trucks world news: December 2006

TRUCKS' PURCHASE

* USA - Three Area Fire Departments Receive Grants for New Trucks
Salem,IL,USA -WJBDRadio.com -23 Dec 2006: -- Congressman John Shimkus has announced three area fire departments will be receiving Department of Homeland Security grants to purchase vehicles... The Patoka Fire Protection District is scheduled to receive 187-thousand 578 dollars, the Huey-Ferrin-Boulder Fire Protection District 173-thousand 565 dollars and the Orchardville Fire Protection District 123-thousand 500 dollars...

PRODUCTION * Azerbaijan - Ganja Automobile Plant to assemble trucks

Azerbaijan -Azeri Press Agency -25 Dec. 2006: -- Ganja Automobile Plant (GAP) intends to assemble the first Belarus tractors and MAZ trucks in January, 2007... “Today Minsk Tractor Plant produces 500 models of tractors and Minsk Automobile Plant 400 models of various automobiles. Our experts say the GAP is able to assemble and sell 1,000 tractors and 1,000 trucks a year,” he said... He said that cooperation with China will also continue in parallel with Belarus in assembling various kinds of automobiles in the plant...

* USA - Feds, cities target hazardous cargo

Washington,DC,USA -The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis ,MO), by Adam Sichko -23 Dec 2006: -- Two federal agencies are proposing new rules to beef up security for trains carrying explosives, chemicals and other hazardous cargo that could attract terrorists... The rules would require railroad companies to:
1 — Annually collect data on all routes and analyze which ones are the safest and most secure for shipping hazardous materials.
2 — Hire security coordinators to act as liaisons with the federal government.
3 — Report the location, route and other information about hazardous cargo to the Transportation Security Administration, so it can map and track each tank car of the materials...

* USA - Group offers scholarships for vets interested in trucking

USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec 22, 2006: -- For many veterans of military service, the transition back into civilian life can be a difficult one. But when it comes to those individuals entering the trucking industry, at least one group is trying to make the process easier and more affordable... The Commercial Driver Training Foundation, a subset of Commercial Vehicle Training Association, is offering a total of $1 million to be divided up into about 2,200 scholarships worth $500 apiece. The money is specifically set aside for active duty, retired and honorably discharged members of the U.S. military... The program is only available for new applicants who want to pursue driver training, such as a CDL...

Freeze * USA - sends many trucks, cars sliding

Hood River,OR,USA -Hood River News, by SUE RYAN -Dec 23, 2006: -- A semi-truck double trailer full of fuel jackknifed early this morning on the Hood River bridge in one of the latest accidents due to icy roads in the last 24 hours... The snow and ice storm created slick conditions that had ODOT crews, police, and tow trucks scrambling to respond to crashes. Oregon State Police dispatchers at The Dalles Area Command reported that troopers responded to 50 to 75 vehicles off the road or blocking the road. Those were major incidents and not minor ones such as cars sliding into a guardrail... (Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea: Snow melts from pine branches at Exit 62 on Interstate 84 as trucks and cars, most with headlights on, creep down the freeway late Thursday afternoon)

BORDER TROUBLES * Turkey/Syrian - Trucks form 10-km Line at Border

Istanbul,Turkey -Zaman Online/Cihan News Agency -Dec 23, 2006: -- Trucks and semis carrying goods to Syria and the Middle East countries formed a 10-kilometer line at the Cilvegozu border gate on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southern Turkish province of Hatay due to renovation works at the gate... In June, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) launched modernization works at the border gate within the framework of the agreement between Turkish and Syrian officials in order to boost economic relations between the two countries... (Photo: Harran's famous beehive houses, along the Turkish-Syrian border)

MARKET SHARES * USA - Cummins Receives Upgrade From Fitch

New York,NY,USA -AP/Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX) -Dec. 22, 2006: -- Fitch Ratings on Friday revised its outlook on heavy duty truck maker Cummins Inc. to "Positive" from "Stable," and affirmed the issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating at "BBB-."... Fitch cited improvement in the company's balance sheet, growing geographic and product diversification, and Cummins' improved competitive profile heading into a downturn in the heavy duty truck cycle in 2007...

DEBATE * USA - U.S. Borders: Going-Going-Gone!

Washington,DC,USA -Accuracy In Media/AIM Report,by Wes Vernon -Dec 22, 2006: -- Some experts say that up to a million people in Texas stand to lose their homes and 584,000 acres of rich farm and ranchland are to be destroyed, all for a privately funded highway... Readers of the AIM Report are accustomed to learning of huge distortions or omissions by the media. This time, the under-reported story deals with the possible end of America, as we know it...

* South Africa - Plan to ban trucks on major city roads

Port Elizabeth,Eastern Cape,South Africa -The Herald Eastern Cape, by Sipho Masondo & Duncan Reyneke -22 Dec 2006: -- Heavy-duty trucks in the Eastern Cape may soon be banned from driving in busy urban areas in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion and preserve the road system... Transport, Safety and Security MEC Thobile Mhlahlo wants to see trucks banned from entering busy urban areas during certain times of the day but said this would not be imposed on municipalities by the provincial department...

Newcomers to trucking * USA - Could face tougher entry process

USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec 21, 2006: -- ... a recent “notice of proposed rulemaking” published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration looks to toughen the regs up even more... The agency has identified 11 regulations that it believes are essential elements of basic safety management necessary to operate in interstate commerce... FMCSA proposes that committing any one of the following 11 regulatory violations would result in an automatic failure of the safety audit:
1 - Failing to implement an alcohol and/or controlled substances testing program (domestic and foreign motor carriers, respectively).
2 - Using a driver who has refused to submit to an alcohol or controlled substances test required under part 382.
3 - Using a driver known to have tested positive for a controlled substance.
4 - Knowingly allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing an employee with a commercial driver's license which is suspended, revoked, or canceled by a state or who is disqualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle.
5 - Knowingly allowing, requiring, permitting, or authorizing a driver to drive who is disqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle.
6 - Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required minimum levels of financial responsibility coverage.
7 - Using a disqualified driver.
8 - Using a physically unqualified driver.
9 - Failing to require a driver to make a record of duty status.
10 - Requiring or permitting the operation of a commercial motor vehicle declared “out of service” before repairs are made.
11 - Using a commercial motor vehicle not periodically inspected.

Infra? Structure * USA - Alaska's The Kamikaze Trail

Dowagiac,MI, USA -The Dowagiac Daily News -Dec 21, 2006: -- The other night on TV there was a program on Alaska's Dalton Highway... Running 400 miles between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay, it was built back in the early 1970s to supply the oil fields up on the Arctic Ocean. We quickly found calling it a highway was twisted humor. It's narrow, sometimes winding and the crushed concrete surface is hideously wash boarded and pot holed. They say don't even try it without at least three spare tires, extra gas and to expect a shattered windshield... Once the road was completed work started on the Alaska pipeline, which would parallel it. During pipeline construction 20,000 trucks a year plied the haul road, making it the busiest highway in North America. With its steep grades, sharp curves, white out blizzards and 200 avalanches per year the truckers called it the Kamikaze Trail. In the first two years there were 500 accidents. Over 400 people have died in accidents on the Kamikaze Trail...

See This...!!! * USA - Trucks with testicles

What happen in FL, between Polk and Lake counties lately?

Orlando,FL,USA -The Orlando Sentinel -Dec 21, 2006: -- So have you been out there on U.S. Hwy. 27 between Polk and Lake counties lately?... Few observations: Lotsa cops. Don't know what's up with that, but the Sheriff's office and Florida Highway Patrol are out there like crazy these days... I'm convinced that cops pick out the "safest" car to pull over... So, they pick out the mini-van with One Human Family bumper stickers (me) as the one speeder in the crowd, even though the entire herd is speeding. Nevermind that the car next to me is a Mustang and the vehicle in front of me is a truck with testicles...

Safety * USA - Planning for, in winter conditions

AKRON,Ohio,USA -Truck News, by Steven Macleod -21 Dec 2006: -- One of the best ways to avoid slipping and sliding in a vehicle during winter is to improve the contact points between the vehicle and the road surface... In severe winter areas, motorists may opt for a seasonal changeover that employs true winter tires to combat the expected ice and snow. For most, however, the choice may come down to a year-round tire that features an aggressive enough tread to handle the occasional sloppy winter days... Whatever tire is chosen, Bob Toth marketing manager with Goodyear, offers advice for motorists who will be faced with potential slippery driving conditions this winter:...

Agreement * USA - Transportation Intermediaries Association Partners with Traffic World

Alexandria,VIR,USA -Layover -Dec 21, 2006: -- The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), the leading trade association of third party logistics (3PL) companies, announced that it has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Traffic World for printing and circulating TIA's monthly magazine, The Logistics Journal. Beginning in January 2007, each of TIA's more than 1000 members will receive a free subscription of Traffic World (bundled with The Logistics Journal) as part of their membership dues...

Statistics Underscore * USA - Drunk Driving is Deadliest of Crimes

DOT Releases 2005 State-by-State Data on Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities

USA -Layover -22 Dec 2006: -- U.S. Secretary of Transportation: Mary E. Peters, today released new state-by-state data for 2005 showing that alcohol-impaired driving remains one of the nation's deadliest crimes. Last year, 23 states and Puerto Rico showed a decrease in the fatality rate for crashes where the driver had an illegal alcohol level of at least .08, while the rate in 21 states and the District of Columbia increased and in 6 other states it remained flat.
"Statistics are a vital tool in our battle against drunk driving," said Peters. "But, we must remember that there is a human face behind every one of those numbers - a mother, an uncle, a brother or best friend that lost their lives because someone made a lethal decision. This holiday season, every one should picture their loved ones if they are planning to party. It will help you make responsible decisions." ... NHTSA's new statistical report on alcohol-related fatalities is drawn from the agency's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)...

"GREEN" NEWS

* USA - EPA allow to produce fuel cells as an alternative
CAL,USA -The Detroit Free Press -Dec 26, 2006: -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cleared the way for automakers to produce hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars to meet zero-emission vehicle requirements in California and 10 other states, officials said Friday... The EPA approved amendments adopted by the California Air Resources Board in 2003 that allow manufacturers to produce fuel cells as an alternative to the battery-powered cars and light trucks previously required by the state... Since then 10 other states -- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- have adopted the same rules...

* Canada - Feds plan to change the makeup of diesel by 2012
Saskatoon,Sask.,CAN -Truck News, by Steven Macleod -21 Dec 2006: -- In a move to aid the agriculture sector and improve the environment, the federal government unveiled plans to require a biodiesel blend of 2% in diesel fuel by 2012... The government plans to regulate an annual average renewable content of 5% in gasoline by 2010 and intends to have a 2% requirement for renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil by 2012...

* UK - New refuse trucks are out to clean up town
Lewisham,UK -The News Shopper -22 Dec 2006: -- Six new refuse trucks have been bought to improve air quality... The low-emission lorries are part of Lewisham Council's campaign to ensure all its vehicles are environmentally friendly... They use a five per cent bio-diesel fuel, which produces fewer carbon emissions... (Picture: Manager Pat Phelan, Fadil Siret, Matt Woods and Andy Godward with one of the new trucks LC6250)

PRODUCTION * USA - Ford plant hails launch of new Super Duty

Louisville,Ky,USA -The Louisville Courier Journal, by ROBERT SCHOENBERGER/The Detroit Free Press (Detroit,Mich,USA) -Dec 19, 2006: -- Ford Motor Co. had planned to start producing its 2008 F-Series Super Duty truck line at the Kentucky Truck Plant in January... With few new vehicles heading to dealerships over the next year, Ford needs its 2007 and 2008 launches to succeed. Super Duty trucks account for about 40% of the F-Series line, Ford's biggest seller... New for the 2008 model year is an F-450 pickup. Earlier F-450 models were available only as chassis-cab units -- trucks with cabs and frame rails extending out of the back instead of a pickup box. The F-450 will be able to tow 24,000 pounds... (Photo by ARZA BARNETT/Associated Press: A version of Ford's big pickup -- a 2008 F-450 Super Duty model -- makes a powerful entrance during a ceremony at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Ky., on Monday)

Coming * China: Fight for Oil

The roaring Chinese economy needs more oil - It's turning to America's friends to get it

Atasu,Kazakhstan -- The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Ill,USA), by Evan Osnos -Dec 19, 2006: -- The wind-raked scrub of this barren plateau reveals little hint of the revolution gurgling 9 feet beneath. China's first international oil pipeline, buried in the Kazakh steppe, is a milestone for the world's newest empire--one forged not in the name of destiny or God, but in pursuit of the planet's most valuable resources. From the Himalayas to the Yellow Sea, China's cities are exploding in size. Their factories are filling shelves around the globe. The country's brand-new middle class is buying cars so fast that China is on pace to have more vehicles than America in two decades. China had enough oil to sustain itself just 15 years ago. Now it is one of the world's thirstiest oil addicts, importing 40 percent of what it needs. Only the U.S. consumes more. Each new factory churning out goods made in China and each new car on Chinese highways adds to a ravenous appetite for raw materials, not only oil but timber, copper and soybeans. Satisfying that appetite has sent Chinese oil explorers around the world--first into the arms of America's enemies but increasingly to friends as well. The 19th Century saw the British Empire and czarist Russia jockey for control of Central Asia in a Great Game of global strategy. Today the game is gathering again, this time between China and the U.S., as China makes its biggest push for influence in this oil-soaked region since the days of the Silk Road... With its economy on pace to surpass that of the U.S. by 2050, China will have to find more places like this, just as it will have to find more sources of corn, pork, fertilizer, coal, steel, wool, copper, cement and timber. The great reach of China's rise has already touched the forests of Papua New Guinea, the air over San Francisco and the oil fields of Kazakhstan... And if all goes as planned, these hulking new tanks will soon hold as much as 628,900 barrels of crude--enough to satisfy China's craving for barely two hours...

