMeritor releases composite spring suspension
USA -Fleet Owner -Feb 21, 2006: -- ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Systems has announced the availability of its new Meritor SimilAir composite trailer spring, a composite mechanical spring set to compete with air suspensions in linehaul and general service applications...

22.2.06

Earnings - USA - Navistar may have to restate its

Truckmaker offers to buy back bonds

The Chicago Tribune, by James P. Miller -Feb 22, 2006: -- Navistar International Corp. on Tuesday warned investors that the dispute with its outside auditor means it might have to restate previous years' results and that it remains unable to provide guidance about earnings for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31... The Warrenville-based truckmaker reiterated that it is making progress in resolving its protracted standoff with Deloitte & Touche LLP. A spokesman declined to elaborate on the possibility of a restatement... Navistar also launched an offer to buy back more than a billion dollars of senior bonds that creditors claim are in default...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* UAW warns GM workers of bogus buyout article
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bill Vlasic -Feb 22, 2006: Fabricated story, purportedly by News reporter, is circulating in at least 5 plants; source is unknown.... The United Auto Workers is warning workers to disregard a bogus news article touting union buyout offers at General Motors Corp. that has been circulating on the shop floor of at least five GM plants in recent days... The article is titled "General Motors Likely to Offer Substantial Buy-Outs" and is supposedly written by Brett Clanton of the Detroit Free Press. Clanton covers the auto industry for The Detroit News, not the Free Press. Neither newspaper has published any story resembling the content of the fake article, dated Feb. 16, 2006... The story purports to quote Gettelfinger as saying a meeting with Wagoner produced "a turning point in the auto industry." It also outlines a specific set of buyout options for workers of various seniority levels...

* Sales of big pickups are beginning to stall
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Brett Clanton -22 Feb 2006: Half of full-size pickups on the market saw sales decline in 2005; nearly all stumbled out of the gate in 2006... But despite a fiercely loyal customer base, full-size pickups have started to lose steam in what could be a troubling sign for Detroit's automakers... Half of full-size pickups on the market saw sales decline in 2005, and nearly all models stumbled out of the gate in 2006. Unsold trucks are piling up at dealerships, and several automakers, including Nissan Motor Co., have been forced to cut truck production...

* Chrysler ad firm cuts 200 workers
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Josee Valcourt -Feb 22, 2006: BBDO also will move some assignments related to automaker's accounts out of its Troy office... Chrysler Group's lead advertising agency, BBDO Worldwide, has cut roughly 200 jobs at its Troy office in a streamlining move that mirrors cost-cutting measures being made by Detroit automakers... BBDO also plans to move some creative assignments related to its Chrysler accounts to other sites, including its main New York office...

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

* AWB-owned Queensland trucking company up for sale
Queensland,Australia -Supply Chain Review -21 Feb 2006: A Queensland trucking company owned by embattled wheat exporter AWB has been put on the market... AWB has confirmed it is looking for prospective buyers for Johnstone River Transport , based at Mourilyan near Innisfail, which carts sugar cane, limestone and fertiliser throughout the state... QTA Executive Director Peter Garske agrees drivers must be responsible for their actions on the road... And added "The trucking industry will not tolerate the imposition of penalty points for minor log book breaches which are not an indicator of fatigue risk." ...

HOS - Australia - Trucking industry backs fatigue demerit points plan

Queensland,Australia -Supply Chain Review -21 February 2006
The Queensland Trucking Association has cautiously welcomed moves to introduce demerit points for drivers breaching fatigue and driving hours regulations... State Transport Minister Paul Lucas has called for tougher action against drivers for road accidents ahead of today's road safety summit in Brisbane... "The proposal to impose penalty points will discourage any practice by persons other than the driver paying a fine, to encourage unsafe practice and thus leaving the heavy vehicle drivers taking no responsibility for their actions."... "Our industry travels on state roads as of right. Current road law protects drivers who refuse to break the law if encouraged to do so by consignors. Ultimately the driver is in charge of the vehicle on the road." ...

Controversial - Canada - OTA says 70 percent of Ontarians support speed limiters

Critic says group exploiting uninformed public
TORONTO,Ont,Canada -Truck News -21 Feb 2006: -- The Ontario Trucking Association has released a poll to drum up support for its controversial speed limiter proposal that shows over 70 percent of Ontarians support the idea of capping speed on truckers' engines... The two-question survey, conducted by IntelliPulse research firm in Toronto, indicates 71 percent of people in the province either "strongly support or somewhat support" mandatory speed limiters on all trucks set at 105 km/h; while 79 percent of the Ontario public believes mandatory speed limiters would have either a "major" or a "minor impact" in improving highway safety...

Old - Hong Kong/China - Container trucking drives into its sunset years

Hong Kong,China -Cargonews Asia, by Greg Knowler -Feb 20, 2006 : -- As if Hong Kong's port didn't have enough to worry about. It emerged earlier this month that the majority of Hong Kong's 40,000 commercial trucking licence holders are over 50 and a large percentage of them are fast approaching the age of 60 when a recent mainland law will bar them from holding the licence... Around 15 percent of Hong Kong's cross-border container truck drivers will be too old in five years. Only 14,500 of the 40,000 licenced drivers in Hong Kong claim to make a living hauling boxes across the border, but it still represents another headache for the city's long-suffering Economic Development and Labour Bureau... But we have a simple solution. Just allow mainland truck drivers to transport containers to and from Hong Kong port... So what happens now? The trucking industry has to somehow attract young blood to an industry where driver incomes have dropped almost 60 percent in the last few years as costs have soared; Hong Kong's share of direct exports is declining; and routine four-hour delays at Dongguan Customs points have made it impossible for drivers to complete more than one trip a day, effectively placing a cap on drivers' potential earnings... So good luck with the recruitment drive, boys. But Hong Kong motorists are likely to see grizzled old faces in their rearview mirrors long before they see any eager mainlanders gripping the wheels...

TechnoNews - USA - Ford's hybrid with hydraulic propulsion system

Hybrids making headway
The down side of gas-electric hybrid cars has been cost and complexity. Now the U.S. environmental watchdog says it has found a simpler, cheaper hybrid technology for motor vehicles
Toronto,Ont,Canada -Toronto Star, by TYLER HAMILTON -Feb. 20, 2006: -- The blogosphere was buzzing last week over a posting at NewTechSpy.com, which claimed that Ford Motor Co. is planning to come out with a hybrid version of its top selling F-150 pickup truck that would get the same mileage as the much smaller Toyota Prius... The secret sauce? Ford's hybrid would be based on a made-in-the-U.S.A. hydraulic propulsion system, rather than the high-tech batteries associated with most hybrid-electric imports. The website claims that Ford will introduce the product in August 2008, though no sources were cited... In a hybrid-hydraulic system envisioned by the EPA, a small gas or diesel engine operates at a constant level and pumps hydraulic fluid into high-pressure cylinders. Pressure is then released to provide acceleration. Energy from braking is also captured in hydraulic form, adding more efficiency to the design... Hydraulic systems provide torque and acceleration that battery-based hybrids can't. But he concedes the technology is ideal for larger vehicles — SUVs, pickups trucks, delivery and fleet vehicles — because elements of the design benefit from a larger chassis...

Overweighteds - USA - Trucks do $99M road damage

Raleigh,NC,USA -News & Observer, by Bruce Siceloff -Feb 21, 2006: -- North Carolina's highways receive $99.2 million in pavement damage each year from trucks that are illegally overweight or are exempt from weight standards, the state Department of Transportation said today... Heavy trucks tear up secondary roads in North Carolina, but state laws have allowed heavier trucks on some roads and cut in half some fines for exceeding weight limits. Drivers who try to dodge the scales on interstates are aided by a shortage of weight enforcement officers...

Challenge - USA - Truck vs. Railroad

Railroads Back on Track?

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Ronald D. White -Feb 21, 2006: -- They're posting record profits and expanding their operations, but rising rates and delays irritate some customers... After years of retrenchment, railroads across North America are reporting record profits and rolling forward with massive expansion projects of the kind that haven't been seen in decades... Railroads are gaining ground on the rival trucking industry, which has been suffering from sharply higher diesel costs and a shortage of long-haul drivers. But companies that move their goods by train are complaining about increasing rates and delays... Railroads move more than 40% of the nation's freight tonnage compared with nearly 30% moved by truck, but railroads reap about 10% of freight revenue while trucking companies take in about 80%, according to the rail trade group. Railroads are gaining more of that revenue because the goods moved in cargo containers tend to be more expensive than the coal, grain and other commodities that ride in rail cars... In addition, the greater fuel efficiency of trains in an era of volatile prices and a dearth of truck drivers is having an effect on long hauls, transportation analysts said. The American Trucking Assn. said the nation was 20,000 short of the drivers it needs, a figure it expected to rise to 80,000 by 2010... Business has been so brisk that railroads are having trouble maintaining their targeted average speeds and delivering goods on time... But neither trend sits well with customers...

Award - USA - Paccar wins US National Medial of Technology

USA -Auto Industry (UK) -21 Feb 2006: -- At a recent ceremony at the White House, President Bush presented a National Medal of Technology to Paccar, the US-based parent company of Daf Trucks... Established by Congress in 1980, the National Medal of Technology is the US’s highest award for innovation. Paccar won its medal for leadership in the development of ‘aerodynamic, lightweight commercial vehicles which have dramatically reduced fuel consumption and increased the productivity of freight transport...’

21.2.06

HOS Comments - USA - Trucks, tired drivers can be deadly mix

Gainesville, FL,USA -The Gainesville Sun, by LISE FISHER -Feb 19, 2006: -- Richard Darley has been driving rigs since 1970 and he knows something about driver fatigue. The 56-year-old trucker said regulations that establish how long a truck driver can operate on the road really don't make that much difference. "I don't care how many rules they write. There's going to be somebody that breaks them," ... The career trucker was talking about federal and state rules governing how long a truck driver can operate a rig before taking a break... The Crete Carrier Corp., the trucking company, has an out-of-service rate of 11.5 percent for its trucks, 2.6 percent for its drivers and 6.7 percent for hazardous materials inspections, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The percentages, which reflect drivers and vehicles placed out of service for reasons ranging from minor problems to deficiencies with a driver's logbook, are below or near the 2003 national average, the agency reported... The carrier, based in Nebraska, has 5,458 drivers and more than 5,000 trucks that traveled more than 636 million miles in 2005... Looking at the data for the carrier, FMCSA Director of Communications Ian Grossman said it shows it is a larger company that's "operating safer than most."... The records also show that drivers for Crete had 417 inspections that resulted in violations within the past 30 months. During those inspections, there were 233 violations of regulations governing hours-of-service rules... Charles Mickel, 49, a trucker out of Atlanta, said earnings will drive whatever regulations and practices companies will support and follow in the trucking industry... "They want to keep it the way they make money," he said. "The bottom line is the freight needs to be moved."...

20.2.06

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

* UPS to Order 50 Next-Generation Hybrid-electric Delivery Trucks
Papillion,Nebraska,USA -Finanzen -Feb 18, 2006: The first of the 50 HEVs will be deployed in Dallas this June and will join more than 10,000 low emission and alternative-fuel vehicles already in use...

* East India's heavy duty defence truck manufacturing unit opened
India -Hindustan Times -Feb 18, 2006: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated East India's first automotive plant for production of heavy duty defence trucks in presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, opening a new vista for the supply of defence equipment from private sector industry...

* Heavy-truck sales rise 8.7% in Jan.
USA -Automotive News, by Kathilee Grace -Feb 20, 2006: Class 4 through 8 heavy-truck sales posted a healthy 8.7 percent increase in January 2006 compared with January 2005. Truckmakers sold 38,727 vehicles last month compared with 35,621 during January of last year...

* Global Heavy Truck Makers Set to Expand into Yangshan Port
SHANGHAI,China -TMCnet -Feb 20, 2006: Global heavy-duty truck manufacturers have started to make a foray into the Yangshan Port, China's first bonded port area located in Shanghai... At present, the domestic-made heavy-duty vehicles are still the main force for the freight transport in the port. Under such circumstances, some overseas brands are weighing plans to enter this market... Dongfeng Nissan Diesel Motor Co., Ltd. will adjust its development philosophy and strive to edge into the logistics market in the port... Volvo is still unable to pose a powerful impact on the indigenous brands, though it developed relatively fast in the field in recent years...

* DAF proclaims 2005 a record year
Netherland -just-auto.com -20 Feb 2006: Heavy duty truck maker DAF has proclaimed that 2005 was a record year for production, sales and market share... The Dutch-based unit of PACCAR said that production in 2005 hit 52,500 units in 2005 - an all-time high - taking DAF's market share in western Europe to almost 14% in the over 15 tonnes GVW segment...

* January truck sales down for 6th consecutive year
USA -The Trucker -20 Feb 2006: History does repeat itself — at least when it comes to the sale of Class 8 trucks in January... For at least the sixth consecutive year, sales of heavy duty trucks declined from December of the previous year. Not only did sales decline in those months, the percentage decrease was in double digits... Sales in January 2006 totaled 19,299, compared with 23,265 in December 2005, a decrease of 17.3 percent, according to Ward’s Automotive...

* Driver shortage will keep lid on carrier freight capacity
Montreal,Canada -Canadian Trucking Alliance -Feb. 20, 2006: All the major components of carrier operating costs -- labour, fuel, equipment and maintenance -- will continue to come under upward pressure in 2006 and need to be covered through a combination of rates and surcharges, said David Bradley, Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO... “The driver shortage has worsened and will become more acute in the years ahead. For the first time ever in 2005, the number of drivers over 55 years of age outnumbered those under 30 years old,” said Bradley. "Capacity will continue to be tight, even if there is some sluggishness in some sectors of the economy."... Bradley said the industry will have to deal with new hours of service, cargo securement, fuel, engine emissions and US security rules in 2006...