Prejudices * Germany - Today's trucks are cleaner, greener and more quiet...

"Why is it our industry has failed to get the message over that today's trucks are so much more efficient and cleaner than ever?"...

UK -TNN -20 Dec 2006: -- ... "By way of an example of how much progress truck makers have come to building cleaner, greener vehicles he reported that the Dutch truck maker's latest DAF XF105.510 44-tonner not only produces one twelth of the noise of a latter day 32-tonne tractor but also has exhaust emission levels that are 89% lower in nitrogen oxides and 94% lower in particulates. And for good measure it uses less fuel too"... Meanwhile, the answer to your question Kerry McDonagh, board member for sales and marketing at Daf, is simple. It's because everyone thinks it's somebody else's job to tell the Great British Public...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Study - USA

Drivers on Mobiles are as Bad as Drunks

Utah,USA -TNN(UK) -20 Dec 2006: -- Three years after the preliminary results first were presented at a scientific meeting and drew wide attention, University of Utah psychologists have published a study showing that motorists who talk on handheld or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunken drivers... "We found that people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent, which is the minimum level that defines illegal drunken driving in most U.S. states," says study co-author Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology...

Spy trucks? * USA - No, just testing pilotless plane

PORT TOWNSEND,WA,USA -The Port Angeles Peninsula Daily News (Port Angeles,WA), by JEFF CHEW -20 Dec 2006: -- There's a tale of aeronautic intrigue behind those mysterious black trucks that were silently parked for a week in rented Hudson Point RV Park spaces... The vehicles with satellite dishes and antennae and an unassuming trailer are owned by Bingen-based Insitu, which develops unmanned aircraft... It was testing one near Port Townsend in Admiralty Inlet last week... The company's trademarked Umanned Aerial Vehicle aircraft is being developed for use as military aerial surveillance and reconnaissance planes during wartime missions in Iraq, and for private-sector commercial purposes...

MARKET SHARES * USA - Resurgent Heavy truck demand drives Navistar into profit

USA -TNN (UK) -20 Dec 2006: -- Truck maker Navistar International Corporation reported improved earnings for its third fiscal quarter and said that, based on the current outlook, earnings for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2004, are on track to meet or exceed $2.95 per share... Sales and income from manufacturing and financial services for the third quarter totalled $2.4bn, compared with $1.9bn in the same quarter a year ago... Daniel Ustian , Navistar chairman said the third quarter profit was achieved despite increased costs associated with meeting 2004 emission requirements, increases in the price of steel and component shortages brought about by suppliers being slow to meet increased industry demand...

World's Best Truck Drivers * Sweden - Scania Begins Search for

Sweden -TNN, by Gerald Woodgate -15 Dec 2006: -- Scania will soon kick off its selection process in some forty countries on five continents, aimed at identifying the world's best truck drivers... Scania's Young European Truck Driver competition has evolved into a global event...

Award Listing * Canada - Trucking carriers plentiful on top 50 biz list

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking (CAN) -19 Dec 2006: -- Once again, for-hire truckers were well represented on Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies awards listing... Platinum Club members relating to trucking for 2006 included (from west to east): Yanke Group of Companies in Saskatoon; Bison Transport in Winnipeg; Quik X Transportation Inc. and the Wheels Group, both of Mississauga, Ont.; Bolton, Ont.-based MSM Transportation; Kriska Holdings of Prescott, Ont.; Groupe Robert of Boucherville, Que.; and Day & Ross in Hartland, N.B...

TECHNONEWS * Sweden - Increased Road Safety With More Braking Functions as Standard

Stockholm,Sweden -TNN, by Gerald Woodgate -21 Dec 2006: -- In order to further contribute to increased road safety, Volvo Trucks will include additional safety functions as standard on its FM and FH ranges for the European market... With effect from March 2007, if a customer chooses a truck with EBS (Electronically-controlled Brake System) in base form, more functions will now included at no extra cost... Among the additional features provided are ‘Hill Start Aid’, which prevents the truck from rolling backward when starting on an uphill gradient, and ‘Wheel Brake Monitoring’ which alerts the driver if the brake force on any wheel suddenly drops...

* Canada - GPS-equipped trucks better: Applebaum
Montreal,Quebec,Canada -The Suburban, by Anna Bratulic -21 Dec 2006: -- The installation of satellite tracking devices on 20 of its snowclearing vehicles by the C.D.N./N.D.G. borough is not to spy on workers, but to make the system more efficient, says borough mayor Michael Applebaum... (Photo by Anna Bratulic/The Suburban - GPS devices allow vehicles to be easily located when needed)

Petitions * Canada - To the U.S. to help Canadian trucking insurers compete

Toronto,ON,Canada -Canadian Underwriter -19 Dec 2006: -- The Canadian government has petitioned the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to allow Canadian trucking insurers to underwrite Canadian carriers operating south of the border without having to link with an American counterpart, according to a report...

"GREEN NEWS" * USA - L.B. Port pollution to be studied

Researchers hope to find source of pollutants detected in nearby areas
Long Beach,CA,USA -The Long Beach Press-Telegram, by Kristopher Hanson -19 Dec 2006: -- USC and a state air quality agency are teaming up to capture and test the origin of tiny pollution particles floating around harbor communities... Experts hope the study sheds light on what percentage of the health-damaging particles are emitted from sources like ships, trucks, trains and cargo equipment...

* UK Report: Back to the Future?

UK -TNN -20 Dec 2006: -- Smart radio frequency (RFID) credit cards that monitor our personal journeys and enable us to trade individual carbon emissions, door-to-door driverless trains, ships under modern sail and distribution centres and channels running underground, are some of the back to the future thoughts contained in the 80th anniversary report of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport as it looks forward to the next eight decades... Some of the reports observations:
* Overground or underground, our distribution centres are likely to be closer to us to enable click of the mouse sustainable delivery, which too could be over or underground.
* We will cease our obsession with manufacturing in low cost countries and focus upon developing the value chain. The stretching of supply-chains across the globe to deliver value to the customer has negative environmental implications as demonstrated by the story of shellfish from Scotland being flown to Thailand to be washed shelled before returning for consumption in the UK because it was cheaper to do so.
* Consumers are going to become greater drivers and value in the future will not necessarily be defined solely by low cost ethical and environmental production is already a buzzword with the explosion in organic produce and the advent of fair trade products, trends that are set to accelerate.
* Production and purchase could become closer together to reduce food miles and provide greater protection from global terrorism the food chain is already recognised as a possible hostage to fortune.
* Carbon trading, so far the preserve of the heavy industries across the EU, is likely to cascade down into everyday living during the next 80 years. We may indeed see RFID smart cards that act as everything from passports, retail on-line loyalty cards, travel cards, but moreover allow us to trade our own carbon output with each other and the National Grid, making the swapping C02 credits as easy as any other credit card transaction.
* However, we may park our obsession with IT hardware as the panacea for all transport and logistics needs and get back to the software the training and development of people to help think us out of global meltdown. However, to get to this point, we need to give the logistics and transport industries an image makeover to attract the right calibre of candidate those who can harness economic, ethical and environmental needs in their development of transport systems and supply-chains of the future.
* These same people will be expert in the flip side of supply and value - demand. Transport and logistics experts will hone their talents in the worlds killing fields dealing with environmental and man made disasters - a trend that is already in evidence within CILT(UK) which has just developed the worlds first qualification in humanitarian logistics.
* E-commerce may now mean electronic trading, but in the brave new world, e will equally stand for environmental and ethical trading as people and the planet take centre stage.

Peak Times * Germany - Govt aims to charge trucks higher toll fees at

Germany -AFX News Limited(London,UK)/Sueddeutsche Zeitung -19 Dec 2006: -- The German government is aiming to introduce variable pricing into its system of road tolls for trucks, charging users more at busier times, the Federal Transport Minister Wolfang Tiefensee quoted as saying... The system's ability to manage traffic and its economic potential must be examined,' he said... The organisation of hauliers, BGL, said the changes would likely make travel more expensive for truck drivers, as 'fundamental shifts in traffic flows (to less expensive times) are unlikely'...

TRUCK SALES

* Sweden - Volvo Trucks Continue to Grow in Eastern Europe
Stockholm,Sweden -TTN (UK) -19 Dec 2006: -- Volvo Trucks delivered 95,458 vehicles (94,693) in the period January-November 2006, which is an increase of 1 percent. In Eastern Europe, the positive development continued, and deliveries increased by 42 percent (8,896)... During the period January-November, deliveries in Western Europe increased by 11 percent, totalling 35,434 vehicles (32,012). Deliveries increased in France and Germany by 16 percent (5,915) and 21 percent (4,235) respectively...

*Japan - 2007 Vehicle Sales May Fall on Truck Slump
Tokyo,Japan -Bloomberg, by Naoko Fujimura & Kae Inoue -Dec. 21, 2006: -- Japan's vehicle sales may fall to a 22-year low in 2007, with truck sales expected to slump following a surge in demand caused by new environmental regulations... Sales of cars, minicars, trucks and buses may fall 2 percent to 5.63 million units next year, the third straight decline, from an estimated 5.74 million in 2006, the Tokyo-based Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said today. A 9.1 percent drop in truck demand will lead the decline...

NONECOLOGICAL NEWS * Japan - Trucking firms skirting pollution law

Osaka,Japan -The Yomiuri Shimbun -19 Dec 2006: -- As many as 129 truck transportation firms have opened sales offices in Nara Prefecture, where a law on reducing hazardous nitrogen oxide and particulate matter does not apply, according to the Kinki District Transport Bureau... According to the bureau, the firms, which are headquartered outside Nara Prefecture, began opening branch offices four years ago, when the law was first enforced... As the firms are allowed to set up parking facilities within 10 kilometers of their sales offices, 45 of the 129 firms have located facilities in neighboring Osaka Prefecture...

HOS DEBATE * USA - Michigan bill to revise they

For certain intrastate truckers advances
USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec 20, 2006: -- A bill that would revise the maximum work day law for certain truck drivers who operate solely in the state has been sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk... Motor carriers operating entirely in intrastate commerce would be prohibited from requiring drivers to be behind the wheel after having been on duty 70 hours in any seven-day period. The rule also would apply to drivers who have been on duty 80 hours in any eight-day period... In addition, motor carriers would be prohibited from requiring drivers to drive more than 12 hours or be on duty more than 16 hours in any day...

New legislation * USA - Missouri focuses on trucks; road safety

USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec 18, 2006: -- In preparation for the start of the regular session in Missouri, state lawmakers have filed several bills that are of interest to truck drivers... One bill would allow common carriers of household goods to file applications to the State Highways and Transportation Commission for approval of rates to reflect increases and decreases in the carrier’s costs... Another effort would increase the maximum gross vehicle weight limit and axle weight limit for large trucks equipped with idle reduction technology... A separate bill filed by Stouffer would prohibit the expunging of records for commercial driver’s license holders convicted of or pled guilty to an offense where the person’s blood alcohol content is 0.04 percent or above... Another bill would allow harsher penalties for CDL holders found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol...

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Iran - Road transportation needs 40,000 trucks per year
Tehran,Iran -MNA/MehrNews.com -Dec. 18, 2006: -- Iran’s road cargo transportation is in need of around 40,000 heavy vehicles per year, noted the managing director of the nation’s major truck producer, Saipa Diesel... Saipa Diesel is trying to gain access to 55 percent of the nation’s heavy vehicles market by the end of 2009, Alireza Ghamgosar said adding that the truck manufacturing plant held 42 percent of the heavy vehicles market’s share of the country...

PRODUCTION * Thailand - Tata Motors, Thai firm JV for pick-up trucks

The venture will produce one-tonne "Space Cab" in Thailand - Tata Motors will hold 70 p.c. and Thonburi the balance
Mumbai,India -The Hindu -18 Dec 2006: -- Tata Motors and Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Co. (Thonburi), the Thailand-based independent assembler of automobiles, on Monday announced the formation of a joint venture company in Thailand to manufacture, assemble and market pick-up trucks...

* China -CNHTC aiming to sell 80,000 trucks in 2007
China -Automotive World (UK)Xinhua news agency -19 Dec 2006: -- China National Heavy-Duty Truck (CNHTC) aims to sell 80,000 trucks and 100,000 engines in the home market and export 10,000 trucks next year, the has reported, citing the company's chairman, Ma Chunji...

* USA - Freightliner to build $300M truck plant in northern Mexico
Tulsa,OK,USA -Reliable Plant Magazine/RP news wires -20 Dec 2006: -- Freightliner LLC announced December 20 that it plans to build a $300 million truck manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, in northern Mexico... Dedicated to the production of Freightliner and Sterling trucks, the new facility will provide additional capacity to accommodate Freightliner's long-range product planning, including an expected upturn in industry demand in 2009...

PROGNOSIS - USA - Truck Inc Says Profit 2006 Will Slide

Van Buren,Ark,USA -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX,USA) /Associated Press -16 Dec 2006: -- Truckload carrier USA Truck Inc. on Friday said it expects sharply lower profits this year, due mostly to a peak shipping season that never fully lived up to expectations... A number of trucking companies have reported weaker freight volumes this season and many analysts have trimmed their earnings estimates. The industry also faces tough comparisons to last year, when hurricane relief efforts bolstered demand and the automotive and housing industries were stronger...

TRUCKS' PURCHASING

* Czech Republic - Military buys more than 550 trucks from local producer Tatra
Prague,Czech R. -The Herald/The Associated Press -Dec 15, 2006: -- Czech Defense Minister Jiri Sedivy signed a deal Friday with Tatra AS, a Czech truck maker of heavy duty vehicles for commercial and military use, to deliver 556 trucks to the Czech military, an official said... The deal is worth 2.6 billion koruna (€94 million; US$124 million) and the vehicles will be delivered between 2007-2009, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Jana Zechmeisterova said. They will replace obsolete Soviet and locally-made vehicles, which the army has been using since the 1950s, she said...

* Sweden - Volvo wins order for 200 trucks from Netherland's Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics
Stockholm,SWE -AFX News Limited/Forbes (USA) -19 Dec 2006: -- Volvo AB said its Volvo Trucks division in the Netherlands has won an order for 200 trucks from Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics, a specialist in the transport of bulk liquids for the chemical industry in Europe...

TechnoNews * USA - Battelle has high expectations for refining hydrogen fuel cell

Columbus,Ohio,USA -The Columbus Dispatch, by Mike Lafferty -Dec 16, 2006: -- Battelle hopes its portable hydrogen fuel cell will someday help the military win battles. But when it came time to show off the technology in the lab this week, the research giant proved that it could, at least, run a bunch of computers and a 6-foot-tall, light-laden, fake fir. That achievement might earn a smirk, but it’s no small advance for a technology that, in the next couple of decades, could power homes and cars... Battelle scientists introduced their take on the technology in February 2005 and recently announced they have boosted the original fuel cell’s efficiency... Patrick R. Valente, deputy director of the state’s technology division, said an obvious target is equipping the tens of thousands of over-the-road trucks with fuel cells to power refrigerators, heaters and other appliances in the cabs... That way, truckers would not have to keep their engines running at rest stops, he said... (Photo: Charles E. Lucius, vice president of fuel-cell development at Battelle, shows how his 700-pound Multi-Purpose Fuel Cell Power System can light four computer monitors and a Christmas tree)

Recalls * USA - How companies respond can impact consumer confidence

Recalls got you rattled? Me, too.

Shreveport,Lou,USA -The Shreveport Times, by Alisa Stingley -Dec 16, 2006: -- Recalls fill the news on nearly a daily basis it seems. And that's got to be a jolt to consumer confidence. Ron Sereg, an assistant professor of public relations at LSUS, says companies that think they can pull a fast one over on consumers are naive... "I think that consumers today are more astute than perhaps only a generation ago," Sereg says. "Today we have access to much more information about which products we want to buy and we can make more selective choices."... The Consumer Product Safety Commission has had back-to-back record years for the voluntary recall of consumer products. In fiscal year 2005, there were 397; in fiscal year '06, there were 417. Those are the most recalls the agency has had since 1995... The commission is an independent federal agency created to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injuries and deaths associated with about 15,000 types of consumer products...

PRODUCTS

Tiger Truck Introduces Largest Capacity Off-Road Truck

DALLAS,TX,USA - PRNewswire -Dec. 15, 2006: -- Tiger Truck began deliveries of the Champ 4500 today... This full-sized truck has a true useful load of more than 3,300 lbs. The cargo bed of the 2-door standard cab model is a generous 103" x 62" with no wheel #### and is easily the largest capacity bed in the category. A drive-away Champ starts at $12,995...

* USA - Quake Global Satellite Modems Standard on Volvo Trucks With '07 Engines
USA -truckinginfo.com -12 Dec 2006: -- Quake Global, which manufactures satellite modems for the trucking and heavy equipment industries, has announced that Volvo Trucks North America will install Quake Global's Q2000+ satellite communicator as standard equipment in all Volvo trucks manufactured with U.S. ’07 engines...

MARKET SHARES * USA - Navistar Delays Results Again; NYSE to Delist Shares

USA -Bloomberg, by Jeff Bennett -Dec. 15, 2006: -- Navistar International Corp. shares will be delisted by the New York Stock Exchange after the world's fourth-largest truckmaker said it will further delay financial statements for the past two years... The fiscal 2005 report won't be done until after Feb. 1 and results for fiscal 2006, which ended Oct. 31, will be finished after that, Navistar said today. The NYSE plans to suspend the shares by Dec. 20, and Navistar said it will contest the delisting. The stock has traded on the exchange since 1908...

PROGNOSIS * USA - Mega-Trucks Could Mean Mega-Profits for You

Nothing quite says America like the freedom to own a big freakin' truck.

USA -The Street.com, by Jon D. Markman -15 Dec 2006: -- Not just a suburban assault vehicle with a DVD player in the back and a mommy behind the wheel, or a six-wheeled, four-door bruiser with a hemi engine. I'm talking a massive, sun-blocking, road-cracking, gas-guzzling whale that thunders like a thousand storms and leaves no doubt that someone very loud is coming, so watch out... Over the next year, as gas prices ebb and interest rates subside, gigantic American-made mega-trucks are likely to regain their bold and brazen edge on roads the world over, pushing the fortunes of their manufacturers higher along the way... Most of the big truck makers have seen their shares hammered over the past two years as investors have fretted over conflicting directions for the global economy. But now that it's apparent that a slowdown is coming and truck makers' earnings are within earshot of the bottom, it may be time to climb aboard these massive industrial icons...

SPECIAL REPORT * USA - ‘Hot fuel’ lawsuit filed in San Francisco

The issue of “hot fuel” is now before a federal court

USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec. 14, 2006: -- On Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, truckers and motorists from seven states filed a lawsuit seeking class action status in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, charging 17 oil companies and retailers with “consumer fraud” for allegedly selling hot fuel and not compensating the buyer... The federal lawsuit seeks the return of alleged overcharges to consumers and the installation of temperature compensation equipment on all fuel pumps... Eleven individual consumers are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They are also contending that state laws meant to protect them are being violated by the fuel vendors and oil companies... Although the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is not a plaintiff, the national trucker association is strongly supporting the legal action. It was the research of OOIDA Project Leader John Siebert, with the help of OOIDA members collecting data on fuel temperatures and costs, which led to an expose via an investigative news series in the Kansas City Star by reporter Steve Everly... Siebert said it’s estimated that hot – or expanded – fuel costs consumers more than $2 billion per year...

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* USA - San Carlos district to buy ladder trucks - Fire protection needed for FGCU, malls
San Carlos,FL,USA -The News Press, by Denes Husty III -Dec 15, 2006: -- Two new ladder trucks will provide fire protection to malls, industrial parks and Florida Gulf Coast University in about a year, San Carlos Park Fire District commissioners decided Thursday... Commissioners voted 5-0 to buy a truck with 100-foot ladder and platform and a smaller truck with a 75-foot ladder at a total cost of $1.46 million...

DANGEROUS CARGOES * USA - Many truckers skirting the rules

Hazardous cargo banned from I-30 'canyon,' but enforcement lax

Dallas,TX,USA -The Dallas Morning News, by Steve Mcgonigle -Dec. 12, 2006: -- Every day, tractor-trailers hauling gasoline and other hazardous cargo pass through the congested, high-walled "canyon" of Interstate 30 in downtown Dallas.
The narrow, mile-long stretch has been off-limits to hazardous haulers since 1978 because of the difficulty rescuers would have reaching the area. But it is a city ordinance that Dallas police seldom enforce, and truckers know it... An estimated 132,000 people work downtown, and Capt. Ted Padgett, head of the Dallas Fire-Rescue hazardous material response team, said tall buildings, wind currents and the area's warmer temperatures make it susceptible to a toxic plume... Evacuations have not been common, but they have occurred... One of the biggest was in August 1989, when 6,000 people were forced from an area east of downtown after a truck hauling hazardous chemicals overturned near Woodall Rodgers. The truck driver was killed, but there were no other injuries... Tim Raiter, an Arlington truck driver, said some hazmat haulers will continue to ignore the ban on downtown travel until officers go back on the road...

DRIVERS SHORTAGE * USA - CMU to tackle trucking trouble - Drivers over 55, purposes

Pittsburgh,PA,USA -The Pittsburgh Business Times, by Dan Reynolds -15 Dec 2006: -- With the trucking industry beset by a labor shortage, members of the industry are asking students at Carnegie Mellon University to come up with solutions... Backed by the sponsorship of the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based International Truck and Engine Corp.'s Truck Development and Technology Center, mechanical engineering students at CMU are getting set to unveil a set of improvements designed to make truck driving easier, more comfortable and more attractive... This fall, the ATA plans a marketing campaign to attract older drivers to the industry. CMU, quoting statistics from the federal Bureau of Labor Relations, said that the number of service and truck drivers over the age of 55 has surged by 19 percent since 2000... The CMU students are also working on features designed to appeal to drivers over the age of 50. Although one might question whether drafting older drivers to work with big rigs is a sound safety measure, Dan Murray, vice president of research with the American Transportation Research Institute, an ATA member, said the experience of older drivers tends to make up for their duller hand-eye coordination and slower reflex times.... "That's why the insurance industry favors older drivers," Murray said...

Watch Your Pockets * USA - You Must Declare Lunch at the Border

Ottawa,Ontario,Canada -580 CFRA Radio, by Josh Pringle -Dec 13, 2006: -- If you are travelling to the United States, you now have to declare lunch bags at the border... A US policy posting advises travellers all agriculture items must be removed from baggage to protect US crops and livestock from disease... The Ontario Trucking Association says if travellers don't declare precisely the contents within their lunch bag, they may be looking at a hefty fine...

FREEZE * Russia - 181 trucks of snow removed from Krasnoyarsk streets

Krasnoyarsk,Russia -Siberian News Online -Dec. 14, 2006: -- 1,630 cubic meters of snow has been removed from Krasnoyarsk streets for two days. So much snow was carried away by 181 KAMAZ trucks. 365 mt of sand and salt mixture was sprinkled by workers, the town planning service reported... 45 snow-ploughs were working on the roads on the night of December, 13 and 14. 80 people have been struggling with snow cleaning and road sprinkling around-the-clock...

PRODUCTION * India - Tata-Fiat auto JV investment could expand to trucks

Mumbai,India -Reuters -Dec 14, 2006: -- India's top vehicle maker Tata Motors Ltd. and Italy's Fiat said they could invest more than 665 million euros ($877 million) in a joint venture to make cars and engines, and may expand it to produce trucks as well... The joint venture would be located at the Fiat plant in Maharashtra. Annual capacity would be in excess of 100,000 cars and 200,000 engines and transmissions, and production would start from the beginning of 2008, Tata Motors said in a statement on Thursday...

Infrastructures * Canada - More HOV lanes planned for Ontario highways

Toronto,Ont,CAN -Truck News (CAN), by Steven Macleod -14 Dec 2006: -- One year after opening the first high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in Ontario plans are underway for similar lanes in other parts of the province... According to the province’s Department of Transportation the current HOV lanes on Highways 403 and 404 have been a success saving commuters 14 to 17 minutes per trip... The OPP reports issuing approximately 250 tickets per month since the opening of HOV lanes...

REVENUES

* USA - DaimlerChrysler Sees Freightliner Profit
Detroit,Mich,USA -AP - Dec 11, 2006: -- The head of the DaimlerChrysler AG truck and bus group said Monday that the auto maker expects its U.S.-based Freightliner truck division to be profitable in 2007, despite an expected sharp downturn in heavy truck building next year that will lead to job cuts in the unit... Andreas Renschler, head of DaimlerChrysler's truck group and a member of the management board, said that its North American plants are prepared for the downturn, which could mean an industry-wide reduction in heavy truck volume of nearly 40 percent compared with 2006...

* Germany - ZF Revenue Increases 7 Percent in 2006
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany -PRNewswire -Dec 14, 2006: -- ZF announced today that its revenue increased by seven percent in 2006 to $15.37 (euro 11.64) billion. The company is benefiting primarily from innovative products for passenger cars and commercial vehicles... The demand for innovative products continued to grow. This year, ZF manufactured approx. 970,000 6-speed automatic transmissions, while overall automatic transmission production exceeded one million units...

JOB CUTS * Canada - Ontario plant subject to spring layoffs

Stratford,Ont,CAN -Truck News (CAN), by Steven Macleod -14 Dec 2006: -- Hendrickson officials have reported the manufacturer will be initiating significant layoffs during the first quarter of 2007 at its spring plant in Stratford, Ont... Based in Itsaca, Ill., Hendrickson has been a supplier for the transportation industry for more than 90 years. The manufacturer supplies truck and tractor suspensions, trailer suspensions, truck and trailer lift axles, bumpers and trim components and springs to the commercial transportation industry...

MARKET SHARES

* USA - Goldman Sachs chalks up record profits in 2006
USA -Land Line Magazine /The New York Times -Dec 13, 2006: -- The New York-based investment banking company that made the financial arrangements for privatizing the Indiana Toll Road had an exceptional financial year in 2006... In fact, reports that Goldman Sachs did so well, each of its 26,000 employees will end the year with an average of $622,000 in salary and bonuses... It looks as though Goldman Sachs can afford to be generous – its profits increased to around $9.5 billion this year, up 70 percent from 2005...

* USA - Foreign investors lining up for a crack at leasing the PA Turnpike
USA -Land Line Magazine -13 Dec 2006: -- If the Pennsylvania Turnpike becomes a private toll road, some international heavy hitters will have already lined up to bid on it... International media are reporting that Macquarie Infrastructure Group of Australia is interested in a potential long-term lease, but it isn’t the only global infrastructure investor getting in line... Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA of Spain, which has previously partnered with Macquarie on long-term leases for the Indiana Toll Road and the Chicago Skyway, is among the companies interested in bidding for a similar lease in Pennsylvania, according to European news sources...