* Toyota may build trucks in Canada
Japan -CBC News/Nihon Keizai Shimbun -20 Feb 2006: Toyota's truck subsidiary is considering construction of an assembly plant in Canada by the end of 2006 that would build about 1,500 Hino trucks a year... Hino would ship engines and other major parts from California, where Hino currently has its only North American assembly plant... The plant would complete final assembly of the trucks in this country...

Bust - USA - Emission rule change the engine for truck sales

But this year's boom to be next year's bust

Chicago,Ill,USA -Chicago Tribune, by James P. Miller -Feb 19, 2006: -- The truck sector is gearing up for another boom year in 2006. But the industry's good times likely will be followed by a steep dropoff in 2007... "This year's sales surge, and next year's expected slump, are being artificially amplified by the same development: Diesel engines for large trucks must meet stringent new emission standards under federal clean-air regulations scheduled to kick in Jan. 1"... The regulatory changes call for a dramatic, 90 percent reduction in the amount of health-damaging soot particles that spew out of truck exhaust pipes...

Crisis - Uruguay - Relations between Argentina, Uruguay on downward spiral

FRAY BENTOS, Uruguay - The Mercury News/Knight Ridder Newspapers (USA), by Jack Chang -Feb. 17, 2006: -- Construction of a giant pulp mill and plans for a second one on the banks of a river shared by Uruguay and Argentina have triggered a bitter battle between the two countries that's quickly become a regional crisis... Debate sharpened two weeks ago, when Argentines from the resort town of Gualeguaychu created a roadblock that cut access to a 3-mile bridge across the Uruguay River, one of only three bridges that connect the countries... On Thursday, protesters began blocking a second bridge, and they've threatened to cut access to the third one about 120 miles up river from Gualeguaychu... With the Argentine government allowing the roadblocks, Uruguayan officials say their country has lost millions of dollars...

Infraestructure - Canada - Pitt bridge will have a new lane for trucks

Maple Ridge,British Columbia,Canada -Maple Ridge News, by Phil Melnychuk -Feb 18 2006: -- While the new Pitt River Bridge will have an extra truck lane when it opens in 2009, there will be no room for light rail transit... Despite the wishes of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows mayors Gord Robson and Don MacLean for the bridge to be LRT-ready opening day, only cars and trucks will be using the seven-lane span...

Pollution - USA - Adjustments could alleviate exhaust problem, complaints

Baxter,AR,USA -Baxter Bulletin -17 Feb 2006: -- Our readers have offered suggestions for dealing with the problem that range from tune-ups on the trucks to enacting laws regulating truck exhaust emissions. The former seems a rather reasonable suggestion while the latter likely would just create more bureaucratic tape... That's not to say there's not precedent for emissions controls for trucks. In California, they've got the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program to monitor heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses. If a vehicle fails inspection, the penalty can go as high as $2,600 if the problem isn't corrected... As another example, New Jersey has regulations to control diesel exhaust emissions. Violations can result in as much as a $700 fine for the first offense and up to $1,300 for a second, although there are provisions to reduce fines if there is proof of repairs within 45 days of the citation...

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* Help us, Mr. President… Auto industry needs an advocate, not a bailout
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Daniel Howes -Feb 20, 2006: -- You say Detroit just needs to be "relevant" and "learn how to compete..." If only it were that simple, Mr. President. Yes, Detroit's automakers and their biggest union, the United Auto Workers, have been undermined by their manifold mistakes. They're also slaves to their obligations to hundreds of thousands of workers who expect pensions and health care in retirement -- and are getting them... I doubt you or any of your successors would want the alternative. That's why the drama playing out here right now -- the restructuring of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the bankruptcy of Delphi Corp., the embrace of alternative engine and fuel technology -- is so important to the industrial health of this country, even if the coastal elites you're so fond of are utterly indifferent to much of anything here in flyover country... Did Toyota and Honda set the standard in hybrids? Absolutely, and more models are coming. Same with Ford, GM and Chrysler. And GM and Ford have millions of ethanol-capable vehicles on the road today, a precursor to the ethanol-powered fleet that you say would free us from Oil Sheikdom... Here's hoping. Your newfound campaign to end our "addiction to oil" is more good news here than bad because Detroit started reading the proverbial tea leaves before your policy people did and was moving in that direction because the market was... Sounds relevant to me. So would a president willing to lend more moral support and a few well-considered helping hands...

* Ford Says Market-Share Slide to Continue
USA -Wall Street Journal -13 Feb 2006: -- Ford's chief sales analyst expects the company's market-share slide to continue before stabilizing this year or next... George Pipas says Ford's sales may stabilize in the near future, but not from 2005 levels, which finished at 18.3 percent of the U.S. market. Ford executives have openly talked about being competitive as one of the U.S. market's "Big Six" automakers, and while Chairman Bill Ford has said the company will stop its market-share losses this year, and the Journal reports that his lieutenants have been finessing the statement ever since, adding that Ford has been on a market-share losing streak for much of the past decade...

* GM price cuts may not be a better deal
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by David Phillips -Feb 20, 2006: -- Strategy of consistent low prices leaves some vehicles costing more, Consumer Reports says.. General Motors Corp.'s move last month to significantly slash prices on the bulk of its vehicle lineup is helping generate higher sales and more showroom traffic, but a new report says more than a third of the models affected may not offer buyers a better deal... When GM cut prices as much as $2,500 on select 2006 models in January, or about 80 percent of its U.S. lineup, Consumer Reports studied prices on more than 500 of the automaker's cars and trucks before and after the move... Consumer Reports' analysis found that not all vehicles under the plan are priced evenly and that it can be difficult to make price comparisons based on brand or model... The magazine subtracted dealer sales incentives, customer rebates and other adjustments from the dealer's invoice price to determine a "bottom line price."... "We're giving consumers a compelling reason to try our new vehicles," GM Chairman Rick Wagoner said in a speech before the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce on Friday. "It's the right move given the strength of our products and the right way to bring customers into the showroom."...

* Hybrid Perks May Become Problems
Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Steven Ginsberg -Feb 14, 2006: -- As Vehicles Pack HOV Lanes, Experts Fear Advantages Could Turn Counterproductive... The purchase of a hybrid car is more and more likely to put its driver into a privileged class of motorist with access to carpool lanes, special parking spots and other perks -- the kinds of things most drivers can only dream about when they're stuck in traffic or circling a block... But many commuters and some transportation experts say the generous incentives intended to reduce oil consumption and help clean the air are working too well and are in danger of becoming unfair, unnecessary and, ultimately, counterproductive...

* Alternative energies fuel innovation
Toronto,Ont,Canada -Toronto Star, by GERRY MALLOY -Feb. 16, 2006: -- A wide range of clever vehicles available now - And popular hybrids aren't today's only option... In the wake of last year's stratospheric gasoline-price excursions, it's not surprising that AutoShow 2006 is replete with alternative-energy vehicles... The best part is, you can buy most of them right now...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* Leaders ask Bush to stop unfair trade, save state jobs
Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by Deb Price -20 Feb 2006: Michigan lawmakers have a message for President Bush, who visits today: Read our lips: Save our manufacturing jobs... The president, faces a state battered by a loss of manufacturing jobs and represented by lawmakers -- including several in his own party -- who are increasingly critical that he isn't doing more to combat what they see as unfair trade practices by China, South Korea and other global competitors...

* Ghosn Puts His Stamp on Renault
Paris,France -The Car Connection -19 Feb 2006: Just as he did at Nissan, Carlos Ghosn is planning to use a new product offensive to boost the fortunes of Renault with a combination of judicious cost-cutting and a move upmarket... At the same time, Ghosn also is ordering Nissan to move deeper into the commercial vehicle market and to maintain a close watch on costs, including those in North America, where the company has moved to limit its future liabilities for retiree healthcare... Ghosn unveiled his plans for the French automaker, including a bold plan to raise sales volumes by almost one-third within four years. The plan includes bringing 26 new Renault models to market including a number of upscale models... The new product offensive also is designed to reduce Renault's dependence on the Mégane compact...

* Saab Filling In Product Gaps
Sweden -The Car Connection -19 Feb 2006: General Motors' long-struggling Swedish subsidiary hopes to slash costs, increase its product range, and significantly boost sales over the next few years... The Scandinavian brand expects to see "significant investment" as the result of a five-year business plan approved by the General Motors Board of Directors late last year, according to Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson... Much of that money will go to a new range of products, including a new, "global" crossover vehicle...

* Can GM Turn Itself Around?
USA - The Car Connection -19 Feb 2006: -- Workers at General Motors' Pontiac Assembly Plant, a half-hour's drive north of Detroit, got a rare bit of good news last week. The increasingly troubled automaker will not only invest $545 million to upgrade some of its Michigan factories, but it will also add an estimated 280 jobs at the Pontiac plant later this year... When the giant automaker began work on those SUVs, it envisioned a market segment of at least one million vehicles annually. Now, however, it's more likely to run in the range of 750,000, according to vice chairman Bob Lutz. Even if GM can maintain its current share, an eye-popping 60 percent, that's a significant shortfall. ..

18.2.06

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

* UPS to Order 4,100 Low-Emission Trucks in '06
ATLANTA,Ga,USA -PlanetArk -Feb 17, 2006: United Parcel Service Inc said Thursday it will order 50 hybrid electric delivery vehicles and acquire 4,100 low-emission vehicles during 2006 as part of a strategy to cut costs...

* Purchases 11 BelAZ Dump-trucks at Once
KEMEROVO,Siberia,Russia -RIC "FIS" -Feb 15, 2006: For the first time in the history of the Western Siberian metal integrated works (member of Evraz Group) its motor transport division purchased 11 new BelAZ dump-trucks as one lot. Such a scale replenishment of the company's motor fleet is due to the reconstruction of the mills, growing production volumes and volumes of transported goods...

* Peru bans 'bus-trucks' after crashes
LIMA, Peru -AP/CNN -Feb 15, 2006: Peru's national police launched surprise raids nationwide Wednesday, trying to get illegal and dangerous "bus-trucks" off the roads a day after two separate bus crashes killed 45 people and injured 66... But drivers kept the vehicles out of sight to avoid seizures...

* Lorry operators seek diesel subsidy for all types of trucks
KUALA LUMPUR,Malaysia -Malaysia Mail Online -Feb 18, 2006: Lorry operators want all types of trucks to be eligible for diesel subsidy instead of only seven categories... The Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Lorry Operators Association (SKLLOA) said if fishermen could enjoy the subsidy across the board, the same should be applied to lorry operators... SKLLOA secretary-general Alvin Chong said they learnt that only seven out of about 40 categories of trucks will be eligible for the subsidy. They are general cargo trucks, bottle carrying trucks, panel lorries, water and flour tankers, refrigerator trucks and prime movers... Choong said this in reaction to the impending announcement of a list of commercial vehicles that will be eligible for diesel subsidy...

* Challenges barrage trucking's best customers in 2005
OTTAWA, Ont.,Canada -Truck News, by Lou Smyrlis -17 Feb 2006: Manufacturing is a crucial source of business for Canadian trucking and as a result there is anxiety about its future freight volumes... Statistics Canada, which provides monthly shipment volume reports on the manufacturing sector, provided the following year-end review: "For Canadian manufacturers, 2005 will be remembered as a year of many challenges..." ... Because of the challenges, manufacturing shipments rose only 3.1% to $611.6 billion in 2005, compared to an 8.5% advance in 2004...

* DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler, financing ops offset weaker Mercedes, trucks
STUTTGART,Germany -Forbes/AFX -16 Feb.2006: DaimlerChrysler AG said it expects Chrysler to face tougher competition even as the US unit and the groups financing arm helped boost fourth quarter group profits to 1.048 bln eur from 785 mln while Mercedes Car Group barely floated above breakeven...

* Nissan to supply light trucks to Volvo in 2007
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 17, 2006: Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second-biggest automaker, said on Friday it would supply light-duty trucks to Renault Trucks SAS, a unit of Sweden's Volvo AB group, starting in the first half of 2007... The light commercial vehicle business is one of four areas that Nissan has identified as having big growth potential under its current three-year corporate plan...

* New trucking company by April
Trinidad & Tobago -Trinidad & Tobago Express, by Roxanne Stapleton -Feb 16, 2006: President General of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers' Trade Union (SWWTU) Michael Annisette said yesterday his union's new trucking company, the Port and Private Sector Trucking Company Ltd, is geared for an April start...

* Mullen king of the road
Canada -Globe and Mail, by BRENT JANG -16 Feb 2006: Mullen Group Income Fund has cemented its status as a trucking powerhouse with a $900-million takeover of rival Producers Oilfield Services Inc., paving the way for the Mullen family to spearhead expansion into the Arctic...

* Freight rates down on excess availability of trucks
Ernakulam,Kerala,India -NewKerala.com -16 Feb 2006: Freight charges for the nine metric tonne pay load section declined on the local truck transport market today following restricted cargo movements against excess availability of trucks... Transporters said restricted cargo movements against excess availability of trucks mainly pulled down freight rates...
* Truss rejects call for road pricing stay
Australia -Supply Chain Review -17 Feb 2006: -- Federal Transport Minister Warren Truss has dashed the hopes of the trucking industry for a reprieve on road pricing hikes, rejecting calls for the process to be abandoned... The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has called on transport ministers to delay a vote on the National Transport Commission's (NTC) proposals for hikes in registration and diesel excise until after a Productivity Commission review into road and rail pricing... But speaking at the Trucks in Action event in Victoria, Truss said the two issues are completely separate and ministers are obliged to continue the road pricing determinations...