After Traffic Wreck... * USA - ... Arkansas bill would require minimum wait

USA -Land Line Magazine /Arkansas News Bureau -Dec 13, 2006: -- An Arkansas state lawmaker has filed a bill in the lead-up to the regular session that begins next month that would require drivers involved in wrecks to remain at the scene for at least 30 minutes... Rep. Chris Thyer, D-Jonesboro, said the effort is intended to keep people at the scene of any wreck that results in injury, death or damage to vehicles in case a law enforcement officer is en route... Thyer pointed out that current Arkansas law requires drivers in crashes to render aid but it doesn’t place a time limit on the length of time people stay at the scene...

OIL * OPEC - Sets 500,000-Barrel Oil Output Cut

to Start in February

Lagos,Nigeria -TTNews /Bloomberg (USA) -14 Dec 2006: -- OPEC oil ministers said Thursday they will cut production by a half-million barrels a day starting Feb. 1, a 1.9% reduction... The group’s ministers meeting in Nigeria added the 500,000 barrel production cut to a previous 1.2 million-barrel per day cut agreed to in October... Crude oil futures jumped more than $1 in overnight trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, to $62.72 a barrel, following the news...

* USA - DOE Predicts Diesel to Average $2.66 a Gallon in ’07
Washington,DC,USA -(PR) -14 Dec 2006: -- Diesel prices will continue rising with little respite through May and will average $2.66 a gallon in 2007, which is 3 cents higher than its last forecast a month ago. The Department of Energy said in its monthly short-term energy outlook...

President * USA - Signs Surface Transport Security Order

Va,USA -TTNews -11 Dec 2006: -- President Bush last week signed an executive order aimed at strengthening the security of the U.S. surface transportation system, including freight transport... The order requires development of a comprehensive transportation system sector-specific plan by the end of the year, as defined in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan... It requires development within 90 days after that is completed of an annex plan that addresses each surface transportation mode, to include identification of existing security guidelines and security requirements and any security gaps...

Onboard Diagnostic Systems * USA - EPA Proposes First One for New Large Trucks and Buses

Washington,DC,USA -Aggregate Research Industries (Morrison,CO,USA) -13 Dec 2006: -- For the first time, EPA is proposing to require the emissions control systems of large diesel and gasoline highway trucks and buses to be monitored similarly to passenger cars... EPA's proposed regulation for onboard diagnostic (OBD) systems for large trucks and buses would help ensure that emissions control systems work properly for the useful life of heavy-duty on-road vehicles... The proposed requirements are part of the Clean Diesel Truck and Bus Program, which will result in significant reductions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and air toxics from diesel-powered vehicles... These emission reductions will prevent 8,300 premature deaths, more than 9,500 hospitalizations, and 1.5 million lost work days... The proposal also makes changes to certain existing OBD requirements for smaller highway diesel trucks...

JOB CUTS * USA - Eaton to lay-off 30 in Galesburg

Galesburg,MI,USA -WWMT /NEWS 3 (Kalamazoo,MI) -Dec 13, 2006: -- An expected downturn in the heavy duty truck market means another round of job losses for the Eaton Corporation plant in Galesburg. About 30 full-time employees in the truck component division will lose their jobs... A company spokesperson says the layoffs are needed to prepare for a 40 percent drop in business next year...

* USA/Canada - Dana Corp. to close eight plants
USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec 13, 2006: -- The bankrupt Dana Corp., which makes axles, brakes and other components for trucks and cars, announced that it will close eight plants during the next two years and eliminate hundreds of jobs... According to a company press release, plants in Missouri and Indiana will be shut down, as will two facilities in Ontario, Canada... The other plants that will close haven’t been identified yet...

"GREEN" NEWS

* USA - HyPower testing onboard hydrogen-producing systems in prototype vehicles
USA -Automotive World (UK) -14 Dec, 2006: -- HyPower Fuel says it has developed an H2 Reactor (H2R) hydrogen system which uses electrolysis to produce hydrogen onboard a vehicle, as per demand, to power the vehicle's internal combustion engine... The tests also included an H2R system fitted in a Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf) GTI... HyPower has begun testing its H2R system in a gasoline engine-powered Ford Fusion...

PRODUCTION

* Japan - Isuzu reduces weight of all-new Elf truck by 200kg
Tokyo,Japan -Automotive World (UK) -13 Dec, 2006: -- Isuzu Motors will unveiled its all-new Elf truck (high roof cab and wide cab series) in Japan today. The standard cab series is scheduled to be unveiled on 13 February... The sixth generation Elf is claimed by its maker to address environmental changes...

Criminal records... * USA - ... of errant truckers

Dallas,TX,USA -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX) -Dec. 12, 2006: -- A quarter of big-rig truck drivers faulted in fatal crashes in Texas from 2000 through 2005 had rap sheets, according to a newspaper analysis... The Dallas Morning News' analysis discovered that of 953 truckers faulted in fatal crashes during that time frame, at least one in four had been convicted of a criminal offense or received deferred adjudication — in which a defendant's record doesn't reflect a conviction as long as probation is completed — before the crash. More than 14 percent had committed drug or alcohol offenses before their accidents. More than one in 10 were felons... With a shortage of experienced truck drivers, some trucking companies are hiring ex-convicts as low-cost labor — and the state of Texas is helping train the drivers... A Texas Department of Criminal Justice program has trained more than 1,200 inmates to drive big trucks over the past 10 years. More than 900 received their commercial driver's licenses while in prison, state records show...

Pitched Laws * USA - Drivers bypass weigh stations; lobbyists help keep it legal

Texas consistently leads the nation in big-truck fatalities. But ...

Dallas,TX,USA -The Dallas Morning News, by STEVE McGONIGLE -Dec 12, 2006: -- Residents of New Waverly, Texas, don't need a brightly flashing road sign to know when the state's weigh station on Interstate 45 is open for business... All they have to do is watch for the inevitable caravan of tractor-trailers making a brief course change through the one-stoplight hamlet, heading north toward Dallas... Last year, Walker County officials asked lawmakers to make it a traffic offense to bypass a weigh station, where troopers can do safety inspections. But after the trucking lobby depicted the proposal as revenue-driven and a potential source of harassment for honest drivers, the bill fizzled... The weigh station bill was among dozens of trucking-related laws pitched during the 2005 legislative session... (Photo by KYE R. LEE/DMN - An 18-wheeler (left) exits ahead of the New Waverly weigh station on Interstate 45. Residents say that when the station is open, their one-stoplight town is clogged with tractor-trailers bypassing inspections. Last year, Walker County officials asked lawmakers to make it a traffic offense to avoid a weigh station. But the bill fizzled amid opposition from the trucking industry)

SAFETY * USA - More truckers are buckling up than ever before

Alexandria,Va,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -11 Dec 2006: -- Safety belt usage among commercial motor vehicle drivers increased significantly in 2006 -- up 23 percent -- underscoring the effectiveness of efforts by the American Trucking Associations, the DOT, and other industry groups to improve safety on U.S. highways as part of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership, says the trucking association... The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that 59 percent of Class 7 and 8 truck drivers now routinely wear safety belts. This marks a 23 percent increase in safety belt usage among commercial drivers since 2003...

"Worst Roads" * USA - Louisiana Receives Trucking Industry Title

Tuscaloosa,AL,USA -All Headline News , by Ayinde O. Chase -Dec 11, 2006: -- For the first time in the report's 16-year history, Louisiana was given the honor of the Worst Roads crown in this year's Highway Report Card... The survey was conducted by Overdrive, the trucking industry's leading magazine for owner-operators. Louisiana however is a veteran of the Top Five Worst Roads list... John Clark of Bradenville, PA, works FST Logistics and hauls produce. Although he travels through Pennsylvania - the state most frequently at the top of the Worst roads list year after year and a close second this year - he says I-10 alone is bad enough to qualify hurricane ravaged Louisiana for the top spot. "It's awful," he says, citing the potholes and bumps...

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - 21 fleets push for commercial hybrid development

Farmington Hills,Mich,USA -Todays' Trucking (CAN) -12 Dec 2006: -- Twenty-one of the biggest mixed fleets in North America are working together to help speed the development of a cost-effective, light-duty hybrid work truck that reduces exhaust emissions while improving fuel economy compared to current vehicles... These fleets make up the Light-duty Hybrid Action Group facilitated by the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA). They represent a cross-section of work truck users, including utilities, state and county transportation departments and private companies. Combined, they manage more than 200,000 vehicles across classes 1–8...

SUCCESS STORIES

* USA - Johnnie Bryan Hunt went from sharecropper’s son to trucking tycoon..

Texarkana,TX,USA -The Texarkana Gazette -Dec 11, 2006: -- J.B. Hunt: You’ve seen his name a thousand times. In black on the signature yellow background. It adorns thousands of trucks that carry goods all across the land... J.B. Hunt: The name is synonymous with trucking... Johnnie Bryan Hunt Sr., a sharecropper’s son who went from driving a truck between Texarkana and Fort Smith to creating one the largest trucking companies in the country, died Thursday at 79... Hunt was born in Heber Springs. He quit school at age 12 to help out at his uncle’s sawmill. After a stint in the army, he went back to the sawmill and worked there as well as in any number of other jobs to bring some extra money... In 1949 the sawmill went broke and Hunt got a job driving a truck between Texarkana and Fort Smith for about $40 a week. He married his wife Johnelle in 1952 and for a time the couple made their home in Texarkana... J.B. Hunt is a true American success story and an inspiration to us all...

* USA - Ex-military man enjoys new career with Getloaded.com - Freight matching suits Bryan Jones
Charlottesville,VA,USA -The Charlottesville Daily Progress, by CHIP JONES -Dec 12, 2006: -- Bryan Jones never expected to be a company president so young... But two years ago, as he prepared to leave the Navy, he was approached by the head of a company with a funny name: Getloaded.com... "Getloaded really matched up with a lot of things I was looking for in a career," said Jones, 31... After a decade in the military, he wanted to find someplace he could leave his mark... Since joining the company in mid-2004, Jones said he has helped Getloaded.com increase annual revenue 80 percent per year. Jones, who became president last June, declined to give sales figures...

JOBS * Canada - Canadian survey predicts steady employment in '07

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking(CAN) -13 Dec 2006: -- Canadian employers in the transportation-public utilities sector expect a 17 percent boost in hiring in the first quarter of 2007... As for the rest of Canadian industries, the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, predicts a moderate but steady hiring climate from January to March period of 2007...

DEBATE * USA - USA's HOS? No thanks, drivers say in survey

While we wait for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to publish something that proves whether the new rules have indeed improved safety, we can only rely on what we hear from real truckers. It seems clear from our survey that drivers don't see any improvement in safety...

Toronto,Ont,CAN -Todays' Trucking (CAN), by Jim Park -11 Dec 2006: -- The Hours of Service rules are supposed to be about safety, right? Seems odd then, that a large majority of the drivers who responded to an exclusive HOS survey Today's Trucking and highwaySTAR conducted over the past few months said they didn't feel safety had been enhanced by the new, more restrictive rules that went into effect in 2004 south of the border... When asked if the American HOS regulations made trucking safer, only 18 of the 123 respondents agreed (90 disagreed, 14 had no opinion)... Not only did they believe the rules don't make for safer, less fatigued drivers, many truckers told us that they're often put in a position where they have to run when they'd rather be resting... Opinions also suggest the new rules have done little to improve driver health and well being -- which one may recall was one of the arguments used by the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington back in July 2004 to throw out an earlier, and many would argue, better, HOS rule...

Suspicious * USA - Trucking student faces deportation

Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine/ Providence Journal -Dec 11, 2006: -- Instructors at a truck driving school in Rhode Island thought it was suspicious that one of their students – who was going for a CDL with hazmat endorsement – wasn’t interested in learning how to back up... Staff at the Nationwide Tractor Trailer Driving School in Smithfield, RI, became suspicious and contacted federal officials... It turned out the student, Mohammed Mullawala, was in the U.S. illegally, had driver’s licenses from three states and had falsified documents to get one of the licenses... Mullawala now faces deportation... “Maybe he’s not a terrorist,” an official with the Rhode Island State Police told, “but there’s every indication he’s hiding something”...

TRUCKS' SALES * USA - Contract awarded for thousands of new trucks

Springfield,VA,USA -The ArmyTimes.com, by Matthew Cox -12 Dec 206: -- The Army’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command recently cut a deal to buy several thousand new trucks over the next two years... The command awarded two contracts to Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems for a total of $649 million to produce Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle trucks through 2008, according to a press release from Stewart & Stevenson’s owner, Armor Holdings Inc. .. The Dec. 4 contracts will buy about 4,400 vehicles and more than 1,200 trailers, according to TaCom spokesman Don Jarosz...

BUSINESS * Sweden - Scania include distribution of Hino trucks in SKorea

Stockholm,Sweden -Forbes (NY,USA)/AFX News Limited -11 Dec 2006: -- Scania AB said it has extended its cooperation with Japan's Hino Motors to include distribution of Hino's medium-duty trucks throughout South Korea via Scania's sales network. Sales will start in the spring of 2007... Through its subsidiary Scania Korea Ltd, Scania has a network of 22 sales and service points in the country. Sales of the Hino medium-duty truck range will be conducted by dedicated sales staff... "Both Scania and Hino foresee large future potential in this type of collaboration"...

JOB CUTS * USA - As expected, truck plants laying off workers

USA -eTrucker, by By Jill Dunn -11 Dec 206: -- Truck manufacturers are laying off factory employees in anticipation of an industrywide decline in demand for heavy-duty vehicles that meet the new federal emissions standards, which take effect Jan. 1, 2007... Freightliner has sent notices to 800 employees at its St. Thomas, Ontario, plant, which produces heavy- and medium-duty Sterling trucks... Volvo’s New River Valley Plant in Dublin, Va., which makes Volvo and Mack trucks, announced plans to reduce employment by about 1,000 positions – nearly a third of the current workforce of 3,170 -- during the first quarter of 2007. In addition, about 600 of the 1,770 employees at Volvo’s powertrain facility in Hagerstown, Md, about a third of the work force, will lose their jobs during the first half of 2007; and about 450 positions are being eliminated at Mack’s Macungie, Pa., truck plant, about 43 percent of the work force of 1,040 people... Larry Vessels, manager of Paccar’s Peterbilt plant in Madison, Tenn., informed state officials that “if business conditions remain at current levels” the company would permanently cut more than 500 positions in the two weeks after Jan. 25...

* USA - More Job Cuts Planned At UPS
Atlanta,Ga,USA -Hartford Courant/Associated Press -Dec 13, 2006: -- UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, is seeking more job cuts on top of 1,200 positions in its logistics unit that it previously said it would cut... The Atlanta-based company has offered voluntary severance packages to about 650 employees at its headquarters and in its Supply Chain Solutions division in the United States...

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS

* USA - DaimlerChrysler Sees Freightliner Pft, Job Cuts
Detroit,Ill,USA -Dow Jones/Wiadomosci onet.pl (Poland) -11 Dec 2006: -- The head of DaimlerChrysler AG's truck and bus group said Monday that the auto maker expects its U.S.-based Freightliner truck division to be profitable in 2007... Despite an expected sharp downturn in heavy truck building next year that will lead to job cuts in the unit... Renschler also said DaimlerChrysler will produce one global heavy duty truck engine in the coming years from the four it produces now. This will help save costs, reduce complexity and better leverage DaimlerChrysler's size, he said. DaimlerChrysler will begin producing the global engine next year at its Detroit Diesel plant... It will take until 2014 to 2015 before the common engine hits all of DaimlerChrysler's global truck platforms due to model cycles... He also said the truck group is working on a common global engine for its medium-duty commercial trucks...

* Japan - Isuzu Considering New U.S. Truck Plant
Tokyo,Japan -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX,USA)/AP -Dec. 13, 2006: -- Japan's truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd. is considering building a new assembly plant for small trucks in the United States if North American sales volume doubles from the current level, company officials said... Isuzu President Yoshinori Ida disclosed the possibility during a media preview of its new truck in Yokohama, just east of Tokyo, according to company spokesman Yukio Hirano... Ida told reporters Isuzu may consider building a new assembly plant if sales of its small trucks in the North American market reach around 50,000. Last year, Isuzu sold a combined 25,000 small trucks in the U.S. and Canada, Hirano said...

* Germany - VW denies concrete plans for merger between its truck unit, Scania and MAN
Frankfurt,Germany -AFX/Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri/Forbes (USA) -13 Dec 2006: -- Volkswagen AG denied that it has concrete plans for a merger between its truck unit with Scania AB and MAN AG... 'Such a plan was never sent out,' a VW spokeswoman said...

Lawlessness and Recklessness * Nigeria - Lagosians groan under threat of tanker drivers

Apapa,Lagos,Nigeria -The Vanguard, by Michael Eboh & Godfrey Bivbere -Dec 12, 2006: -- The lawlessness and recklessness of drivers of articulated vehicles in Lagos metropolis have been the major cause of untold hardship for the people of Lagos State... This is as a result of the way drivers of these heavy duty vehicles park their vehicles indiscriminately along major roads in the state, thereby causing heavy traffic along these roads... The Orile axis of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway is a perennial spot for heavy traffic hold-up. This is because more than half of this very busy expressway has been taken over by heavy duty vehicles parked recklessly and indiscriminately, leaving other motorists to use one lane... (Photo: Traffic situation in Lagos, Nigeria)

MARKET SHARES

* USA - S&P keeps Navistar on CreditWatch
Nwe York,NY,USA -AFX/AP/Hemscott (London,UK) -11 Dec 2006: -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Monday its 'BB-' corporate credit ratings on North American heavy-duty and medium-duty truck producer Navistar International Corp. remain on CreditWatch with negative implications... The ratings were placed on CreditWatch on Jan. 17. The company has no rated debt, having repaid virtually all public debt with a $1.5 billion unrated bank facility... S&P expects to keep Navistar's ratings on CreditWatch until the company has filed its 2005 10-K and is current on all SEC financial reporting requirements...

USA's HOS DEBATE * Canada - US HOS? No thanks, drivers say in survey

Toronto,Can -Today's Trucking, by Jim Park -11 Dec 2006: -- The Hours of Service rules are supposed to be about safety, right? Seems odd then, that a large majority of the drivers who responded to an exclusive HOS survey Today's Trucking and highwaySTAR conducted over the past few months said they didn't feel safety had been enhanced by the new, more restrictive rules that went into effect in 2004 south of the border... When asked if the American HOS regulations made trucking safer, only 18 of the 123 respondents agreed (90 disagreed, 14 had no opinion)... Not only did they believe the rules don't make for safer, less fatigued drivers, many truckers told us that they're often put in a position where they have to run when they'd rather be resting. In addition, they said the rules have changed eating habits for the worse (57 percent, versus 10 percent who said they had improved. One-third of respondents said their eating habits had not changed)... Opinions also suggest the new rules have done little to improve driver health and well being -- which one may recall was one of the arguments used by the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington back in July 2004 to throw out an earlier, and many would argue, better, HOS rule...

Health * USA - Truckers' long hours, high stress take toll

Industry's pressures lead many drivers to an early grave while endangering others on the road

Dallas,TX,USA -The Dallas Morning News, by JENNIFER LaFLEUR -Dec 11, 2006: -- Truck driving is one of the country's most dangerous jobs, with tens of thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths each year... Nearly 1,000 U.S. truck drivers died on the job last year – one-sixth of all worker deaths, according to federal statistics... It isn't the deadliest job – professional fishermen and logging workers die at much higher rates. But for every 100,000 truckers on the road, 29 die. That compares with four out of 100,000 for all workers... The toll doesn't count drivers who, in a high-pressure, physically taxing job, work themselves to early deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other health problems. And the mechanisms in place to ease that pressure, some experts say, fail to protect truckers – and in turn, the drivers with whom they share the road... (Photo by KYE LEE/DMN - Shirley James says husband Lonnie Cutberth was constantly being called back out onto the road. He died of a massive heart attack while driving in April 2001. 'The coroner said it was a miracle he got that truck off the highway without killing somebody,' Mrs. James said. )

CUTTING JOBS * USA - DaimlerChrysler Truck May Lay Off 4,000 as Sales Slow

NY,USA -Bloomberg, by Jeff Bennett & Jeremy Van Loon -Dec. 11, 2006: -- DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's largest truck maker, is preparing to lay off 4,000 workers in North America because it expects sales to slump next year... That would be about 16 percent of the North American workforce at the truck and bus unit of DaimlerChrysler, division chief Andreas Renschler said today in an interview in Dearborn, Michigan... The employees will be eligible for recall, he said... Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche is bracing for a North American sales decline because buyers accelerated truck purchases this year before new emission standards and higher prices take effect Jan. 1...

TRUCKERS' STORY * USA - Poodle-toting trucker says diesel runs in her veins

Dallas,TX,USA -KHOU (Houston,TX)/The Dallas Morning News, by JENNIFER LaFLEUR -Dec 11, 2006: -- On a sunny day, Jan Steward, a second-generation trucker known as Pistol, steers her 1998 burgundy Freightliner Century through Columbus, Ohio. She has 21 tons of salt in her trailer, two poodles in her cab and a love of hauling cross-country loads... "When I go to the doctor to get a blood test," she says, "I tell him I have Pepsi and diesel fuel running in my veins."... She makes her living in a highly competitive and often troubled industry. The job can be hard, the pressures intense and the conditions poor. But Pistol persists... On a five-day trip through eight states last spring, she explained and complained about the challenges and hazards of trucking – truckers who take risks, unsafe car drivers, high operating costs and bad equipment... With her driver's logbook and a Bible on her dashboard, Pistol points her truck south on Interstate 71 toward Cincinnati... The 50-year-old divorced mother of four and grandmother of eight puffs Doral cigarettes between sips of Pepsi. Wavy blond hair hides her Bluetooth earpiece. She wears jeans and a gray St. Louis Rams sweatshirt... (Photo by RON BASELICE/DMN - Jan "Pistol" Steward took a cigarette break with her poodles Pride (left) and Candy in Waxahachie earlier this year)

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Seven new transit buses are fueled by cleaner compressed natural gas

Visalia,CAL,USA -The Fresno Bee, by Tim Sheehan (Fresno,CAL) -10 Dec 2006: -- Seven new transit buses rolling on city streets represent the latest step by city leaders to reduce the Valley's chronic air pollution woes... Visalia City Coach is taking delivery of its first batch of full-size transit buses fueled by compressed natural gas, or CNG, considered a cleaner-burning alternative to diesel and gasoline. The buses, loaded with bells and whistles for riders, join a growing number of "green" vehicles in the city's fleet... Jim Bean, the city's solid-waste manager, already operates 11 garbage trucks fueled by compressed natural gas, with three more expected to be delivered in the coming week or so. An additional seven are on order for delivery in May, by which time CNG engines will account for about 40% of his 52-truck fleet... (Photo by Christian Parley / The Fresno Bee - Roxanne Green prepares to fill up a Visalia city bus with compressed natural gas at the city's fueling station Friday. Other Valley cities are also using the alternative to diesel and gasoline)

TECHNONEWS * South Africa - RFID tracks assets worth trillions worldwide

Gardenview,Eastern Cape,South Africa -Mining Weekly -10 Dec 206: -- ... RFID is an automatic identification technology that uses radio waves to send and retrieve information from devices, which are called tags or transponders... An RFID system usually consists of a combination of tags, tag readers, antenna and application software... Systems that combine these elements identify, track and trace products worth trillions of dollars every year...

Petition * USA - Trucking group pushes speed-control devices

Independent firms oppose call to limit big rig drivers to 68 mph

Toledo,OH,USA -Toledo Blade, by DAVID PATCH -Dec 10, 2006: -- Some truckers say that when their wheels aren't turning, they're not earning... So why is the nation's largest trucking organization asking the federal government to require that new trucks be equipped with devices restricting top speed to 68 miles per hour?... Safety and fuel economy, says the American Trucking Associations, which has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety administrations to require the devices. Most commonly, these involve a microchip in a truck's engine computer that restricts how fast the engine can run... Dave Osiecki, the trucking association's vice president, said the proposal is aimed at "a small minority of drivers and trucks that are operating at excessive speeds."... (Photo: THE BLADE by DAVE ZAPOTOSKY - Tractor-trailer driver Matt Frey passes through a truck stop in Stony Ridge during a recent delivery run)

Analysis * USA - Newspaper finds truckers often carry rap sheets

Dallas,TX,USA -The Fort Worth Star Telegram (Fort Worth,TX)/AP/The Dallas Morning News -10 Dec 2006: -- A quarter of big-rig truck drivers faulted in fatal crashes in Texas from 2000 through 2005 had rap sheets... The Dallas Morning News' analysis discovered that of 953 truckers faulted in fatal crashes during that time frame, at least one in four had been convicted of a criminal offense or received deferred adjudication - in which a defendant's record doesn't reflect a conviction as long as probation is completed - before the crash... More than 14 percent had committed drug or alcohol offenses prior to their accidents. More than one in 10 were felons...

* USA - Truckers criticize Sanford idea to back up traffic

Columbia,SC,USA -WIS/AP -Dec 10, 2006: -- A South Carolina trucking official is criticizing an idea by Governor Mark Sanford to get truckers to put pressure on the state Transportation Department to widen a dangerous stretch of highway... Last week, Sanford and other officials were discussing ways to make the department board change its mind about widening US Highway 17 in Beaufort and Colleton counties... Sanford suggested putting up temporary weigh stations that would back up truck traffic as a way to get truckers on board with the widening plan that the agency has delayed because of costs...

Opinion * USA - Trucks make streets unsafe

Chico,CA,USA -Enterprise.Record, by Juanita Sumner -10 Dec 2006: -- I have some questions about the accident in which a Chico police officer (*) was hit in his patrol car by a speeding, red-light-running, out-of-control super truck... 1) How did the officer survive? The hood of the truck towered over the car and the front of the truck was inside the driver's seat... 2) Why does our city allow behemoths like this to travel our streets? I've seen commercial trucks like this have to back up to navigate a corner right in front of my house... These accidents will increase and there will be fatalities. Within days of this accident, my family watched a young man back his giant bread truck right into the side of a parked pickup truck in front of Smart and Final on Mangrove. He completely caved in the passenger door... My heart goes out to (*)officer Terry Tupper -- he lived my nightmare. My family travels highways all over this state, and I never feel as threatened as I do right on my own city streets... (Photo: Chico police officer Terry Tupper -right- waits with his wife, Elaina Stevens, a Shasta County...)