Charges - USA - Arciola pleads guilty to tax evasion charges

New Milford,CT,USA -Greater New Milford Spectrum -Feb 17, 2006: -- Kevin J. O’Connor, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced this week that a New Milford man has pleaded guilty to a charge of evading the payment of federal income taxes... Daniel J. Arciola, 60, of 11 Weiting Road, signed and filed with the Internal Revenue Service a false and fraudulent 2000 U.S. individual income tax return reporting that his taxable income for 2000 was $37,476, on which he owed $7,643... However, the documents state Mr. Arciola had received additional taxable income of approximately $162,273 in cash from Empire Trucking in 2000 and therefore owed an additional $60,711 in federal taxes...

Suspicious - USA - FBI investigates trucking school

Director voices concern about terrorism

Springfield, Ill.,USA -Associated Press/Kansas Ckty Star, by MARCUS KABEL -Feb. 16, 2006: -- The FBI is investigating a commercial trucking school whose director called authorities because a large number of people taking license tests had names that appeared to be Middle Eastern... Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, security efforts have included scrutiny of schools that train pilots as well as truck drivers who might be driving rigs carrying tons of fuel or hazardous materials... About 520 people who did not train at the school took the test there from May 2004 through December 2005. More than 300 of them, or about 60 percent, had names that could be Middle Eastern in origin... Missouri can issue commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens residing in the state if they provide proof of identity, training and legal residence in the United States, according to the Department of Revenue Web site...

Connection - Hong Kong/China - The Inland Empire

Riverside County, Cal,USA -The Caltrade Report -15 Feb 2006: -- Strategically "sited and suited," the Inland Empire is "ideally positioned to serve as a critical distribution hub for goods moving between Asia and points throughout the US, according to a senior-level Hong Kong official... Hong Kong "is leading the way as Southeast Asia's most technologically-advanced trade service center," she said... At the "very heart of its being" is the continuing development of a transportation infrastructure "well-suited to handling the surge in trade volume that we are forecasting over the next decade," she said, alluding to the "increasingly important" role the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region - a region that covers nine provinces, as well as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) - is playing in China's overall economic growth strategy... The region, which also includes Hong Kong and nearby Macao, accounts for a full third of China's total Gross Domestic Product with low-cost manufacturing - once centered in Hong Kong - now the driving force of its combined provincial economies... Last year, 27,500 cargo trucks cross the border between Hong Kong and mainland China every day, while rail links link the SAR with 60 major inland Chinese metropolitan markets...

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* End of the Line for Generous Motors?
USA- The Car Connection, by Joseph Szczesny - 17 Feb 2006: -- It used to be conventional wisdom in American business that "Generous Motors" offered the richest benefits around... GM was an enormously rich company back in the 1950s and 1960s, and GM's top management used the company's wealth to attract and retain talent... Fast-forward 50 years, and the old regime at GM has fallen into disarray... The rich benefits put in place decades ago are now fading into history as the company grapples with the challenges posed by an era of aggressive competition and globalization... In one of the biggest blows to the old regime, GM chairman Richard Wagoner said GM will follow the lead of corporate giants such as IBM and Verizon, and will change the way pension benefits are calculated for active salaried employees hired before 1993... Wagoner said GM still is evaluating ways to restructure salaried pension benefits in the U.S. But he left no doubt that big changes are in the works, including a cap on pension benefits for existing employees that would make them significantly less generous...

* Stronger profits for European car-makers
Dublin,Ireland -The Sunday Business Post -18 Feb 2006: -- European car-makers are reporting stronger profits and keeping their aspirations focused on flashier models and new markets, even as US car companies are slashing benefits and jobs amid sagging results and spiralling gas prices... For car-makers from Italy’s Fiat SpA to German-American DaimlerChrysler AG, profits are improving and sales solid – a stark contrast to the US, where Ford Motors and General Motors have made major job cuts and are scaling back health care and pension plans... Analysts said European automakers are performing well because they’re beginning to exploit markets in Eastern Europe such as Russia and have done better fending off competition from Asian rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co... “The Europeans are already well-structured with diesel and smaller vehicles, whereas the big three had to quickly be forced to spend a little more attention on the passenger car market,” said Michael Robinet, vice president of global vehicles forecasts with CSM consultants...

* Small is the new big
Los Angeles, CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times, by John O'Dell -Feb 18, 2006: -- Japanese take aim at young buyers with new subcompacts - Automakers hope small, fuel-efficient cars will attract youths who otherwise shop for used cars... Not too long ago, the world's automakers were engaged in a virtual arms race to satisfy the American public's appetite for hulking sport utility vehicles... Now Japan's big automakers stand to profit from galloping gas prices as they prepare to roll out a batch of fuel-efficient small vehicles. The move could spell additional trouble for Detroit, which still seems obsessed with gas-gulping muscle cars... The subcompacts from Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., which established themselves here in the 1970s with small, reliable, fuel-efficient vehicles, will deliver fuel economy in high-30-miles-per-gallon territory at prices starting at about $12,000... The extra sales would continue the growth of the big Japanese companies, while American carmakers keep losing market share to foreign brands, Brown said. Last year, Japan's automakers captured a record 32.2 percent of the U.S. market, up from 22.8 percent a decade ago, while the American companies' share fell to a record low of 56.9 percent, down from 73.5 percent in 1995... If the new Japanese small cars sell well in the U.S., the carmakers probably won't stop... All sell several small-car models overseas that could be tweaked to meet U.S. standards... Nissan executives two years ago in San Francisco showed off a micro-van sold in Japan called the Cube. They said it was a question of only when, not if, it would be sold here...

* It’s hard to be both tough and green
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by John McCormick -Feb 17, 2006: -- The conflicted state of the auto industry in the US is front and center at this year's Chicago auto show... The show, which wraps up this weekend, reveals automakers wrestling with the challenge of promoting new, large truck models at a time when consumers are concerned with fuel economy and environmental issues...

* Ethanol is no silver bullet, has plenty of drawbacks, too
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by John McCormick -Feb 15, 2006: -- Ethanol -- what's the fuss? - Pros and cons: It's a worthy goal for sure, and as far as ethanol is concerned it involves part of America close to us Detroiters, the Midwest. Such a solution could benefit our regional economy and help the country kick its oil habit. So what's not to like?... The big problem is that ethanol, like other alternatives to good ol' gasoline, is no silver bullet. The first issue is that ethanol is energy intensive to produce, more so than gasoline, according to some experts. And more important , the fuel is less energy dense than gasoline, so that a gallon will cover about 30 percent fewer miles... This means that while E85 will have to be considerably cheaper than gas to make it worthwhile financially to consumers. Furthermore, though those who live in corn country might find E85 at a station for a lower price than gasoline but the production of ethanol will have to increase by a huge and frankly unrealistic percentage to have any meaningful effect on America's oil imports... Finding the pump: Then there is the question of finding ethanol; in our neck of the woods it's going to be a rare sight. Currently only 500 of the 180,000 U.S. fueling stations sell ethanol... All can run on 100 percent gasoline, if E85 is not available, so if you want to be prepared for the wider rollout of ethanol fuel, these are the models to consider...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* Test runs for setting a new land speed record in excess of 800 mph.
Cal,USA -PRNewswire -17 Feb 2006: To push the limits of engineering, daring Californian Ed Shadle plans to become the fastest man on the ground to date. Shadle's mission, along with partner and co-owner Keith Zanghi, is to shatter the world's land speed record with North American Eagle (NAE) - a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter/land vehicle conversion presently undergoing the test runs for setting a new land speed record in excess of 800 mph...

* Cerberus group takes lead in GMAC talks, report says
New York,NY,USA -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 16, 2006: A group led by hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management and a unit of Citigroup has taken the lead in negotiating a potential purchase of General Motors' finance arm, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said a second group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Wachovia Corp. had not backed away from the bidding...

* Output halts at GM venture in Russia
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 17, 2006: Output at General Motors' joint venture in Russia has halted since Monday, Feb. 13, the world's biggest carmaker by volume said on Friday... The news follows AvtoVaz's announcement this month that it will build a new state-funded car plant and may close the joint venture with GM... The major strategy shift comes as Russia seeks to create an auto industry champion to meet the challenge of foreign competitors whose sales of imported and locally assembled cars are booming... It follows a change in control over AvtoVaz, which has long struggled to lift sales of its cheap but clunky Lada models, and is under new management installed by state arms exporter Rosoboronexport... Sales in Russia of the Chevy Niva and Viva models fell by 14 percent last year to 46,000, industry figures show...

* VW's Spanish unit Seat posts loss for 2005
Barcelona,Spain -magazine Der Spiegel /Reuters/Automotive News -Feb 16, 2006: Spanish carmaker Seat, part of the Volkswagen group, reported a net loss of $74.3 million (62.5 million euros) for 2005 on Thursday... Seat's Spanish plant at Martorell near Barcelona produced 385,000 units during the year compared with 416,000 units in 2004... Speculation that the German carmaker could sell Seat or could shut down its Martorell plant flourished after an unsourced report in German magazine Der Spiegel late last year, which said the brand had been given a deadline for improvements in sales and earnings to secure further investments...

* DC Profits $3.4B in 2005
USA -The Car Connection -17 Feb 2006: DaimlerChrysler earned $3.4 billion in 2005 with the Chrysler Group accounting for $1.8 billion of the profit, the company announced on Thursday... The Mercedes Benz Group posted an operating profit of $1 million in the fourth quarter, and finished the year with a $600 million loss, but DaimlerChrysler AG executives insist the group is finally moving in the right direction...

* Bridgestone fiscal year profit up; rubber costs to hurt '06 results
Tokyo,Japan -Reuters -17 Feb 2006: Top Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp. on Friday reported an 8.2 percent rise in annual operating profit in 2005 as it boosted sales and product prices, but forecast a drop this year due to soaring raw materials prices...

* Denway/Honda Chinese joint venture January sales up 56 percent
HONG KONG,China -Reuters -17 Feb 2006: The Chinese car-making joint venture between Japan's Honda Motor Co. and Denway Motors Ltd. said on Friday it sold 18,498 cars in January, up 55.7 percent from the same month last year...

* Sales Inch Up, but Goodyear Sees 4Q Loss
Akron, Ohio,USA -AP, by M.R. Kropko -Feb 16, 2006: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said Thursday it lost $51 million in the fourth quarter as higher raw materials costs, production delays linked to hurricanes and expenses from the sale of its farm tire business took the gleam off improved sales for the nation's biggest tire maker. Shares fell nearly 4 percent in morning trading...

* China auto output up 52 percent on-year in January
SHANGHAI, China -Associated Press/Xinhua News Agency -Feb 16, 2006: China's passenger car production rose 52 percent in January from a year earlier to 391,600 units, while sales surged 73 percent to 418,900 units...

* Mazda Begins Leasing Hydrogen Rotaries
Japan -Reuters -16 Feb 2006: Mazda says it will begin leasing a version of the RX-8 in Japan that can be powered by gasoline or hydrogen... The RX-8 Hydrogen RE, is based on the sportscar of the same name, and can be run on either fuel at the flick of a switch. The theoretical range of the vehicle is 62 miles under hydrogen power and 41 miles with gasoline power... The vehicles are being leased to a Japanese oil company for about $3500 a month...

* Ford of Canada Confirms It's Building Hybrids
Canada -TheCarConnection (USA), by Paul A. Eisenstein -16 Feb 2006: Ford of Canada says its production facilities will build the new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX hybrid crossovers due by the end of the decade. The new vehicles will be assembled at Ford's plant in Oakville, Ont., where the standard gas-engined versions of the models are to be built this year for sale as 2007 models. The hybrid versions are expected to be on sale by 2010. Ford has committed to building 250,000 hybrids a year by that date...

* Peugeot Plans Diesel Hybrid for 2010
Paris,France -The Car Connection -16 Feb 2006: French company PSA Peugeot Citroen plans to use its leading position in diesel technology to produce a small car that will achieve an average fuel economy figure of 69 miles per US gallon while producing just 90 grams of CO2 per kilometer. PSA claims that these figures are 25% better than a comparable gasoline-engined hybrid, with a gain of up to 17 mpg over a combination of urban and freeway driving...

* Renault Betting on Brazil
Paris,France -The Car Connection -16 Feb 2006: The goals are production increases of 600,000 units yearly focused in operations outside Europe, increasing the operational margin to 6 percent and a competitive, top of the line model. As expected, he did not set plans for China, currently with excess capacity, and to the U.S. either, by classifying competition as brutal. For Brazil, he talked about five new models in less than three years: a Mégane II sedan and station wagon; Logan sedan, station wagon and an unnamed compact SUV. Following the trend, he said a development center at the State of Paraná plant will be set up to make better use of low technical capacity costs in the country and even to export designs...

* BMW revs up India output; Asia targets on track
Singapore,China -- Reuters/Automotive News / Feb 16, 2006: BMW expects to produce up to 2,000 vehicles in the first year after the launch of its Indian plant, and is on track to hit its target of selling 150,000 cars in Asia by 2008...

* Sticker safety rating to come standard in next year
WASHINGTON,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Cindy Skrzycki -15 Feb 2006: Browsers will be able to check the window sticker to see how the vehicle did in federal crash tests... New car buyers will be seeing stars -- safety-rating stars -- in the not-too-distant future... Starting in September 2007, browsers on showroom floors will be able to check the window sticker to see how the vehicle did in federal crash tests, along with the more typical information already listed, such as price, fuel economy and equipment...

15.2.06

Rises - USA - Trucking Costs Continue Climb

Collaboration could ease the pain

ALEXANDRIA, Va,USA -Logistics Management (Newton,MA), by Traci Purdum -March 1, 2006 -- Forget about lean practices and kaizen blitzes. If you can't ship the products you've worked so hard developing, what's the point?... While the logistics landscape isn't quite that bleak, rising shipping costs are showing no sign of coming down... In the 2005 IndustryWeek Value-Chain Survey, which was conducted in conjunction with IBM Business Consulting Services, 51.2% of the 650 respondents stated that total logistics costs as a percentage of sales were 10.1% or greater in 2005. In 2003 only 20% of companies stated their logistics costs were more than 10% of their total sales... And according to the U.S. Census Bureau's most-recent annual survey, the truck transportation industry grew 10.4% to $186 billion in 2004... Add to that the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) report, U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast to 2016 -- which states that trucking will increase its share of the nation's freight pool in the next decade -- and you have to wonder how that mixes with the news that there is a trucker shortage -- a 20,000-truck-driver deficit in 2005 according to ATA. That number will rise to 111,000 by 2014 if current demographic trends continue...

TRUCKING WORLD NEWS

* Washington House Passes 2% Biodiesel Bill
USA -TTNews/Associated Press -14 Feb 2006: The Washington state House passed a measure Friday that would require that 2% of the state’s diesel sales to be biodiesel by Dec. 1, 2008... The legislature’s 70-28 vote would also require that gasoline be blended with a minimum of 2% ethanol... Ethanol standards could rise to 10% if air quality would not be affected...

* Report: Cars and trucks are racking up more lifetime miles
WASHINGTON,DC,USAc -AP/Madison Daily Leader -13 Feb 2006: Back in the 1970s when Pat Goss was working in automotive repair, 100,000 miles was considered the benchmark of a car's longevity. Well-maintained Dodge Darts with more than 300,000 miles were a rarity... Now, with advanced technology, improved engines and synthetic oils, crossing the 100,000-mark on the odometer is not much cause for celebration...

* Schneider Logistics acquiring American Overseas Air Freight
USA -Trucking Info -14 Feb 2006: Schneider Logistics Inc., an international lead logistics provider and part of the Schneider National enterprise, has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire American Overseas Air Freight, an international freight forwarder and a licensed United States Customs Broker...

* U.S. Xpress increases stake in trucking companies
USA -Transport Intelligence -15 Feb 2006: -- U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. has reached agreements in principle to increase its ownership interest in both Arnold Transportation Services Inc. and Total Transportation of Mississippi and affiliated companies to 80% from 49%, for a total of $7.8 million in cash...

* Big trucks keep right
Saint Louis,MO,USA -SLToday, by Lindsey Pilcher/Jefferson County Journal -15 Feb 2006: Working under a belief drivers shouldn't be surrounded by 18-wheelers on the highway, Sen. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, is sponsoring legislation to prohibit some trucks from using the left lane on highways... Engler, who is on the Senate Transportation Committee, said several citizens approached him about the idea after driving in other states where commercial trucks are banned from the left lane...

* Trucking embracing anti-idling
USA -Fleet Owner -Feb 14, 2006: A fuel-conscious, ever-expanding trucking industry will help drive demand for idle reduction technology, according to a survey completed by trucking not-for-profit research organization American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI)... Participants have already spent over $8.8 million equipping sleeper cabs with such technologies, including direct-fired heaters, auxiliary power units, and battery powered air conditioners. Users were generally satisfied with the performance of these products, although initial cost has been a hurdle, ATRI said...

* YRC earnings revision
Kansas City, Miss,USA -The Kansas City Star -15 Feb 2006: YRC Worldwide Inc. on Monday revised downward by $2.9 million its recently reported fourth-quarter earnings because of currency accounting issues involving a Canadian unit of Roadway Express... YRC, the Overland Park trucking company known until recently as Yellow Roadway Corp., said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its earnings outlook for the first quarter and for the current fiscal year are not affected...

* Hazmat Firm Develops Long-Lasting Sensors to Track Shipments
USA -TTNews -13 Feb 2006: MHF Logistical Solutions said it developed a sensor with a long-lasting battery that will allow its customers to remotely monitor rail cars, containers and their contents... Rick Zink, MHF’s executive vice president, said the sensor is part of a monitoring system developed specifically to assist companies that ship hazardous materials, but could be adapted to other uses...

* Repair Info Database Tractor-Trailer.net Is Now Online
USA -TTNews -13 Feb 2006: Technical information provider Mitchell 1 announced the availability of its Web-based heavy-duty vehicle service and repair information database, Tractor-Trailer.net, which includes service and repair information for all heavy-duty tractors, dry vans and reefers dating back to 1990...

* Expeditors International of Washington’s Income Grows
USA -TTNews -14 Feb 2006: Logistics firm Expeditors International of Washington Tuesday reported it earned $80.5 million or 72 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared with $43.6 million or 39 cents in the previous fourth quarter...

* Rush Enterprises Reports Profit Increase for 4Q
USA -TTNews -14 Feb 2006: Rush Enterprises, the nation’s largest dealer of Peterbilt trucks, reported fourth-quarter net income of $12.6 million or 50 cents a share, up from $5 million or 26 cents in the previous fourth quarter...

* Fourth-Quarter Intermodal Shipments Rise 5.5%
USA -TTNews -14 Feb 2006: Intermodal growth rose 5.5% in the fourth quarter, marking the 15th straight quarter of growth, the Intermodal Association of North America said late Monday...

* Michelin’s Second-Half ’05 Profit Jumps
USA -Bloomberg/TTNews -14 Feb 2006: Tire maker Michelin’s second-half 2005 profit rose 74% to about $600 million from $340 million a year earlier... Michelin is the maker of Michelin, B.F. Goodrich, Uniroyal and Kleber tires...

Snowstorm - USA - East Coast digs out from record snow

SAN FRANCISCO,CAL,USA -MarketWatch, by Matt Andrejczak -Feb 12, 2006: -- The Northeast and mid-Atlantic were digging out Sunday night from a record weekend snowstorm that brought air and highway travel to a standstill most of the day and left tens of thousands without electricity... All three major New York-area airports were closed for much of the day after the city was pounded with a record 26.9 inches of snow amid blizzard warnings. The closures stranded travelers as far away as Florida... The National Weather Service said 26.9 inches of snow fell in New York City's Central Park, the most for a single storm since record-keeping started in 1869, the Associated Press reported. The old record was 26.4 inches in December, 1947. New York officials said they expected to have all roads cleared by Monday morning... Elsewhere, 21 inches of snow fell at Columbia, Md., between Baltimore and Washington, as well as at East Brunswick, N.J., Hartford, Conn., and west of Philadelphia, the AP reported... Anywhere from 8 inches to 21 inches of snow was dumped in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore area, with airlines managing to complete flights to certain destinations late Sunday morning... In the region, some 200,000 people were left without electricity, according to the Washington Post...

Assistance - USA - Trucking restrictions ease for crop transportation

Orlando,FL,USA -Orlando Business Journal -14 Feb 2006: -- Some highway restrictions were eased to assist Florida agricultural producers in expediting transportation of crops impacted by freezing weather... State growers produce nearly all of the country's fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter... Weight, height, length and width limitations for commercial vehicles transporting vulnerable crops to processing sites have been relaxed for seven days... The cold weather the past two days has created "a serious situation" for the agricultural growers, who must rush to harvest crops to prevent losses, says Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson in a release...

Story - USA - For this veteran driver, charity begins on the road

Help is on the Way!!!

Santa Clara, California,USA -Road King -14 Feb 2006: -- Thomas Hawks, drove 32 years... I am a “semi-retired” professional truck driver with 32 years of experience. I spent my last 24 with Overnite Transportation Company in Memphis, Tenn., before moving out to Santa Clara, Calif., this year. I say “semi-retired” as I am going to be starting up a business to provide commercial driver training and promote the image of the trucking industry more positively... When I was a boy, my Dad owned and operated a truckstop in Humboldt, Tenn., and I was always so intimidated by those big, smoking and loud trucks. Never would I have imagined that some day I would become a professional truck driver and prosper as much as I have... Have I been successful because of trucking? YES! I have always wanted to do something positive to help make a difference — not only in my life but in the lives of others. I had so many obstacles in my life not having a college education, and trucking opened the door for me to grow!...

TechNews - USA - Experimental device that might increase fuel efficiency

USA -Road King -14 Feb 2006: -- It doesn’t look revolutionary, but a new device developed at Clarkson University has the potential to have a big impact on the trucking industry... “Traditional transport vehicles have a flat aft end that creates a large drag on the vehicle at high speeds, which ultimately reduces gas mileage and increases costs and emissions,” says Ken Visser, associate professor of Aeronauatical and Mechanical Engineering. “We have designed extendable flat plates that can be mounted to the truck’s rear doors to reduce drag”... The apparatus looks like a set of second doors when closed, and opens out to a boxlike structure. Their data, based on road testing, indicates that the device will save about one-half mile per gallon, or 10 percent. That can lead to thousands of dollars in savings per year for a truck that travels 150,000 miles...

AUTOS' WORLD COMMENTS & OPINIONS

* Will There Be A Detroit Tomorrow?
USA -Forbes, by Jerry Flint -14 Feb 2006: -- The U.S. auto industry has been much in the news lately, but the focus has been on layoffs, plant closings and financial woes. Yet it is wrong to paint the domestic manufacturers with the same brush... Let's start with American Chrysler. Yes, it's owned by German DaimlerChrysler, but it's still Detroit. The way that I see it, Chrysler is a lean, mean fighting machine that is profitable and fairing better than the Mercedes-Benz unit. Chrysler is even picking up a bit of market share. Even so, Toyota Motor is growing faster and could outsell Chrysler this year... What is likely to evolve over time is a U.S. industry that looks more like Europe, which is five or six big companies rather than a big three, with GM, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Honda Motor and Nissan each holding as much as 18% to as little as 7% of the U.S. market. For that to happen, first GM and Ford must survive the cost of getting smaller...

* You've Got Mail, Mr. Kerkorian - There are easier ways to make money...
USA -Forbes, by Martin T. Sosnoff -2 March 2006: -- I'm just a hard-working money manager who tries to stay abreast of what's going on. Frankly, I think you're throwing good money after bad, reraising your stake in General Motors to 9.9% after taking a tax loss in December... Since 2002, Rick Wagoner has been promising a turnaround at GM. Now it's pushed to 2007--maybe 2008. Quien sabe? ... I hope that I'm dead wrong, that GM is the comeback story of the decade, and that you live happily ever after. If you can get one clear message to management, tell them to end their insanity of paying out $1 billion annually in dividends to shareholders who surely don't want this money while GM is bleeding profusely... Maybe you will out-Buffett Warren, who construed hidden value in Coca-Cola, Gillette, and American Express, long before anyone else. But these marketing giants needed little in fixed assets to operate. And they never employed hundreds of thousands... There are easier ways to make money...

Warn - USA - Talking and Driving - Sans Phone - Still Dangerous

Cellphones aren't the only distraction for drivers

USA -The Car Connection -13 Feb 2006: -- A new report suggests that in-car conversations can be just as dangerous as using a cellphone while driving, researchers at the University of Michigan say... The school's Transportation Research Institute equipped 36 cars with video cameras and studied the footage while comparing it to vehicle movement... What they found was that more than a third of the time, drivers were talking (15 percent of the video clips observed), grooming themselves (6.5 percent), using a cell phone (5 percent), or eating and drinking (2 percent)... And compared to observations of drivers talking on cell phones, the study found that proper steering and lane discipline were about the same for drivers talking to a passenger or talking on a phone... All forms of "non-driving" behavior had some negative impact on safety, the researchers report, mostly in steering inputs... Women and drivers younger than 30 were more likely to engage in distracting behavior than other subjects, the study also said...

LOOK THIS: CarGirl - USA - "What Real Women Drive"

USA -The Car Connection -14 Feb 2006: -- In response to Douglas Flint column entitled "What Real Men Drive," TCC reader Erin Mays wrote a letter to the editors praising Flint on his choices and concluding with, "I'm just eagerly awaiting "What Real Women Drive' by TCC's CarGirl"... So this one's for you, Erin, albeit three months late... "A real woman" (RW) will drive whatever vehicle best fits her current lifestyle and responsibilities... But when you see a woman behind the wheel of one of the following cars (listed in order of a woman's life stages), you can be 99.9 percent sure you're looking at the genuine article... --VW New Beetle Convertible Turbo: Guys like to call it a "chick car"... --BMW 3-Series: The benchmark against which all other premium sport sedans are judged... --Volvo XC90: Volvo's svelte and stylish SUV can do everything they do except tow a house, but does so with air of understated elegance... --Chrysler Pacifica or Mercedes-Benz R350: Great for moms who love their kids... --Any European Wagon: The fact is, most Euro-wagons have more fashion sense than anything in an RW's closet... --Porsche Boxster S: The gold standard of roadsters... --Volvo C70: Come spring, many up-to-the-minute RWs will begin draping themselves in Volvo's smart and sexy hardtop convertible... --Jaguar XJ Series: Silky performance, supermodel looks, classic Jag styling, and a sumptuous interior... Valet parking attendants rush to park this car. The only thing missing is a chauffeur... --Lexus LS430: My mom's an RW and she's been happy driving the same LS400 for the past 14 years... --1959 Cadillac, mint condition: Appropriate at any stage of a woman's life, especially if it's powder blue and has sticky clear plastic seat covers... Looking back we realize this Caddy was cool, and our mom was a real woman... What way to punish themselves these girls!!!...