CONGESTION * USA/NY - Trucks account for only 5.4% of vehicles in the congested area

Clearing air on traffic problem

New York,NY,USA -Crain's New York Business -Dec 10, 2006: -- The mere suggestion last week that New York impose a daily fee on cars that enter the central business district south of 60th Street created enough political smog to obscure an important issue... Before it envelops the entire city, it's time to look calmly at what we know about traffic congestion and possible solutions and ask a simple question: Why not study the problem carefully?An innovative report issued by the Partnership for New York City quantifies the amount of excess traffic in the center of Manhattan and traces the way it causes problems for businesses and workers in other boroughs and the suburbs... Economists calculate that gridlock drains $13 billion from the area's economy every year. They estimate that the city could gain as many as 52,000 jobs if it could solve the problem... The report lays to rest the notion that trucks are the primary culprit. The partnership's study shows that trucks account for only 5.4% of the vehicles in the affected area. That should end any thought of reviving a 1980s plan to force trucks to make their deliveries at night — a proposition so expensive that it would have a disastrous impact on the economy... On the other hand, the study reveals that a surprisingly high percentage of construction and government workers drive into Manhattan (see "The Insider," Page 14). One reason for the out-of-control number of public-sector drivers is a lack of central oversight of city parking permits. That is an area worth exploring...

* USA - Ohio Smoking Ban Includes Big Rigs

CLEVELAND.OH.USA -AP/WANE (Ft Wayne,IN) -Dec 6, 2006: -- Truckers who want to light up a cigarette in their cabs better think twice. The statewide smoking ban that takes effect tomorrow includes company vehicles... Tracy Sabetta is head of the SmokeFreeOhio campaign that backed the law. She says the truck-driving provision was included to protect employees in vehicles used by more than one driver... But because enforcement is based on complaints, Sabetta says it's unlikely health inspectors will be climbing into trucks to issue citations... Exceptions include family owned and operated trucks when drivers are related to the owner. An out-of-state trucker crossing into Ohio also can light up... The Ohio Trucking Association plans to ask the Legislature to exempt truck drivers from the smoking ban...

"Aggressive/Antagonistic Driving" * USA - Truck ramming made her commute an ordeal

Wichita,KS,USA -The Wichita Eagle, by HURST LAVIANA & JOE RODRIGUEZ -Dec. 09, 2006: -- For a 37-year-old Wichita woman, it started as a typical afternoon commute through the crowded lanes of I-135 in north Wichita... But for her, the drive home on Thursday quickly turned into a nightmare when the driver of a large cattle truck began pushing her car forward in the creeping traffic, then backing off and ramming her several times... "He pushed me once, then after that he bumped me four or five times with a couple of seconds in between," she said. "He started pushing me like a bulldozer, and then he started ramming me."... The woman, who asked that her name not be published out of fear that the truck driver will come after her, said that during most of the 10-minute ordeal, the truck's shiny silver grill filled her entire rear windshield. She said there was a flatbed semi right in front of her... The Kansas Department of Transportation has also begun to take notice of such incidents... Four years ago, the department added "aggressive/antagonistic driving" as a contributing factor in crashes across the state... In 2003, there were 233 such incidents. In 2004, there were 265. And in 2005, there were 250, totaling 748 over those three years... Lee said he encourages people to get out of the way of aggressive drivers when they see them and report violations to 911...

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* Iraq - Yo get cars, trucks
Washington,DC,USA -Trade Arabia (Manama,Bahrain) / Reuters-9 Dec 2006: -- Iraq wants to buy $463 million worth of US trucks, trailers, ambulances, motorcycles and other vehicles to help equip the Iraqi army, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency said... The list of vehicles sought by Iraq included:
* 522 high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) or 276 infantry light armored vehicles
* 668 4X4 commercial light utility trucks
* 578 commercial trailers for 8-ton cargo
* 102 ambulances
* 78 motorcycles
* 78 new sedans
* 68 used sedans
* 66 8-ton cargo heavy trucks
* 14 4X4 commercial SUVs
* 8 heavy tracked recovery vehicles
* 6 40-ton trailer lowboys
* 5 commercial car carriers

Port Security Gap * USA - Report says state, local agencies must fill it

Sacramento,CAL,USA -San Mateo County Times (San Mateo,CAL), by Steve Geissinger and Paul Rosynsky -9 Dec 2006: -- State and local agencies must bolster efforts to fill security gaps federal officials have left at California ports, says a new state report, which also endorses Oakland's bid to use voter-approved bonds as leverage for more U.S. funds... The Port of Oakland -- which inexplicably received no federal security funding this year -- is pitching use of prospective transportation bond money approved by voters last month to boost their matching funds for acquiring federal money, according to the state Senate Office of Research report... Oakland planned to spend the money to complete four projects. Those included construction of biometric identification portals at each of its maritime terminals, outfitting trucks with radio frequency identification tags and improving wireless communications throughout the complex... (Photo Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - The Port of Oakland is one of the top 10 container ports in the United States)

Violent, Savage Storms * France

Paris,France -The Gulf Daily News (Manama,Bahrain) -9 Dec 2006: -- Violent storms packing hurricane-force winds lashed France yesterday, leaving one person dead and several injured, cutting power to 300,000 homes and disrupting international flights... At the top of the Eiffel Tower, wind speeds hit 137kmph, prompting Paris City Hall to close down all parks, cemeteries and ice rinks and advise people to stay indoors if possible... Fallen trees disrupted high-speed rail traffic between Paris and Nantes on the Atlantic coast, one of the worst hit areas, and a main bridge near Nantes was closed after three trucks were knocked over by the wind...

Trucking Nightmare * Australia - NSW permit

NSW,Australia -Australasian TN -8 Dec 2006: -- A single truck operator with four permits to carry higher mass in NSW, needs another 11 just to do basic trips across NSW... And to get 15 kms out of the Port of Newcastle, the owner-operator needs to apply to three different councils covering 11 roads... It has taken three weeks to get one permit that covers 100 metres of a road that is already a Road Train Route... Confusion at local councils about who they deal with at the Roads & Traffic Authority has been a major issue - as has been variations in the names of roads and whether they appear on computerised maps used by the RTA versus councils versus operators... Opertators who don't have access to good computers, the internet and can use computerised mapping would find the applications over the complexity of routes very difficult...

Safety Advise * Australia - National Drive for

Australia - Australasian TN -5 Dec 2006: -- About one in 14 accidents over the Christmas period involve an articulated truck - lower than the rest of the year... It us one in ten for the rest of the year... The National Drive for Safety, in which politicians jump into a truck in their electorate to see the view from the cab, has been given credit by federal Transport and Regional Services minister Mark Vaile for the lower truck accident rate over Chistmas...

Vaile launched the key advice for motorists about sharing the roads with trucks:
1/ Semi-trailers have a sign on the back that says 'Do not overtake turning vehicle' ... It is not there for decoration but is a serious message about cars not turning into a truck's blind spot as its turns left into intersections or roundabouts
2/ Overtake trucks with care. Ensure there is enough road ahead, signal, move out, give a quick flash of headlights and pass quickly. Don't move back in until you see the truck's headlights in your mirrors. And don't slow down after passing the truck.
3/ Be patient. Truck drivers want to get home for Christmas like all road users...

Security Eyes * Australia - Truck drivers, they are

Australia -Australasian TN -5 Dec 2006: -- Thousands of truck drivers are being asked to become the security eyes and ears of Australia's war against terror... The package developed by the Office of Transport Security, the Australian Logistics Council and the Australian Trucking Association include:
- Technological solutions such as satellite tracking and engine immoibilisers
- Checking doors and access panels after each stop- controlling access to company depots with ID cards, locks and proper key registers
- Screening new drivers and obtaining references
- Checking legitimacy of new customers through industry associations
- Reporting suspicious activity to the National Secuirty Hotline on 1800 123 400...
More than 62,000 applications for Maritime Security identification cards (of which 48,000 have been approved), provides a base of drivers on a security database...

BORDER TROUBLES * Russia/Latvia - Number of trucks on border insignificantly decreased

Riga,Latvia -The Baltic Times -Dec 08, 2006: -- Over 900 trucks were waiting in queues at the Latvian-Russian border Friday morning, which is a bit less than on Thursday Dec. 7... According to the Latvian National Border Guard, there were 762 trucks waiting at Terehovo crossing point and 183 vehicles were lining at Grebnevo crossing. Thursday morning there were 845 trucks lining in Terehovo and 220 in Grebnevo... The lines on the Latvian-Russian border started growing especially long in mid-August this year. The long lines of trucks are a threat to traffic safety, waiting drivers create heaps of litter on the roadside and population in nearby villages have to live in constant noise from truck engines...

MARKET SHARES * USA - Trucks Mixed on Downgrades

New York,NY,USA -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX)/AP -8 Dec 2006: -- Trucking stocks traded mixed on Friday after analysts revised downward the ratings and earnings estimates on a number of key names in the sector, citing weakening freight demand... Among those names headed south in midday trading was Marten Transport Ltd., which gave up 61 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $18.31 on the Nasdaq. Shares of Con-way Inc. lost 73 cents to $44.26 on the New York Stock Exchange. YRC Worldwide fell 14 cents to $40.50 on the Nasdaq, while Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. retreated 25 cents to $26.63... "We believe that now is the time to get out," said John Barnes, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets, who also downgraded YRC Worldwide to "Hold" from "Buy."...

* USA - Little seasonal joy for U.S. trucking
Chicago,Ill,USA -Reuters, by Nick Carey -Dec 7, 2006: -- This late in a normal year, the U.S. trucking industry would be more than 3 months into its peak season and sprinting toward the finish line... But this year, as the holidays near, it has found itself all dressed up, with nowhere to go... Peak season has been a no show... A slowing housing market and the woes of U.S. domestic car makers -- two segments of the economy to which the trucking industry is acutely sensitive -- have combined with lackluster retail sales growth, creating somewhat of an unholy trinity for truckers...

MARKETS * Australia - ERG figures show strong 2006, but no record

Australia -Australasian Transport News (subscription) -8 Dec 2006: -- ERG truck sales figures show strong results for 2006, but they will fall short of last year's record figures... The ERG truck figures for November show the overall figure just over a thousand shy of last years figures, with 30,533 new trucks registered for the November period... Kenworth retain their dominant position in the heavy duty market with 1,887 trucks sold by November this year - down from the same time last year when they sold 2,124 trucks... Western Star has continued its climb up the rankings this year with 683 truck sold, beating the year to date figure last year by 188 trucks, in the process eclipsing the whole of year figure for last year of 539 trucks... Overall, Isuzu remain in the number one position with 7,141 trucks sold in November 128 trucks more than the same time last year, outscoring Japanese rivals Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso, with 4,646 and 3,294 sold respectively... The medium duty sector has risen overall from last year’s November figures by 490 trucks taking the sector to 7,625 trucks sold for the same period in 2006... The light duty sector has dropped significantly since the same period last year, down 1,549 vehicles... Next year could be a bumper year for truck sales in the heavy segment due to changing Euro 4 emissions standards...

ENTERPRISES

* USA - After three hot years, Hotstart predicts slower growth - Rising international sales, trend toward lass engine idling provide optimism

Spokane,WA,USA -Spokane Journal of Business, by Rocky Wilson -7 Dec 2006: -- Kim Hotstart Manufacturing Co., the Spokane Valley maker of pre-heaters for diesel engines, projects sales of $25 million this year, nearly doubling its revenue from three years ago. Yet, the company expects that growth to slow in 2007... Still, the company expects continuing growth in its international sales, which were negligible five years ago when it first hired two salespeople, one Norwegian and another Japanese, to sell pre-heaters in Europe and Asia. International sales now account for 18 percent of overall revenue, and that percentage is rising... (Photo: Terry Judge says pre-heaters like this generates most of Kim Hotstart's revenue, which is projected to hit $25 million this year)

* USA - EPA approves 2007 Caterpillar engines
USA -eTrucker, by Brittani Tingle -7 Dec 2006: -- Carterpillar Inc. has received certification from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for its C13 and C15 engines equipped with ACERT Technology for 2007... This technology relies on air management, precision combustion, advanced electronics and effective after treatment to lower emissions... The four systems work to decrease particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon emissions while preserving the engine's reliability and durability...

SPECIAL REPORT * USA - OOIDA says privatization of interstates is ‘anti-American’

Grain Valley, Missouri ,USA -Land Line Magazine -Dec. 1, 2006: -- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is letting Pennsylvania officials know that leasing the state’s roads to private companies is not only unacceptable, but un-American... Proposals to sell the turnpike to private companies is a wrong-headed idea and to consider selling this national asset to foreign companies even more so, OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said... He called the privatization proposal by Rep. Richard Geist, R-Altoona, a “choreographed campaign being driven by foreign-based private interests.”... Spencer calls the proposed privatization of the nation’s interstates, including Macquarie’s expressed interest in leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike, New Jersey Turnpike and possibly even the Ohio Turnpike, a “pawn-shop mentality” by politicians... “The Pennsylvania Turnpike is the nation’s first superhighway,” Spencer said. “Selling it to foreign interests is as un-American as it gets.”... Macquarie paid $3.85 billion to Indiana in exchange for keeping the tolls for the next 75 years and controlling the operation and maintenance on the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road. The company leased the 8-mile Chicago Skyway for $1.83 billion... Spencer urged truckers and the voting public to stay involved to make sure Pennsylvania doesn’t take the same path...

HOS DEBATE * USA - Appeals court hears OOIDA’s hours-of-service arguments

Grain Valley,Miss,USA -Land Line Magazine, by By Jami Jones-5 Dec 2006: -- A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard OOIDA’s oral arguments challenging the current HOS regs... Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg, Judge Karen Lecraft Henderson and Judge Merrick B. Garland heard the appeal... The OOIDA legal team put together a three-pronged attack on the current regulations. The Association contends:
· The regulations do not fulfill a congressional mandate to address loading and unloading;
· The regs do not comply with the court’s previous direction to consider the impact of the regs on drivers’ health; and
· FMCSA did not follow the Administrative Procedures Act – APA for short – in arriving at the regulation...