CarBoy - USA - What Real Men Drive

USA -The Car Connection -Feb 2006: -- Last November, TCC ran a column by Douglas Flint entitled "What Real Men Drive," in which he claimed real men don't drive macho HUMMER H2s or diesel Ford F-350s; they drive International Scouts and Chevy El Caminos. And if they can't get their hands on one of those out-of-production models, other real-man options include: --Any convertible (the Mazda Miata excepted) as long as the top stays down whenever it's not raining or snowing. --Any plain-Jane American four-door sedan (think Ford Crown Vic or Buick LeSabre). --The Jeep CJ series ("pre-Eighties wussification"). --Anything with a plow on it...

Celebrating - USA - Jeep(R) brand it's 65 years of go anywhere

USA -The Car Connection - 10 Feb 2006: -- The Jeep(R) brand is celebrating 65 years of go anywhere/do anything capability with special edition models of the 2006 Jeep Commander, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Liberty and Jeep Wrangler, all equipped with popular and unique features... These limited production vehicles will be on display during press and public days at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show, February 8-19 at McCormick Place...

Changes - USA - Humvee Out, International MXT In the Army?

USA -International WebReport/The Car Connection, by Joseph Szczesny -10 Feb 2006: -- A quiet revolution is underway in the sourcing of military vehicles and the International Truck & Engine Corp. of Chicago is hoping that its new MXT 4X4 can fit into the mix... Dee Kapur, president of International Truck Group., said that International has been asked to provide prototypes of the truck to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense for use by agencies such as the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Army, and other services... Kapur also confirmed that International also has won one contract from the DOD to build a prototype for a vehicle that would eventually become the replacement for the U.S. Army's fleet of Humvees...

14.2.06

Production - Russia - Japan's Isuzu, Severstal Avto to build trucks in Russia

MOSCOW,Russia -RIA Novosti -Feb 14. 2006: -- Russian car manufacturer Severstal Avto and one of Japan's leading truck producers, Isuzu, have signed a deal to begin the production of Isuzu trucks in Russia... According to Severstal Avto's news release, the two companies will be producing medium-duty Isuzu NQR 71 trucks, with a carrying capacity of about five metric tons, and heavy-duty Isuzu CXZ 51 trucks, with a carrying capacity of about 20 metric tons...

13.2.06

Noxious clouds - USA - Trucks Said To Plague City

New York,NY,USA -New York Sun, by BRADLEY HOPE -Feb 13, 2006: -- Whether in the middle of the night or at midday, trucks come barreling down the city's streets, noisy and overladen, spewing noxious clouds. It happens everywhere, but especially in downtown Brooklyn and in Flushing, Queens, traffic relief advocates say... "Everywhere I go in the city, everybody agrees that there are too many," the New York City coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Teresa Toro, said about the number of trucks on city streets...

EPA emissions - USA - Cummins says it's ready for 2007 standards

TAMPA, Fla,USAQ -Truck News, by James Menzies -13 Feb 2006: -- Cummins announced yesterday that it is ready for the strict 2007 EPA emissions standards... The announcement came just prior to the American Trucking Associations' Technology and Maintenance Council meetings... The company says its current engine lineup will be available in its entirety as 2007 rolls around and all engines will be compliant with the 2007 emissions standards...

Judgement - India - SC ruling on overloading trucks irks transporters

Mumbai,India -Business Standard -Feb 14, 2006: -- The transporters’ associations in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh (MP) have demanded intervention from their respective state governments on the Supreme Court’s recent judgement over overloading... The apex court, in its verdict, has directed the state governments to strictly implement the loading limits for trucks and passenger vehicles...

Recall II - USA - DaimlerChrysler was recalling 39,274, 2006 model-year

DETROIT,Mich,USA -Reuters -Feb 13 , 2006: -- The NHTSA said DaimlerChrysler AG was recalling 39,274, 2006 model-year Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram and Mitsubishi Raider pickup trucks... The NHTSA said the rear brakes in some of these vehicles, equipped with four-wheel anti-lock brake systems, could lock up prematurely... DaimlerChrysler had a small stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which it sold in late 2005...

Recall - USA - Ford recalling 211,432 trucks to fix warning lights

DETROIT,Mich,USA -Reuters -Feb 13, 2006: -- Ford Motor Co., is recalling 211,432 of its Ford F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT pickup trucks to fix a potentially faulty warning light for anti-lock brakes, U.S. safety regulators said... The vehicles are from the 2006 model year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site on Monday... These vehicles were built with a software error in the brake system cluster, the NHTSA said...

EcoNews - USA - Some U.S. garbage trucks switch to natgas - study

WASHINGTON,DC,USA -Reuters, by Lisa Lambert -Feb 13, 2006: -- More and more U.S. cities are switching their garbage trucks from smog-generating diesel to cleaner natural gas, according to a report released by environmental group INFORM on Monday... "Replacing diesel fuel-powered trucks with trucks powered by natural gas is a tremendous opportunity not only for cleaner air and quieter neighborhoods, but also for reducing reliance on a fuel coming from risky and unreliable foreign sources," INFORM President Joanna Underwood said in a statement...

Losses - Canada - Fire at trucking firm tallied in the millions

Rigs, bus lost in late-night blaze at yard

Winnipeg,Canada -Winnipeg Sun, by TAMARA KING, Feb 12, 2006: -- The charred metal shells of several semi-trucks stared out from what was left of a maintenance garage as investigators tried to sort out what caused a multimillion- dollar blaze at a Winnipeg trucking firm Friday night... The cause of the fire at 739 Lagimodiere Blvd., which is owned by Arnold Bros. Transport Ltd. but rented out to several tenants, was still under investigation yesterday...

Snowstorm - USA - Record Snowfall Covers New York

Heavy Snow Hits East Coast - Nor'easter Brings Blizzard Conditions To Northeast, Mid-Atlantic
New Jersey,USA -NBC4.TV (Los Angeles,CA) -February 13, 2006: -- Normal activity resumed -- at least somewhat -- on Monday after a the first major East Coast snowstorm of the year... From the mid-Atlantic to New England, road crews are scrambling to clear streets, utilities are working to restore power, and stranded travelers are trying to get out of airports. The storm dumped more than 2 feet of snow in some places... New York-area commuters were feeling the effects of a record weekend snowstorm...

Increasing speed limit - USA - Trucks get green light to go faster

Kalamazoo, MI,USA -NEWS 3, by Lesley Randall -Feb 10, 2006: -- Truck drivers in Michigan will soon be allowed to hit the gas - just a little more... Governor Jennifer Granholm has just signed a bill that will increase the highway speed limit for trucks from 55, up to 60 miles per hour. The highway speed limit for other vehicles will stay at 70 miles per hour...

Downgraded - USA - Fitch Lowers Navistar to 'BB-'

Assigns 'BB-' Indicative Rtg to New Credit Facility
CHICAGO,Ill,USA -BUSINESS WIRE -Feb. 10, 2006: -- Fitch has downgraded the ratings of Navistar International Corp. and its subsidiary, Navistar Financial Corp. (NFC) as follows... The downgrade reflects the protracted duration of Navistar's inability to file audited financial statements, the scale and uncertainty of any adjustments that may be required, uncertainties associated with the potential refinancing of Navistar International's debt, and the potential for limited access to external capital following the refinancing...

Production - India - Ural India to start assembling unit for trucks soon

Kolkata,India -Hindu Business Line, by Ambar Singh Roy -Feb. 10, 2006: -- Ural India Ltd, a joint venture of the Kolkata-based Motijug Group, the West Bengal Government and Uralaz of Russia, will soon start assembling heavy-duty and high-capacity trucks, dump trucks and tippers at its manufacturing facility that is currently being set up at Haldia at a cumulative investment of Rs 550 crore... Initially, the trucks would be imported from Russia in completely knocked down versions; 100 per cent indigenisation would be achieved when the plant would operate at full capacity by 2009...

Study - USA - CAT C-15 ranks highest in customer satisfaction

PEORIA, Ill.,USA -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow-10 Feb 2006: -- J.D. Power and Associates has ranked the Caterpillar C-15 highest in customer satisfaction with vocational heavy duty truck diesel engines, according to a recent study on heavy-duty truck engine/transmissions... A Caterpillar engine has ranked highest in the vocational segment five times in a row...

Registration questions - USA - Ford claims Chevy sales numbers off

Registration data raise questions

ORLANDO,FL,USA -Detroit Free Press, by SARAH A. WEBSTER -Feb 13, 2006: Ford fans stand proud: Chevrolet might not be America's best-selling brand after all... Ford Motor Co. began calling the results of the 2005 brand contest -- which has had Chevy claiming victory -- into question Sunday after registration data from R.L. Polk & Co., a Southfield-based auto research firm, shows more Fords than Chevys were registered last year...

Hybrid - USA - Oshkosh Truck testing hybrid truck for military, urban use

Trucks made with power to spare

Milwaukee,USA -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, by RICK BARRETT -Feb. 12, 2006: -- Oshkosh Truck Corp. wanted to help with hurricane relief and further test a hybrid, diesel-electric truck it was developing for military and civilian applications... The ProPulse hybrid truck's generator can provide power for a small airport, a field hospital or a military command post...

Comment - Canada - Oilpatch Trucking

Calgary,Canada -Nickle's Energy Group, by John Ludwick -January, 2006: -- The oilfield trucking industry is what drives Canada's energy industry, says Patrick Delaney, manager of technical services for the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC)... And this important industry is facing some big challenges. One area key to keeping the oil and gas industry moving is the service sector - those stalwarts that play a key role in getting the hydrocarbons to surface. Companies such as BJ Services run huge fleets of heavy rolling stock; specialized vehicles unavailable at the local truck dealership... It is often an afterthought, but take a hard look at its efforts and it quickly becomes apparent the trucking business is the lifeblood coursing through the Canadian oilpatch's veins...

9.2.06

Job - USA - Trucking Company Hiring Drivers

Akron,OH,USA -Akron Beacon Journal -9 Feb 2006: -- The national unemployment rate is now under 5 percent and much of the U.S. trucking industry remains hard-pressed to find drivers... In an attempt to hire as many as 150 drivers in the greater Akron area, trucking firm Schneider National Inc. will host a job fair 5-8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at its Seville operating center, 8860 Wooster Pike, off Exit 2 at Interstate 76... The Wisconsin-based company is looking for local, regional and long-haul positions. Inexperienced drivers may make between $35,500 and $43,500 their first year, while experienced drivers may earn between $49,500 and $58,500, the company said...

Struggle - USA - Trucking, Railroads to Keep Up With Cargo Surge

USA -TTNews, by Daniel P. Bearth -9 Feb 2006: -- Trucking and railroads, once bitter rivals, now find themselves working to keep up with surging freight volume by improving the flow of freight through the nation’s ports and rail terminals... Limits on funding and differences in priorities between trucking and railroads, however, are blocking rapid progress in unclogging key intermodal connectors, transportation experts said... Gary Maring, a partner with the consulting firm Cambridge Systematics and former head of the Office of Freight Management and Operations at the Federal Highway Administration, said "We definitely are seeing bottlenecks emerge in the system — especially where rail intermodal and interstate highways come together”...

Ahead - USA - U.S. Automakers Stepping up Ethanol-Use Programs

NY,USA -USA Today -9 Feb 2006: General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are forming partnerships with energy companies on projects that could make ethanol a more mainstream fuel... The projects would work to make so-called E85 — a blend of 85% ethanol, an alcohol usually made from Midwest corn, and 15% gasoline — more of a mainstream fuel, the paper said in a front-page story... The automakers plan to plan to boost the number of U.S. E85 outlets; only about 500 of 180,000 gas stations now sell the alternate fuel... GM and Ford are ahead of Asian rivals in developing and marketing E85-compatible vehicles, called flex-fuel vehicles... About 5 million of the vehicles are already are on the roads, and Ford and GM plan to build another 600,000 this year...

TRUCKING's WORLD NEWS

* Canada’s New Prime Minister Backs Transportation Initiatives
USA -TTNews -9 Feb 2006: New Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged $1.75 billion dollars over the next five years toward highway and border infrastructure, including the TransCanada Highway... The TransCanada highway is a nearly 5,000-mile-long highway that stretches from Victoria, British Columbia, to St. John’s, Newfoundland...

* Wabash Reports Improved Fourth-Quarter Income, Sales
USA -TTNews -9 Feb 2006: Truck trailer maker Wabash National Corp. late Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $19.7 million or 55 cents a share, up from $13 million or 39 cents for the same period a year earlier... Net sales rose to $340.8 million, from $287.4 million, Wabash said in a statement... For the full year, Wabash earned $111.1 million or $3.06 per share, compared with $58.4 million or $1.80 in 2004, the company said...

* Pacer’s Fourth-Quarter, Year-End Income Gain
USA -TTNews -9 Feb 2006: Transportation and third-party logistics firm Pacer International said its fourth-quarter net income rose 20% to $20.4 million or 54 cents a share, from $17 million or 44 cents a share in the previous fourth quarter... Revenue fell 5.1% for the quarter ended Dec. 30 to $503.8 million, the company said in a statement late Wednesday... For its full fiscal year, also ended Dec. 30, Pacer’s profit rose to $50.9 million or $1.34 a share, from $47.2 million or $1.24 a year earlier. Revenue for the fiscal year rose to $1.9 billion, from $1.8 billion the previous year...

* P.A.M’s Fourth-Quarter Earnings Rise
USA -TTNews -9 Feb 2006: Truckload carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services reported a fourth-quarter profit of $4.3 million or 41 cents a share, rising from $1.8 million or 16 cents for the same period in 2004... Operating revenue excluding fuel surcharges rose 8.2% to $83.9 million, the company said Wednesday... For the full year, the company earned $13.1 million or $1.20 per share, compared with $10.6 million or 94 cents for 2004... Revenue for the year rose 5.5% to $326.4 million...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

* GM cuts fail to silence doubters
DETROIT,Ill,USA -The Detroit News, by Bill Vlasic -Feb 09, 2006: Prominent analyst 'disappointed by the limited cash savings' in restructuring effort... Shares of General Motors Corp. slid 4 percent Wednesday after a prominent investment analyst downgraded the stock and cast doubt on the effectiveness of GM's turnaround efforts... The report also offered a pessimistic assessment of GM's chances to rebuild its U.S. market share and to cut a deal with the United Auto Workers on the reorganization of bankrupt auto-parts giant Delphi Corp...

* U.S. junk bond investors take on more auto risk
NEW YORK,NY,USA -Reuters -8 Feb 2006: General Motors' precarious fortunes are taking on more importance for the U.S. high-yield bond market, where investors have placed big bets on bonds of the automaker and its finance arm, GMAC... About 93 percent of high-yield portfolios held bonds of GM or General Motors Acceptance Corp. at the end of 2005, up from 66 percent last May after the automaker was first downgraded to junk status...

* Ford Keeps Part of "Way Forward" Secret
USA -The Car Connection -9 Feb 2006: Ford Motor Co. isn't prepared to offer any more details about its "Way Forward" restructuring plan, said Anne Stevens, Ford executive vice president and one of the chief architects behind the effort to revive Ford's struggling automotive business. Stevens also said the company was still evaluating specifics such as what additional plants it will closes as part of the restructuring...

* Recalled Trucks Burn As Ford Fiddles
USA -ConsumerAffairs.com, by Joe Benton -Feb 3, 2006: Massive Recall Moves Slowly as New Fires Break Out... Despite a massive recall announced in September, Ford trucks are continuing to catch fire and burn -- some of them covered by the recall, some not... The September 2005 recall involved an estimated 3.8 million Ford trucks from the 1994-2002 model years; it included the Ford F-150 pickup as well as the Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator and Ford Bronco SUVs...

* Is Chrysler's comeback fizzling?

CHICAGO,Ill,USA -The Detroit News, by Brett Clanton -9 Feb 25006: Detroit's strongest automaker may have to cut production as more vehicles languish at dealerships... Chrysler has defied Detroit's downturn in the past two years -- gaining market share and earning solid profits -- but there are growing signs that its comeback may be starting to sputter... After weaker sales in recent months, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles are piling up on dealer's lots, taking nearly three months on average to sell...

* Fuel-Economy Numbers "Misleading"
USA -The Car Connection -9 Feb 2006: Press's skepticism could also reflect the fact that Toyota has been betting its environmental reputation on its growing lineup of hybrid-electric vehicles - products that have generated some controversy of their own... The EPA is proposing changes in mileage tests, and some observers estimate products like the Toyota Prius could see their own fuel economy ratings dip by 20 to 30 percent...

* PSA Peugeot Citroen sees more pain after tough '05
PARIS,France -Reuters -8 Feb 2006: French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen forecast on Wednesday a further drop in its operating margin in the first half of 2006 due to a spike in raw material prices and the cost of meeting new European emission standards... To counter sluggish sales in its main west European market, PSA is launching more new models and expanding its geographical reach...

* Mitsubishi Motors Announces Results for Third Quarter Fiscal 2005
Tokyo, Japan -Investor's Business Daily (subscription)/JCN Newswire via COMTEX -Feb 09, 2006: Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) today announced its financial results for the first three quarters of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006... Mitsubishi Motors consolidated net sales in the first three quarters of fiscal 2005 totaled 1,529.6 billion yen, down 88.3 billion yen over the same period last year (1,617.9 billion yen). The decrease reflects lower OEM supply volumes in North America and Europe that were not offset by an increase in revenues in Japan driven by the introduction of a new model... The company posted an operating loss of 18.2 billion yen, an improvement of 81.5 billion yen over the same period last year...

* Toyota to ramp up its big trucks
NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal, by Norihiko Shirouzu -Feb 03, 2006: New pickup being built in San Antonio, Indiana will debut Thursday... For years Toyota Motor Corp. tiptoed around the market for large pickups, offering a vehicle that was smaller and less powerful than the Detroit brands that dominated the lucrative segment... Now, even as General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are struggling to stop losses in their North American auto businesses, Toyota is prepared to drive a big truck into Detroit's backyard...

* Appetite strong for big trucks
Indiana,USA -IndyStar.com/AP, by Dee-Ann Durbin -Feb 8, 2006: Automakers say full-size models have loyal customers and help boost profits... High gas prices may be giving consumers monster headaches, but automakers are betting that hasn't curbed their appetite for monster trucks... BIG BUCKS TRUCK: .... International Truck and Engine Corp's MXT pickup truck can tow three regular-sized pickups. Pricing starts at $69,000 and the luxury model tops out at $85,000...

* Chery signs deal with Russian company
BEIJING,China - Xinhuanet/www.chinaview.cn -Feb.8, 2006: The Chinese automobile manufacturer Chery Automotive Co. (CAC) has signed a partnership agreement with the Russian-based Avtotor to assemble cars in Russia... Details on the joint-venture are still under discussion, reports Wednesday's Economic Information Daily, quoting a manager from Chery...

* Nissan to roll out low-priced car
TOKYO,Japan -AFP -Feb 09, 2006: Nissan Motor plans to spend more than 100 billion yen ($840 million) to launch a low-priced vehicle for China, India, Brazil and Eastern Europe, possibly in 2009, a report said on Thursday...

* Slovakia wins EU support for subsidy to auto parts plant
BRUSSELS, Belgium -Associated Press -Feb 09, 2006: Slovakia has won European Union backing to grant $63.7 million to an automotive parts plant run by Ford Motor Co. and Germany's Getrag Group, the European Commission said Thursday...

Gap - USA - General Motors, Toyota Heading Further Apart

The Japanese car maker posts record profit while the Detroit company unveils new cost cuts
Los Angeles,Cal,USA -Los Angeles Times, by John O'Dell -Feb 8, 2006: -- The yawning gap between the world's two biggest automakers widened Tuesday as Toyota Motor Corp. posted record fiscal third-quarter profit while General Motors Corp. introduced a new round of cost-cutting to help halt its mounting losses... "It's a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer," said analyst Shelly Lombard at GimmeCredit, a New York corporate bond research firm... GM, under pressure from billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian to accelerate its turnaround efforts, announced that it would halve its annual dividend to $1 a share, cut Chief Executive Rick Wagoner's salary by 50%, trim the pay of several other top executives by 30% and freeze retired salaried workers' health benefits...

Comments - On China - Measuring costs from the top down

Detroit,Ill,USA -The Detroit News, by Michael Dunne -Feb 09, 2006: -- To get handle on how China makes cheaper cars and parts, start by looking at executive compensation... In the US, auto executives enjoy - and expect - certain standards of comfort... In China, there is no such thing as automatic comfort. Instant gratification is a distant concept... During the Detroit Auto Show, public relations executives at one automaker invited me to lunch. We ate at a prestigious place in downtown Detroit. The appetizers started at $12... Chinese executives usually take their meals at simple canteens and restaurants on the company grounds. When I visited a Chinese parts supplier in the South, five executives and I shared plates of rice, tofu soup, chicken and broccoli. The bill came to less than $20...

Border Troubles - USA - Cross-Border Trucking Complicated By Language, ID Systems

WASHINGTON,DC,USA -TTNews -8 Feb 2006: -- Language barriers, multiple identification systems, congestion and delays are some of the challenges the trucking industry faces at the nation’s borders, industry executives said... In addition, the lack of a harmonized regulatory policy between the United States, Canada and Mexico makes for a “never-ending battle about who and what policy we are supposed to be in compliance with,” said Gary Nichols, director of business development for Contract Freighters Inc., Joplin, Mo...

Jobs - USA - Five of the most unpopular jobs

Truck driver ...
USA -CNN/CareerBuilder.com, by Laura Morsch -Feb 8, 2006: -- Is there a severe labor shortage looming for the United States? It depends whom you ask... The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a labor force of 162.3 million people by 2012. At the same time, the BLS predicts that the 2012 economy will require 165.3 million jobs to be filled... Michael W. Horrigan in the February 2004 issue of the BLS' Monthly Labor Review, wrote that there will not be a generalized shortage, certain jobs will experience a shortage of qualified workers. Here are five that are expected to be hit particularly hard:... Truck driver ... Getting those eBay packages delivered might take longer by 2014. A report prepared for the American Trucking Associations by Global Insight, Inc. warns there is already a shortage of about 20,000 long-haul heavy-duty truck drivers. By 2014, the deficit is expected to reach 111,000... The report blames slipping wages for the shortage. Trucking wages fell sharply with the onset of the recession in 2000 and have yet to recover. According to the BLS, the median salary for heavy or tractor-trailer truck drivers is $33,870...

Recalls - USA - International recalls more than a thousand trucks

USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -4 Feb 2006: -- International Truck and Engine is recalling International 5000 and International 9000 trucks from model years 2004 and 2005 that have Caterpillar engines – 1,371 trucks in all... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the recall in December because on certain engines, the variable valve actuation oil line could wear against the cylinder head and break the line if not positioned correctly. An oil leak and fire could result...

TechnoNews - USA - "Super-Tech" provides gas-saving products

Branford,Conn,USA -Branford Review -3 Feb 2006: -- For the past few months, David and Terri Goclowski, the co-founders of Super-Tech USA, have been working with Enviro Tech Mfg. Inc to develop new technology geared toward making vehicles more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly... The two obtained the national distribution rights to the Vitalizer, the Activator 200 and the Activator 300... The small metal cylinder tubes, which can be installed in a vehicle in 20 minutes, allow fuel to burn solely within the engine's combustion chambers helping engines to meet national environmental standards...

Navistar's Default - USA

- Noteholders say Corp. missing deadline
WARRENVILLE, Ill.,USA -AP/Belleville News Democrat -Feb. 03, 2006: -- Truck and bus maker Navistar International Corp. said Friday that some creditors have accused it of violating financial reporting requirements by failing to file its annual report on time... Navistar said in a regulatory filing that it disputes the alllegation of default, which it said was made Jan. 25 by purported holders of more than 25 percent of its $220 million subordinated exchangeable notes...

- Navistar weaker on default allegations
NEW YORK,NY,USA -Reuters -Feb 6, 2006: -- Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings on Friday reiterated statements that they may cut their ratings on the company due to the delay in filing its annual report. Moody's Investors Service downgraded the company's debt deeper into junk on Friday and said it may cut the ratings further, citing the delay in filing and the bondholders' suit... Typically, failure to meet reporting requirements can result in a technical default, giving bondholders the right to demand immediate repayment of outstanding bonds after a certain grace period. This type of a default, however, does not usually trigger payments on credit default swaps...

* Navistar fuel tank maker sold to Dallas company
Springfield,OH,USA -Springfield News Sun (subscription) -7 Feb 2006: -- The parent company of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Fuel Systems, which has a plant on East Pleasant Street in Springfield, has been sold... Chicago-based TMB Industries announced that it has completed the sale of Fuel Systems to Dallas-based Brazos Private Equity Partners... Fuel Systems, which employs about 400 and about 100 here, manufactures vehicle fuel tanks and hydraulic tanks for light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty truck markets... The local company serves as a supplier to International Truck and Engine...

Condemns - Canada - OTA doit with Toronto plan to ban trucks during rush hour

Toronto,Ontario,Canada -Canadian Transportation & Logistics, by James Menzies -3 Feb 2006: -- The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) wasted no time in responding to a proposal by a Toronto city councillor that would see a ban on truck deliveries during rush hour in Toronto... OTA president David Bradley was quick to point out that trucks serving the downtown core must do so while there's a shipper or consignee to hand off or receive the goods...

Volvo's News - Worldwide

* Truckmaker Volvo '06 profit views cut after weak Q4
STOCKHOLM,Sweden -Reuters -8 Feb 2006: -- Analysts have lowered their earnings forecasts for Volvo, the world's second biggest truck maker, after the company's unexpectedly weak fourth-quarter profit, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday. The average forecast in a poll of nine analysts showed full-year pretax earnings at 19.05 billion crowns ($2.45 billion), a 6.3 percent downgrade from the same analysts' expectations ahead of the Sweden-based firm's earnings report...

*

Volvo trucks hit by emission rule
UK -BBC News -3 Feb 2006: -- Volvo is having to produce a range of new engines... Truck-maker Volvo has reported an unexpected 11% drop in profits after it was hit by the cost of meeting forthcoming new emissions guidelines... During its fourth quarter the Swedish giant made pre-tax profits of 4.14bn Swedish kronor ($538m; £303m), down from 4.6bn kronor a year earlier... The dip was caused by one-off costs of 500m kronor, led by having to produce a new line of cleaner engines... Volvo is now sticking to its European sales targets for 2006, but expects sales to be slightly higher in North America...

* A record year for Volvo Trucks in 2005
Gothenburg, Sweden -Truck News (Toronto,Canada), by Steven Macleod-3 Feb 2006: -- Deliveries of Volvo Trucks in 2005 were the highest ever recorded in the history of the company... With a total of 103,696 trucks delivered, the increase of seven per cent from 2004 was due primarily from a strong demand for heavy-duty trucks in North America, says the company... In the Western Hemisphere, Volvo Trucks recorded deliveries of 32,151 in North America and 7,723 in South America, increases of 23 per cent and two per cent respectively... The record number of deliveries by Volvo Trucks was achieved despite a one per cent drop in the number of trucks delivered in Europe. The 2004 total of 43,210 was decreased to 42,633 in 2005...