PROFITS * Canada - Largest carriers increase revenues but fail to keep lid on costs

Ottawa,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by Lou Smyrlis -8 Dec 2006: -- Costs are rising faster than revenues for Canada’s largest motor carriers, an analysis of third quarter financials released today by Statistics Canada reveals... In the third quarter, the top 91 for-hire motor carriers of freight (Canadian-based trucking companies earning $25 million or more annually) generated operating revenue of $2.4 billion and operating expenses of $2.3 billion, both almost unchanged from the preceding quarter... However, average per carrier revenue increased 5.0% from the third quarter of 2005 to $26.4 million, while average per carrier expenses increased 5.5% to $24.7 million...

Ultimate * UK - Scania Launches Green Refuse Collection Trucks

UK -TNN -7 Dec 2006: -- Scania has developed a unique low-entry truck to cater for applications where the crew needs to get on and off the truck many times in a working day... Kneeling offers a lower boarding height than any other truck in the segment, further facilitated by wide-opening doors on both sides. Extensive use of standard components secures uptime and parts availability... Refuse collection is often characterised by hectic work schedules involving continual entry and exit for the crew. Scania's new range of refuse collectors can be specified to suit a wide variety of applications from inner-city bin collection to large-volume waste recycling container haulage. Cab and chassis options are tailored to match the needs of this competitive segment...

STORY * USA - 20-Year Driving Veteran Finds Support with FFE

Drivers: It's this true??.. Check it !!!

Lancaster,TX,USA -Layover -7 Dec

2006: -- Jonathan Leisner of Okeechobee, Fla., has spent 20 years driving a truck for a living, but considers the last 18 weeks to be hands-down the best. That is how long he has been in FFE's Clean Slate Lease Program. "I wish I would have done this 20 years ago," Leisner said. "FFE has given me the tools to succeed, including the support staff. I don't have to solve my own problems."... Currently celebrating its 60th year, FFE is seeking company drivers and owner operators who have a good work ethic and like to earn good money. Owner Operators average $1.11 per mile and receive an annual incentive at the end of their first year. Plus FFE has just introduced a new mileage contract that gives Owner Operators the best of both worlds at .93 cpm for truckload shipments and an even higher rate for hauling those special FFE LTL shipments... (Contact: F F E Transportation Services - 3400 Stonewell Drive, Lancaster, TX, 75134)

DRIVERS BE CAREFULLY

* USA - Anti-Icing Goo Causes Ind. Crashes

Fort Wayne,Ind,USA -Layover/AP -7 Dec 2006: -- Anti-icing chemicals meant to prevent crashes were blamed for sending trucks and cars sliding all over the road after too much of the slippery goo was shot onto interstate exit ramps in preparation for a storm... Workers spread sand on the ramps to soak up the chemical and create better traction, said Robert Newgent, operations manager for the Fort Wayne INDOT subdistrict... The Transportation Department had the right idea. On Thursday, whiteout conditions on Interstate 69 about 20 miles southwest of Fort Wayne were blamed for a pileup of about 30 cars and trucks, Indiana State Police said. The crash caused minor injuries...

* USA - Law? What Law? This is just hubris - arrogance gone wild
Chicago,Ill,USA -The Sun Times/Comment: Second City Cop -8 Dec 2006: -- City Hall has raked in more than $200,000 in fines from trucking companies over the last five months by having compliance officers in the Department of Consumer Services pull over trucks that appear to be overweight... Once again, a police function being carried out by civilians. First of all, this is a violation of State Statute - a rather LARGE violation. It certainly looks like someone from City Hall decided to get cute with compliance violations and tried to get away with what they could until they got caught at it. Secondly, this would appear to be a violation along the lines of the recent grievance won by the FOP when the City attempted to "civilianize" the security around Soldier Field for large events...

* USA - Endingly... 5 mysterious deaths at Texas truck stops worry drivers
San Antonio,TX,USA -Associated Press, by ELIZABETH WHITE -Nov 28, 2006: -- When two bodies were found in a rig at a truck stop on the well-traveled route to Houston, some drivers figured it was an accident maybe carbon monoxide poisoning... When another body was discovered there weeks later, they called it a mystery... But now that two more bodies have been found at two truck stops, they are getting worried... "You're scaring me now,'' said trucker Steve Fancher of Tulsa, Okla., when told of the grisly discoveries. "I'd better get on out of here.''... So far, investigators have not established what killed the five or whether the deaths are related. But police said they might have been victims of a bad batch of drugs... Jimmy Holguin, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office, said no causes have been determined in any of the deaths...

New day dawns for diesel * USA - Strict emissions standards mean big changes for trucking industry

Knoxville,TN,USA -The Knoxville News Sentinel (subscription), by ANDREW EDER -Dec 7, 2006: -- A new set of regulations on diesel engines goes into place next year, and the ripple effects are being felt throughout the trucking industry... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has mandated strict standards to control soot and nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines, saying the move will reduce harmful pollution from trucks by more than 90 percent... The new regulations follow the introduction in October of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, which the new engines need to run properly... But the new rules also create a challenge for the trucking industry, with trucking companies stocking up on 2006-model trucks to avoid being the first to use the new engines, and truck manufacturers and dealers trying to cope with the resulting swings in demand... The Truck Manufacturing Association's Clarke said that the government should offer an incentive for carriers to get the 2007 engines on the road sooner... Clarke said his group lobbied the government to offer tax credits to carriers for rolling out the new engines, and would likely do so again in advance of the 2010 regulations... (Photo by J. MILES CARY/NEWS SENTINEL - Steve Wolfenbarger, a mechanic at the Freightliner of Knoxville dealership, installs a new head gasket on an engine with 2007 emissions standards. The new regulations are having profound effects on the trucking industry)

PRODUCTS

* USA - SECURITY - Army orders 23 SAIC systems
San Diego,CAL,USA -The San Diego Union Tribune -7 Dec 2006: -- The U.S. Army Research Lab has ordered 23 ruggedized mobile vehicle and cargo inspection systems from Science Applications International Corp... Proprietary SAIC technology will enable military units to inspect cargo containers, trucks and other vehicles by creating computer-generating images much like an X-ray. The contract was valued at $38 million, including equipment, technical services, maintenance and training... (Photo right: SAIC's 450 Mobile VACIS)

* Finland - Cargotec signs significant service contract for load handling equipment
Finland -Kauppalehti (press release) -7 Dec 2006: -- Cargotec signs significant service sontract for Load Handling Equipment... Hiab, the business area providing load handling solutions within Cargotec... The contract covers the service of Hiab loader cranes and demountables on 548 Scania trucks used by the Dutch Army. The contract length is 13 years and worth approximately EUR 30 million... Hiab received in 2004 an order to deliver 548 demountable systems and 145 loader cranes to the trucks delivered to the Dutch Army. The service contract now signed with Scania covers the service of this equipment. The service will be done in Hiab workshops close to army depots as well as through a mobile service setup... (Photo Left)

TechnoNews - USA - Sensors to track 'superhighway' cargo from Mexico

Lockheed building high-tech system with North America's SuperCorridor Coalition

Grants Pass,OR,USA -WorldNetDaily, by Jerome R. Corsi -Dec 6, 2006: -- Lockheed Martin is working with North America's SuperCorridor Coalition – the Dallas-based trade association – on a $40 million deal to build high-tech sensors to track cargo remotely along a superhighway stretching from Texas to Canada... John Mohler, a senior vice president at Lockheed told the "North America Works II" transportation conference last week in Kansas City that 14 sensor locations would be established in the next three months to track specific cargo shipments along the NASCO corridor... The superhighway incorporates Interstates 35, 29 and 94. The sensor locations would include the Mexican port of Lázaro Cárdenas; Laredo, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.; and Winnipeg, Canada... Containers coming into Lázaro Cárdenas from China and the Far East would conceivably be equipped with these sensors for tracking in trucks and trains along corridors functioning as NAFTA superhighways...

PRODUCTION * China - FAW begins production of Hanwei heavy trucks

Pekin,China -Automotive World (UK)-6 Dec 2006: -- FAW Jiefang Truck has commenced production of Hanwei heavy trucks... FAW Jiefang's initial offering is the CA4163P7K2B heavy tractor featuring Dalian Diesel-produced Deutz Euro III 240-280hp (179-209kW) engines...

TRUCKS' SALES

* Germany - MAN wins 2 orders to deliver 710 trucks to Poland
Frankfurt,Germany -AFX/Forbes(NY,USA) -6 Dec 2006: -- MAN AG's unit MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group said it has won two orders for delivery of 710 heavy trucks from Polish companies RICO and Equus... MAN said RICO has ordered 285 vehicles comprising semi-trailer tractors and 8x8 construction vehicles, while Equus is buying 425 TGA semi-trailer tractors...

* Sweden - Vos Logistics ordered 1,000 Euro-4 Scania tractors
Stockolm,SWE -Biglorryblog (UK) -6 Dec 2006: -- ... Recently, the Dutch transport company Vos Logistics ordered 1,000 Euro-4 Scania tractors with EGR and the truck maker says: "We have delivered more that 12,000 vehicles equipped with EGR-engines. Our EGR-technology has a proven record of excellent fuel consumption, good reliability and simplicity to handle its just to add diesel. With this strong order intake, we are now booking orders for deliveries in the second quarter of next year."...

JOBS * USA - HI we are looking for promoters.

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If you're ads profesional, producer, or you've relation with sectorial agencies, or you've real contacts with transport companies, we invited you to join us ...

THIS CAN BE your life's opportunity

YOU may HAVE the WORLD to build your future

Contact us through “comment” of this entrance and soon you will have news…

Historical Landmark*- Brazil - DaimlerChrysler celebrates 50 years of production in Brazil

São Paulo,Brazil & Stuttgart,Germany -The Auto Channel (USA) -24 Nov 2006: -- For DaimlerChrysler do Brasil, 2006 represents a historical landmark. Today, the company is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of its plant in the city of São Bernardo do Campo... The ceremony was attended by Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management and Head of Mercedes Car Group and Andreas Renschler, member of the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management and responsible for Truck Group & Buses... Five of ten trucks on the road in Brazil today wear the Mercedes star, as do seven of ten buses...

DRIVER'S COMMENT *USA - How do truckers and their spouses manage a successful marriage?

USA -Truck Net, by Monty Rhoades -5 Dec 2006: -- Over the road trucking is difficult, and it really taxes a relationship... Having been married before I began my tucking career of more than 38 years, I suffered a divorce soon after I began... I attribute it to many causes, but trucking sure contributed. When a person needs the additional comfort of having a spouse there each day, trucking simply does not fill the bill. Being away from home for weeks at a time leaves a relationship more subject to additional stresses that might otherwise be managed... When the water heater fails, or the gutter stops up in a rain storm, when a child is sick and needs care, when the dog escapes the back yard, when the bill collectors call, who deals with all these issues? Not the absent partner... How your marriage will stand the demands of trucking, only you can determine by partner selection, and nurturing of the relationship... If you are already in a troubled marriage, and not a trucker now, do not join our ranks if you have hopes of saving it. Trucking will probably be the straw that broke the camel's back...

RECALLS * Japan - Isuzu Motors Recalls 21,000 Trucks

Tokyo,Japan -The Associated Press /The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX,USA) -Dec. 5, 2006: -- Japan's Isuzu Motors said Tuesday it is recalling 21,000 trucks to replace faulty engine oil filters... Subject to the recall are 21,453 Forward trucks manufactured between April 2004 and November this year, Isuzu said in a statement... The oil filter could crack under pressure, causing oil to leak out, Isuzu said... Isuzu officials were unavailable late Tuesday for comment...

CUTTING JOBS

* Canada - Freightliner announces further workforce reductions for St. Thomas plant

PORTLAND, Ore.,USA -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -5 Dec 2006: -- About 800 employees will be idled if Freightliner goes through will announced plans to adjust production rates at its truck manufacturing plant in St. Thomas,Ont... These changes are the first in a series of such measures that will affect all the company's vehicle and component assembly plants during the first quarter of 2007. As many as 4,000 production and related workers may be affected, the company said... Freightliner is one of many OEMs affected by the 2006 pre-buy that resulted from new EPA regulations.

TRUCKS' SALES

* United Arab Emirates - Chinese heavy vehicle manufacturer makes inroad into Middle East market
UAE -AMEinfo (originally: 29 Nov 2006) -5 Dec 2006: -- China-based heavy duty vehicle manufacturer Baotou Bei Fang Ben Chi has sold 16 units of trucks costing over USD 900,000 within the first two days of the Chinese Commodities Fair (CCFS) at Expo Centre Sharjah... 'We have also received orders for 300 more units at the CCFS,' said Mr. Jhon Zhu, International Trade Department Manager, Chinamex, on the sidelines of the exhibition...

"GREEN" NEWS

* USA - Shipper to test system to cut emissions - In February, the firm APL will experiment with injecting water into a vessel's diesel engines to try to reduce the release of pollutants
Los Angeles,CA,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Dan Weikel -Dec 5, 2006: -- In the growing fight against air pollution in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, one of the world's largest shipping lines announced Monday that it will test an innovative fuel system that could significantly reduce harmful emissions from ship engines... APL — bucking the adage that one should never mix water and gas — is experimenting with a fuel emulsification process that injects water into marine fuel oil, causing it to burn more thoroughly... Company officials believe the technology has the potential to cut emissions of nitrogen oxide, a key component of smog, by up to 20% and soot by 40% to 60%...