* Mack Trucks shine brightly for Volvo
Allentown,PA,USA -Allentown Morning Call -Feb 3, 2006: -- Mack Trucks of Allentown was the 2005 star performer for corporate parent Volvo of Sweden. Mack delivered more than 36,000 trucks last year, a 42 percent increase from 2004... The Swedish truck maker announced today that its other divisions had more modest gains... Deliveries increased 7 percent for Volvo Trucks and 6 percent for Renault Trucks...

8.2.06

TRUCKING's WORLD NEWS - Condenseds -

* Rebate program for OOIDA Members carries on through 2006
KIRKLAND, Wash,USA -Truck News, by Steven Macleod -8 Feb 2006: Kenworth Truck Company announced it will extend its rebate program with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) through 2006... Originally introduced nearly four years ago, the program offers a $1,000 rebate to OOIDA members on qualifying purchases of new Kenworth sleeper trucks...

* Experts say more checks needed on overloaded trucks
Delhi,India -Delhi Newsline -Feb 2, 2006: Traffic research foundation says overloading was to blame for recent fatal accident at Bagpat that killed 18 people... Overloading of vehicles is one of the biggest causes of accidents as far as Delhi is concerned, say experts... S P Singh, a senior fellow in the Indian Foundation of Traffic Research and Transport said: "An accident that took place two days ago in Bagpat in the NCR could have been avoided if the vehicles weren’t overloaded"...

* CTA gives input on C-TPAT revisions
OTTAWA, Ont.,Canada -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -8 Feb 2006: The Canadian Trucking Alliance, along with the American and Mexican trucking associations, has been asked by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for input on revised C-TPAT carrier security criteria. In response to concerns expressed by the industry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has made a number of revisions to its latest draft...

* Record year for Leyland Trucks
UK -Leyland Today -2 Feb 2006: BRITAIN's only remaining truck factory, Leyland Trucks, has announced a record year... The firm, which faced closure in 1993, produced more than 17,000 trucks in 2005 for the first time since the Leyland Assembly Plant, in Croston Road, was opened 25 years ago... A £35m investment programme has just been completed and the firm has boosted job numbers to 1,200 – a rise of 85 per cent since 1993 when the plant was rescued from receivership...

* Oshkosh Truck To Open Office In China
Oshkosh,USA -CBS 5 WFRV/AP -Feb 8, 2006: Oshkosh Truck plans to open a sales office in Beijing, China this spring... The truck manufacturer believes it can sell more fire and rescue vehicles in China, and maybe more cement mixers and garbage trucks...

* Tata, Hinduja groups to make trucks in Bengal
Kolkata,India -Business Standard -Feb 03, 2006: The government of West Bengal was aiming to make the state the automobile and commercial vehicle (CV) hub of the region... The state chief minister told the executive committee members of FICCI here today that Tata Motors and the Hinduja group were almost certain to put up automobile or CV manufacturing plants in the state... The Russian truck manufacturer Ural was set to start its assembly operations in the state from March at Haldia in collaboration with the Kolkata-based Motijug group...

* Russia: Renault Trucks signs letter of intent with RusPromAvto
Moscow,Russia -By AWKnowledge -9 Feb, 2006: Renault Trucks has signed a letter of intent with Russian automotive group RusPromAvto regarding the manufacture of truck engines in Russia... Under this agreement, RusPromAvto is licensed to manufacture Renault Trucks' dCi type engines in Russia...

* Canada: A review of economic statistics this week
OTTAWA,CP, Canada -CBC News -Feb 5, 2006: Vehicle registrations up slightly: There were 19.4 million motorized road vehicles registered in Canada in 2005, up from 19.1 million the year before, Statistics Canada said... Registration of cars and light vehicles such as pickup trucks and minivans totalled 18.1 million, or 94 per cent of all registrations, that was up from 17.9 million in 2004. The rest of the 2005 totals consisted of 78,050 buses, 443,700 motorcycles and mopeds, and 707,600 truck tractors and heavier trucks...

* Akron could get new garbage trucks, bins
Akron,OH,USA -The Beacon Journal, by John Higgins -Feb. 06, 2006: Akron's 66,000 garbage customers may get new, bigger trash totes in September and either a rate hike or a decrease, depending on whether they recycle... The city wants to buy 19 new, automated trucks that grab the oversized totes with a hydraulic arm, dump them, and set them back on the ground...

* Watkins and Shepard Trucking CEO named Innovator of the Year
Helena, Mont.,USA -Layover -6 Feb 2006: Watkins and Shepard's chairman and chief executive officer, Ray Kuntz was recently recognized as Innovator of the Year by Commercial Carrier Journal Magazine. Kuntz is also vice chairman of the American Trucking Associations, and for several months he has co-chaired an ATA-Truckload Carriers Association task force on driver recruiting...

* OOIDA supports U.S. tax credit program
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo.,USA -Truck News (Canada), by: James Menzies -9 Feb 2006: The Owner-Operator Independent Driver's Association (OOIDA) is throwing its support behind a U.S. bill that would provide tax credits on the purchase of anti-idling devices that reduce pollution and save fuel... The Idling Reduction Tax Credit Act of 2006 has been introduced south of the border by Rep. Kay Granger... The proposal would allow a 25 per cent tax credit up to $1,000 for the purchase of anti-idling devices. Here in Canada, FleetSmart already offers rebates on the purchase of approved anti-idling devices such as auxiliary power units...

* Tata Motors Q3 net jumps 46 pct, above forecast
MUMBAI, India -Reuters -Feb 10 2006: India's top vehicle maker, Tata Motors Ltd., posted a 46 percent jump in quarterly profit, beating expectations as sales rose and costs of raw material such as steel fell... Tata Motors, which has 60 percent of India's truck and bus market, said net profit rose to 4.6 billion rupees ($104 million) in October-December from 3.16 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 16.3 percent to 50.75 billion rupees from 43.63 billion...

* ATA warns governments not to increase burden
Australia -Supply Chain Review -8 Feb 2006: Governments need to be cautious about endorsing an economic reform program that increases truck registration and fuel excise charges, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has warned... ATA Chairman Ross Fraser says any increases would reverse key economic gains made in recent years... Fraser says only 15 percent of freight is contestable between road and rail...

* Lawsuit against Massena trucking firm settled
Watertown,NY,USA -Newswatch 50/Watertown Daily Times -7 Feb 2006: A lawsuit brought by Wal-Mart against a Massena trucking firm has been settled out of court... According to a report, the federal lawsuit brought by Wal-Mart against trucking firm Walsh Trucking Services Inc. over an alleged undelivered shipment was settled according to documents filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Syracuse...

Trade - Finland - Russia-bound cargo on Finnish roads is growing dramatically

Finland -Helsingin Sanomat -9, Feb 2006: -- The number of foreign trucks on Finnish roads is growing almost exponentially. The Director of the Eastern Customs District Tommi Kivilaakso estimates that the amount of heavy goods traffic will double within the next five years... At the Vaalimaa border crossing station, the truck traffic has grown 80 percent since the beginning of the decade, while at the Nuijamaa station the volume has doubled since 2000...

EcoNews - USA - New Technology for Heavy-Duty, Diesel-Emission Control

Iselin, NJ,USA -Press Release -8 Feb 2006: -- Engelhard Corporation today announced it has successfully commercialized innovative selective catalytic reduction technology that enables heavy-duty diesel trucks to comply with stringent new Euro 4 and Euro 5 emission regulations... Euro 4 standards, which call for a 30% reduction of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from heavy-duty diesel vehicles, began phasingin last year and take effect for all models in 2006. Euro 5 standards, currently under discussion for 2008-2009 implementation, are projected to require an additional 40% reduction in NOx emissions...

Activism - USA - Feeling dumped on

Norwood activists urge smog devices on more trucks

NY,USA - New York Daily News, by BILL EGBERT -Feb 7, 2006: -- Bronx residents are breathing down the necks of city officials over pollution controls for trucks hauling dirt from the Van Cortlandt Park water filtration plant site... The most advanced system available, an active diesel particulate filter (ADPF), is very effective - removing 95% of pollution and fine particles - but also very expensive, costing more than $10,000 a unit...

Jobs - Canada - Trucking industry crying out for drivers

Saskatchewan's trucking industry says it needs to find hundreds of new drivers, and soon

Saskatchewan,Canada -CBC News -Feb 7 2006: -- Many long-haul truckers are retiring and companies say they're looking to immigrants to fill the gap... Doug Siemens, the vice-president of the Siemens Transportation Group in Saskatoon, says his company recruited dozens of experienced truckers from the United Kingdom... For some who come over, the attraction is a lower cost of living and the idea that driving in Saskatchewan comes with lower stress levels...

Forecast - USA - Trucking businesses struggle to stay in gear

Hackensack,NJ,USA -NorthJersey.com, by WALTER DAWKINS -Feb 6, 2006: -- Trucking companies continued to roll to profitability in 2005, although at a slower rate than in 2004 due to a cooling economy, record-breaking fuel costs and a shortage of drivers... The industry stayed in gear, thanks to strong consumer demand for trucking services and industry consolidation... Revenues for the two main elements of the industry are up by double digits. Truckload (TL) operators, which move full loads over long-haul routes, were up 11.1 percent in the 12-month period ending September 2005, and revenues for less-than-truckload (LTL) operators jumped 17 percent, according to the American Trucking Association trade group...

Warn - Australia - Trucking companies may be prosecuted for driver infringements

Victoria,Australia -ABC Regional Online -Feb 6, 2006: -- Trucking companies are being warned they could be prosecuted after an operation in northern Victoria detected 250 infringements by truck drivers... The five-day operation between Ouyen, Swan Hill and Shepparton resulted in charges against five drivers for possessing drugs... Another 100 infringements of logbook and rest requirements were also detected...

Production - USA - U.S. Army Replace Aging Fleet

Selects International Truck and Engine, Lockheed Martin to Build Demonstrators of Tactical Utility Vehicle

USA -Finanzen (Germany) -6 Feb 2006: -- TACOM Narrows Demonstration Competition, Awards International $12.25 Million Contract... The U.S. Army, moving a step closer to developing a next-generation tactical utility truck to replace an aging fleet including the familiar Humvee, selected International Military and Government, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Truck and Engine Corporation - the operating company of Navistar International Corporation - and Lockheed Martin Corp., to builddemonstrator armored vehicles, narrowing the competition from four companies to two. The Army's Tank-automotive and Armanents Command (TACOM) awarded International $12.25 million to build its demonstratorover the next 18 months...

Production - Russia - Hyundai will assemble medium-tonnage trucks

MOSCOW,Russia -ITAR/TASS -Feb 6, 2006: -- The South Korean Hyundai Company will assemble medium tonnage commercial trucks in Russia jointly with the Freight Motor Vehicles Plant in Rostov... The existing Taganrog Automobile Plant is already assembling Hyundai passenger cars and small-tonnage Hyundai Porter trucks...

Purchases - USA - Akron could get new garbage trucks, bins

Recyclers would get discount, others pay more

Akron,OH,USA -The Beacon Journal, by John Higgins -Feb. 06, 2006: -- Akron's 66,000 garbage customers may get new, bigger trash totes in September and either a rate hike or a decrease, depending on whether they recycle... The city wants to buy 19 new, automated trucks that grab the oversized totes with a hydraulic arm, dump them, and set them back on the ground...

Pollution - USA - Area drivers exhausted by local dump trucks

Baxter,AR,USA -Baxter Bulletin, by GEORGE JARED -Feb 4, 2006: -- Commercial dump trucks and vehicles belching plumes of dark exhaust are becoming a familiar sight in the Twin Lakes Area, and there isn't anything environmentally concerned citizens can do about it, according to the Environmental Protection Agency... EPA Spokesman Dave Berry told his agency doesn't have any statutes in place to govern air quality in northern Arkansas... "The air quality in that region is such that we do not have any emission requirements," Berry said. "But if you have commercial trucks expending too many pollutants in the air, that's obviously a problem."...

Bottlenecks - USA - Study lists nation's worst

USA -eTrucker, by Lance Orr -2 Feb 2006: -- Trucks idled for more than 243 million hours on bottlenecked U.S. highways in 2004, costing trucking companies $7.8 billion, according to a study prepared for the Federal Highway Administration... The study estimates a cost of $32.15 per hour of delay based on four major types of bottlenecks along freight corridors: interchanges, intersections with signals, steep grades and lane reductions... The study was conducted by Cambridge Systematics in association with the Battelle Memorial Institute.... According to the study, the Top 20 interchange bottlenecks for trucks are: ............. Bottlenecks account for 40 percent of vehicle delays, with the balance caused by construction work zones, crashes, breakdowns, bad weather and poor signal timing, the study said...

Purchases - Canada - Melton orders 440 new trucks

Canada - eTrucker, by Lance Orr -6 Feb 2006: -- Melton Truck Lines recently ordered 440 new trucks and 150 new trailers in an attempt to get its fleet up to 900 trucks by the end of 2006... The new trucks include Kenworth T600s with 13-speed transmissions and Caterpillar engines, Freightliner mid-roofs with either Cat or Detroit Diesel engines, and Peterbilt 386s with 13-speed transmissions and Caterpillar engines...

Average - Canada - Trucking workforce is aging

Canada -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -6 Feb 2006: -- In 2004, for the first time, Canadian truckers ages 55 and older outnumbered those 30 and younger, indicating the nation faces a driver shortage similar to that of the United States... About 18 percent of Canadian truckers were ages 55 and older, compared to an average of 13 percent for all other industries, according to Statistics Canada, the nation’s central statistics agency... Canadian truckers also stay on the job longer than most of the rest of the labor force. Trucking was the sixth most popular occupation among employed men aged 65 and over in 2001, the agency reported...

Recalling - USA - International recalls more than a thousand trucks

USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -4 Feb 2006: -- International Truck and Engine is recalling International 5000 and International 9000 trucks from model years 2004 and 2005 that have Caterpillar engines – 1,371 trucks in all... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the recall in December because on certain engines, the variable valve actuation oil line could wear against the cylinder head and break the line if not positioned correctly. An oil leak and fire could result...

Regulations - USA - New Air Rules for Foreign Trucks on Cal Highways

Air regulators say foreign commercial trucks will soon have to meet US pollution standards

Sacramento,CAL,USA -The Cal Trade Report -4 Feb 2006: -- Foreign commercial trucks operating in California will soon have to meet US air pollution control standards, according to a mandate issued earlier this week by the California Air Resources Board (CARB)... According to the agency, at least 4,000 trucks - most from Mexico - travel along the state's expansive highway network on any given day in direct violation of federal Environmental Protection Agency emission controls... A California state law drafted in 2004 required truck operators to carry proof that they meet federal standards, but until now inspectors haven't been able to enforce it, said a CARB spokesman...

Award - USA - International Truck & Engine’s Aware Technology Wins Innovation

USA -Lawn & Landscape Magazine, by Lauren Spiers Hunter -3 Feb 2006: -- Coming up on a year as a Telematics technology provider, vehicle manufacturer International Truck & Engine Corp., announced recently that the company is being recognized with Frost & Sullivan’s 2006 Industry Innovation and Advancement of the Year Award in its medium/heavy-duty truck original equipment market... International is being recognized for its Aware Vehicle Intelligence product, a GPS technology-based system that tracks vehicle locations and uses in-vehicle monitors to relay vehicle functions and conditions back to fleet managers, owners and service teams...

Showing - UK - Volvo Trucks' all new product range at CV show

Chester,UK -Easier -2 Feb 2006: -- The 2006 Commercial Vehicle Show - to be held at the NEC, Birmingham from 25th-27th April 2005 - will feature three Volvo stands – Volvo Trucks, Volvo Selected Used Trucks and Volvo Parts and Service/Roadcrew... Volvo Trucks’ main stand will host the first public showing of Europe’s most powerful production truck - the new 660bhp Volvo FH16 – launched on February 1st... In addition the stand will feature to the UK show debut of the new generation 13-litre FH and FM vehicles, launched last autumn...

7.2.06

TechnoWireless - USA - Hopes for a speedy recovery

USA - DC Velocity, by JOHN R. JOHNSON -Feb 2006: Today's new wireless security devices can't guarantee thieves won't get their hands on your cargo. But they definitely raise the odds that you'll get your stuff back promptly... TO THE THIEVES PLANNING A BIG HEIST last summer, it looked like a simple enough job. They'd move in over the weekend, break into the parked truck carrying $50,000 worth of cigars and discreetly remove the stogies, leaving the rest of the LTL shipment intact. But their carefully laid plans went up in smoke when the cigars' owner, who was monitoring his goods from a remote location, detected tampering to the trailer and notified the FBI...

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS - Condenseds -

* Lowe's Names J.B. Hunt As Intermodal Provider Of The Year
Springdale, AR,USA -The Morning News -5 Feb 2006: Lowe's Companies Inc. has named J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell its Intermodal Provider of the Year for 2005... It's Hunt's third consecutive year to win the award.Lowe's presents the award to a transportation provider with a history of outstanding service, consistent year-round capacity, competitive pricing and ease of doing business...

* Watkins and Shepard Trucking CEO named Innovator of the Year
Helena, Mont.,USA -Layover -6 Feb 2006: Watkins and Shepard's chairman and chief executive officer, Ray Kuntz was recently recognized as Innovator of the Year by Commercial Carrier Journal Magazine. Kuntz is also vice chairman of the American Trucking Associations, and for several months he has co-chaired an ATA-Truckload Carriers Association task force on driver recruiting...

* Proposed Trucking Safety 'Hall of Shame'
San Diego, CA,USA -Insurance Journal -Feb 7, 2006: If conscience and good business practices are not enough to make Connecticut trucking companies comply with safety regulations, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal hopes the threat of public humiliation will do the trick... Blumenthal has called for state officials to create a "Hall of Shame,'' a list to be posted online along with all safety violations logged against every commercial truck and trucking company in Connecticut...

* Universal Truckload Services Buys Four Intermodal Firms
USA -Automotive News -3 Feb 2006: Universal Truckload Services said Thursday it acquired four intermodal companies that will operate as part of its Mason Dixon Intermodal subsidiary... The four are Marc Largent, Los Angeles; Diamond Logistics, Houston; Assure Intermodal, Memphis, Tenn.; DiJulio Enterprises, Seattle...

* Cummins, Tata Motors sign JV deal
India -India Infoline -30 Jan 2006: Cummins Inc. and Tata Motors have signed an agreement that will allow their joint venture, Tata Cummins Ltd. (TCL), to begin manufacturing the popular ISB engine in the near future... The expansion will significantly increase the number of engines produced by the joint venture and will strengthen Cummins position as a leading producer of engines for the growing medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle market in India...

Traffic - USA - Worst Cities For

NEW YORK,NY,USA -Forbes -7 Feb 2006: -- The worst traffic in the U.S. is getting even worse. It pollutes as the vehicles idle. It wastes the time of trucks and passenger cars. The annual delay per driver is in excess of 47 hours per year. It creates delayed shipments. It wastes over 2.3 billion gallons of fuel each year... The cost of U.S. traffic delays is conservatively, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, $63.1 billion a year based on 2003 figures. And it's not getting any better... The cities having the worst traffic problems are (by the reckoning of the Texas Transportation Institute): 1. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Calif. 2. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif. 3. Washington, D.C. 4. Atlanta, Ga. 5. Houston, Tex. 6. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Tex. 7. Chicago, Ill. 8. Detroit, Mich. 9. Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif. 9. Orlando, Fla. 11. San Jose, Calif. 12. San Diego, Calif... Given the existing levels of expenditure on these roads and city infrastructures, all that's foreseeable is much more of the same. Can these problems be solved? Yes, but its takes incisive planning, political agreement, commitment from the top and earnest follow-through execution by all...

Event - USA - Transportation Experts Convene for Transformation 06

Las Vegas,NEV,USA -Telematics Journal -Feb 6, 2006: -- More than 2,000 transportation and logistics decision-makers are gathered at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for Transformation 06... The conference brings together industry-leading business and logistics experts for personal and professional growth. Introduced in 2001, Transformation has quickly become a "must attend" business and logistics event...

Jobs - USA - Driver Shortage Creates Quandary for Trucking

USA -Fleet Owner -6 Feb 2006: -- A conspicuous shortage of truck drivers is creating a Catch-22 of sorts for the trucking industry, according to recent comments by carrier executives... On the one hand, a lack of drivers is restricting the ability of trucking companies to expand and meet current freight volumes. Yet that same lack of drivers results in tight capacity, which is allowing fleets in many cases to get higher rates from customers and reject unprofitable business...

Markets - China - GM will boost export of trucks from China

BEIJING,China -Automotive News, by Alysha Webb -Jan 30, 2006: -- General Motors exported 2,001 small commercial vans and trucks in 2005 from its SAIC-General Motors-Wuling Automobile Co. subsidiary, and that number should increase by 80 percent this year... In 2006, Wuling aims to export 3,600 vehicles totaling $15 million... Wuling's van can't meet emissions standards for the United States or Europe, so sales are limited to countries with less stringent requirements... (Photo credit: ALYSHA WEBB)

Purchases - Canada - City will purchase new trucks

Tenders for three new vehicles are approved by council
Canada -Camrose Canadian, by Elaine Pennington -Jan 29, 2006: — City Council approved the recommendation to accept a tender from Norseman Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd. for a 2006 extended cab three-quarter ton heavy-duty truck at a price of $32,810 plus GST... Council also accepted the recommendation to purchase two 2006 tandem cab and chassis units for $185,040 plus GST from Glover International Trucks...

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS - Condenseds -

* GM board to consider dividend and pay cuts, seat for York
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News -5 Feb 2006: General Motors’ board on Monday will consider plans to cut the automaker's dividend by as much as 50 percent, cut the salaries of top executives and give a board seat to Jerry York... According to sources familiar with GM's plans, the board is considering a number of proposals originally put forth by York. He represents Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who owns 9.9 percent of GM’s shares...

* Zetsche slices and dices in Stuttgart
Stuttgart,Germany -The Car Connection -Feb 6, 2006: In an effort to right the wrongs of the Jurgen Schrempp era, it's been reported that Zetsche will chop 8,000 jobs at Mercedes-Benz by mid-year and thin out another 6,000 DaimlerChrysler jobs worldwide by 2008. Now, according to Zetche has announced that he has no problem publishing the salaries of his board members -- something taken for granted in the United States but a new, and somewhat contentious, development in German corporate law. For stockholders that have seen their dividends plummet during the Schrempp era, let's hope Dieter scores some brownie points with all of these new efforts...

* Ford offers $100,000 buyouts
Ill,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman -Feb 07, 2006: Some factory workers could get payouts in exchange for giving up all benefits except pensions... Ford Motor Co. is preparing an array of severance packages -- including a $100,000 one-time payout -- for workers whose plants are slated to close as part of the automaker's massive new restructuring plan, according to company officials...

* DCX plant shows way of future
BELVIDERE, Ill.,USA -The Detroit News, by Josee Valcourt -Feb 02, 2006: Changes at Ill. factory offer glimpse into how Chrysler plans to catch up with Asian rivals... Giant presses at Chrysler's assembly plant here produced just one steel door panel at a time when the defunct Dodge Neon was built. And changing robotic welding guns to assemble a different part took weeks... Today, four door panels can be built at once and tooling changes take just hours... In the past, rigid job classifications restricted workers to specific duties...

* New car sales soar in Germany, drop in Britain
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters (UK) -6 Feb 2006: New car sales in Germany soared 11 percent in January but fell over 13 percent in Britain as Europe's two biggest auto markets raced apart at the start of what could be another tough year...

*Mercedes-Benz sales rise in January, Smart falls

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28.2.06

Discounts - UK - Business and Industry Demand Green Discount for Trucks

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

Survey - UK - 'Expensive' hybrid cars better than buses

"Spidermen" - USA/Mexico - Delivering unfinished vehicles across Mexico

Production - Vietnam - First made-in-Vietnam MAZ truck

Big diesels - USA - Dodge's Cummins and Ford's Powerstroke

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

AUTOS' WORLD COMMENT & OPINIONS

27.2.06

Warning - Germany - Token strikes planned at 3 big German firms

Collaboration - USA - Detroit Diesel and Freightliner LLC Demonstrate EPA '07 Readiness

AUTOS' WORLD COMMENTS & OPINIONS

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

Safety - USA - Delphi Provides Advanced Collision Warning System

Discrimination ? - USA - Female driver claims huge gender barrier remains in industry

Plan - Philippines - Color-coded garbage trucks eyed

Cleaner Air - USA - Garbage trucks to smell better soon

25.2.06

Port Security - USA - Dubai firm: We're not a threat

Takeover - USA - Dubai Firm May Delay Ports Takeover Deal

Jobs - Canada - Seek Ways to Retain and Recruit Drivers:

Penalties - USA - PHMSA Revises Hazmat Ones

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

Pricing - Australia - Trucks may carry heavier cost burden

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

24.2.06

Aging tires USA - Spark new safety concern

Figures - UK - Numbers of eastern European trucks soar

Ranking - USA - Toyota Places Among Most-Admired Companies

23.2.06

TRUCKINGS' WORLD NEWS

Ecologicals - Europe - Volvo Trucks' Belgium Plant to be Carbon Dioxide Free

Alloweds - USA - Appeals court rejects state's ban of big trucks on local roads

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

PRODUCTS' WORLD NEWS

22.2.06

Earnings - USA - Navistar may have to restate its

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

HOS - Australia - Trucking industry backs fatigue demerit points plan

Controversial - Canada - OTA says 70 percent of Ontarians support speed limiters

Old - Hong Kong/China - Container trucking drives into its sunset years

TechnoNews - USA - Ford's hybrid with hydraulic propulsion system

Overweighteds - USA - Trucks do $99M road damage

Challenge - USA - Truck vs. Railroad

Award - USA - Paccar wins US National Medial of Technology

21.2.06

HOS Comments - USA - Trucks, tired drivers can be deadly mix

20.2.06

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

Bust - USA - Emission rule change the engine for truck sales

Crisis - Uruguay - Relations between Argentina, Uruguay on downward spiral

Infraestructure - Canada - Pitt bridge will have a new lane for trucks

Pollution - USA - Adjustments could alleviate exhaust problem, complaints

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

18.2.06

TRUCKING'S WORLD NEWS

Charges - USA - Arciola pleads guilty to tax evasion charges

Suspicious - USA - FBI investigates trucking school

Connection - Hong Kong/China - The Inland Empire

AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS

AUTOS' WORLD NEWS

15.2.06

Rises - USA - Trucking Costs Continue Climb

TRUCKING WORLD NEWS

Snowstorm - USA - East Coast digs out from record snow

Assistance - USA - Trucking restrictions ease for crop transportation

Story - USA - For this veteran driver, charity begins on the road

TechNews - USA - Experimental device that might increase fuel efficiency

AUTOS' WORLD COMMENTS & OPINIONS

Warn - USA - Talking and Driving - Sans Phone - Still Dangerous

LOOK THIS: CarGirl - USA - "What Real Women Drive"