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

* India - Creating efficiencies is the challenge - Can a model perfected elsewhere in the world be adapted to India?
Bombay,India -Financial Express, by RANJAN BISWAS -Dec 06, 2006: -- India’s retail industry is expected to grow from its current size of $300 billion to around $450 billion in the next four to five years. Organised retail is slated to grow from $7 billion to around $25 billion by 2010 while, investments in the sector are likely to increase from $3 billion now to over $25 billion in the same period... Several leading Indian retailers are talking about owning their own fleet of supply trucks and cargo aircraft to transport goods and fresh produce. By owning the entire supply chain, companies can bring about desired efficiencies in transport costs, inventory and cycle time; be highly profitable and still keep low prices; increase sourcing and even export from India. The big question, therefore, is: are big retailers going to change the face of supply chain and logistics in India?... Are large investments sufficient to ensure that a supply chain perfected elsewhere in the world can be adapted to India?...

Christmas motorists * Australia - Should 'take care near trucks'

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -Ninemsn -Dec 5, 2006: -- Christmas motorists need to show courtesy to truck drivers over the holiday season, Transport Minister Mark Vaile says... Last Christmas 83 people died on Australian roads and about one in fourteen fatal accidents during that period involved articulated trucks... Mr Vaile said motorists should take extra care when driving near trucks... The safety program was initiated by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA)...

DRIVERS' HEALTH * USA - To Help Prevent and Cure Blindness

Truckers Join Forces with Schepens Eye Research Institute to

Boston,MA & Indianapopllis,IN,USA -PRNewswire/Schepens Eye Research Institute -Dec. 5, 2006: -- Truck.Net, the nation's leading trucking industry Internet portal, is joining forces with world-renowned Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, to raise awareness and funds to prevent and cure blindness... Ultimately, the organizations hope that trucks around the country will display an "Eyes on the Road" bumper message to encourage truckers and the general public to go to the website to learn about the program, how to care for their eyes, and how to help support the cutting-edge research at the Institute. Contributions will benefit research not only to cure optic nerve and retinal disorders but also debilitating diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, dry eye syndrome, diabetic retinopathy and all others that rob people of their vision...

JOBS, DRIVERS WANTED * USA

* USA - Firm plans to add drivers - H.O. Wolding will train its workers
Amherst,WI,USA -The Oshkosh Northwestern (Oshkosh,WI) -5 Dec 2006: -- Local trucking company H.O. Wolding wants to train up to 50 drivers in the next few months... H.O. Wolding, which provides short, regional and long-haul trucking, has its own certified commercial drivers license school on site... Up to eight students can be trained in the three-week program. Those who earn their CDL will receive immediate consideration for the company's full-time driving positions... The company anticipates increasing the size of its fleet from 350 to more than 400 vehicles by the end of 2006. It added 100 new vehicles earlier this year...

PRODUCTS * USA - Freightliner announces rack and pinion steering for heavy-duty trucks

USA -Automotive World (London,UK) -4 Dec 2006: -- Freightliner Trucks has announced that it now offers a rack and pinion steering system in its Class 8 trucks... The steering system, which the truck manufacturer claims yields a 45lb weight reduction, features on its Coronado, Columbia, Century Class... (Photo right )

* USA - DriverTech Offers Satellite, Cellular and Wi-Fi Bundle For Trucking Industry
Folsom,CA,USA -Government Technology -Dec 05, 2006: -- DriverTech, a manufacturer of onboard computers and communications systems for the trucking industry, has introduced the DT4000, a tri-mode platform, incorporating satellite, cellular and Wi-Fi communications in a single device, changing the way truck carriers manage their fleet operations... The DT4000 incorporates Orbcomm for satellite coverage and low-cost messaging as well as cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity for the most cost-efficient message routing. Leading customers such as U.S. Xpress, Interstate Distributor, and Anderson Trucking Service are some of the large fleets who have installed and are using the DriverTech system, as well as many others that are currently piloting the system... (Photo left)

* Canada - PeopleNet's online driver logs designed for easy transition to new HoS
BURLINGTON,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -5 Dec 2006: -- PeopleNet Canada has announced its eDriver Logs application will comply with the new Hours-of-Service rules for professional truck drivers in Canada... PeopleNet eDriver Logs is designed to make it easy for fleets and drivers to observe the complicated new rules that take effect on Jan. 1... eDriver Logs runs on the g3 Onboard Computing System from PeopleNet, a leading provider of intelligent onboard communications and solutions in North America...

Overloaded * China - Drivers fined for overpacking

Shanghai,China -The Shanghai Daily, by Dong Zhen -5 Dec 2006: -- Nearly half of the cargo trucks running on elevated roads and highways around Shanghai are overloaded, according to traffic police who have stepped up efforts to battle the problem... Police used a portable device to weigh trucks they suspected of carrying too much cargo. Two of the three trucks pulled over yesterday were carrying about 30 percent more cargo than allowed. The other was carrying nearly three times as much cargo as allowed... "The seriously overloaded cargo trucks are like timed bombs on the road that could trigger a mishap at anytime," police officer Chen Yulong said yesterday...

Transport Rules * Europe - Hauliers from Four Countries Call for Unified ones

Slovenia -Slovenia Business Week -4 Dec 2006: -- Representatives of haulier associations from Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia called on Friday, 1 December on the governments of the four countries to unify the rules in the area of free flow of goods and passengers... Bojan Pecnik of the transport section at the Chamber of Crafts Industries expects the cabinets to agree on restrictions on cargo transports, he said in Moravske Toplice... As these restrictions, for example the days on which trucks are allowed on roads, differ from country to country, the hauliers have to make individual itineraries, making it difficult to fulfil the customers' demands. The hauliers' proposals also include a reduction in road usage fees, discounts for motorway tolls and restrictions in place only if the share of cargo vehicles exceeds 20% of all vehicles...

Rush Hours * México - New study says rush hour in capital lasts 15 hours

In Mexico City, rush hour now from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

México,DF,MEX -El Universal -4 Dic 2006: -- In Mexico City, rush hour now lasts 15 hours, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to a study carried out by the Mario Molina Center for Strategic Studies on Energy and the Environment and several other organizations... According to the study, in the past five years, main thoroughfares have grown by 16 percent, while the number of cars that drive on them doubled. The result - the average circulation speed during the 15 rush hours is a meager 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph)... The culprit? "Without doubt, the problem is saturation due to a cultural characteristic that encourages excessive car use," the report reads... In a press conference this week, Molina, a Mexico City native and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize for chemistry, painted a grim picture for the capital´s future if actions are not taken... The organizations recommend a series of actions to fight the growing congestion: Building 18 new public transport corridors (metro or metrobus), substituting old city buses for newer, cleaner-burning ones, the construction of bike paths and charging for parking on public streets... Molina said that while some of the measures - such as charging for parking - would be unpopular, they would discourage the use of cars and improve the city´s air and decrease traffic... The groups also supported efforts to make the city more friendly for walkers and modernizing cargo trucks and transport... The Center for Sustainable Transport, the Institute for Transport and Development and the Mexican Center for Environmental Rights also participated in the study, which was carried out with funds from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation...

DEBATE * USA - Truckers' Fatigue

Trucking Industry Deregulation in Spotlight Again

UT,USA -The Ergoweb, by Jennifer Anderson -Dec 4, 2006: -- Federal rules designed to keep long-haul truck drivers in the United States awake and alert at the wheel, which were relaxed by an administration committed to deregulation, returned to the spotlight again on December 2 in an article published in the New York Times. In the debate before the changes were made, ideological arguments drowned out warnings about the risks... The warnings are well supported. Ergonomics research shows that fatigue increases the risk of accidents and decreases efficiency and productivity. The Times article was the first in a series about the impact of President George W. Bush’s deregulation strategy, which has repealed enforcement or completion of hundreds of federal rules... The research has led to ergonomic principles for designing workdays and shifts to minimize fatigue, and the May 2005 issue of The Ergonomics Report, noted that many employers put them to use. The description of trucking as the most treacherous industry suggests the business owners are more attracted to the ideology of deregulation than practices that minimize risks...

* USA - Trucking rules eased; safety debate grows - Part of Bush drive for business deregulation
Washington,DC,USA -The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington,NC)/New York Times News Service, by Stephen Labaton -5 Dec 2006: -- As Dorris Edwards slowed for traffic near Kingdom City, Mo., on her way home from a Thanksgiving trip in 2004, an 18-wheeler slammed into her Jeep Cherokee... The truck crushed her vehicle and shoved it down an embankment off Interstate 70. Edwards, 62, was killed... The truck driver, John L. McNeal, accepted blame for the accident, and Edwards' son, Steve Edwards, filed a lawsuit against the driver and the trucking company, Werner Enterprises of Omaha, Neb. Werner ultimately settled the lawsuit for $2.4 million... In the course of pursuing the case, Steve Edwards broached a larger issue: whether the Bush administration's decision to reject tighter industry regulation and instead reduce what officials viewed as cumbersome rules permitted a poorly trained trucker to stay behind the wheel, alone, instead of resting after a long day of driving... After intense lobbying by the trucking industry, regulators a year earlier had rejected proposals to tighten drivers' hours and instead did the opposite, relaxing the rules on how long truckers could be on the road... That allowed the driver who hit Dorris Edwards to work in the cab nearly 12 hours, eight of them driving nonstop, which he acknowledged had tired him...

DRIVERS' SHORTAGE * USA - Trucking's new crew

The trucking industry faces a shortage of 20,000 drivers that's expected to hit 111,000 by 2014

St. Paul,MN,USA -Pioneer Press, by BOB SHAW -4 Dec 2006: -- ... so it is seeking a new generation of truckers — married couples at or nearing retirement age. These new drivers say they love the freedom of the road, as long as they can share it... The Krays have discovered the secret to a happy marriage: a 2006 465-horsepower Volvo diesel truck cab... Trucking is a vocational and marital retread for the Krays, a new life the great-grandparents love to share... They are the vanguard of a new generation of truck drivers — which is actually an older generation... Faced with a shortage of drivers, the trucking industry is recruiting from the graying ranks of AARP, especially married couples..."We are not the last American cowboys. We are just out there doing a job," Anita Kray said... She climbed into the cab as if ascending a stepladder. She likes the regular schedule, which allows them to return home every two days... "We can take baths at home. We can maintain a life," she said, just before the truck slipped into the morning traffic on Interstate 694... (Photo by JOE ODEN/Pioneer Press - Anita and Jim Kray are independent truck drivers who deliver freight for FedEx)

Trucks could lose more of left lane * USA

Fort Worth,TX,USA -Fort Worth Star Telegram, by GORDON DICKSON -Dec. 04, 2006: -- Trucks may soon be barred from using the left lane on nearly the entire length of Interstates 20 and 30 in Tarrant, Dallas and surrounding counties... A recently completed study of the restrictions shows that traffic moves better with trucks staying to the right, and that traffic safety is not compromised, officials said. Planners recommend extending the ban to include more of those roads, and perhaps others... "The truck lane study has been an enormous success," said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments... But critics say that the left-lane ban leads to more congestion in the right lanes, which increases the chances of an accident... (Photo: STAR-TELEGRAM, by M.L. GRAY - Traffic on westbound Interstate 30 at the intersection with Loop 820 in Fort Worth passes a sign warning truckers to keep right. Critics say barring trucks from the left lane adds to congestion in the other lanes)

PRODUCTION * Saudi firm unveils locally produced Volvo trucks

Jeddah,Saudi Arab -Khaleej Times/Middle East North Africa Financial Network (Amman,Jordan) -3 Dec 2006: -- Locally produced Volvo trucks were launched by Zahid Tractor, the sole distributor of Volvo trucks in the Kingdom and a partner in the local production, here recently... The assembly plant, located at Kilo 14, Makkah Ring Road, is a joint project between the Swedish Volvo Group, one of the world's largest producers of heavy trucks, and Jeddah-based Zahid Tractor Saudi Arabia. The joint venture, Arabian Trucks and Cars Manufacturing Company Ltd., was established in 1998 to assemble Volvo trucks in the form of completely knocked down units (CKUs)...

Breaking the Law * Japan - Trucking firms denying drivers pension, insurance

Osaka,Japan -The Yomiuri Shimbun -3 Dec 2006: -- An increasing number of trucking firms in the Kansai region are breaking the law by not enrolling their workers in the corporate employees pension and health insurance plans, according to an industry survey in six prefectures... According to the survey, 35.9 percent of the transportation firms had not enrolled in the social insurance scheme, an increase of about eight percentage points over fiscal 2005. The survey cites cuts in personnel costs made necessary by increased competition resulting from the industry's deregulation... The Construction and Transport Ministry's Kinki District Transport Bureau has increased its supervision of the industry, saying deteriorating working conditions for their drivers would affect traffic and transportation safety...

DRIVERS' SHORTAGE

* USA - Demand for drivers on rise
Munster,IN,USA -Munster Times/Medill News Service, by JACKIE KEENAN -Dec 3, 2006: -- The 2006 boom of the trucking industry will come to an end in 2007, according to a report by New York-based Fitch Ratings Ltd... But even though truck shipments will be fewer, the sector's labor market is enduring a dangerous labor shortage that causes many companies and industry leaders to worry about the future... George Billows of the Illinois Trucking Association said even though present growth is slowing, the shift to a global economy will become stronger... Illinois estimates 85,000 drivers will be needed in the state by 2014, a 14 percent increase from 2004, and the expected supply falls far short... Billows said some drivers have captured the entrepreneurial spirit, buying their own trucks and creating their own business, which can ultimately earn some drivers $80,000 per year. Drivers now can work for whom they want, at the rate they demand and, most importantly, choose the job... And if the driver has a good record and is courteous on the road, companies all around the country are looking to hire...

Truckers' Strike * South Korea

Seoul,S.Korea -The Korea Times -3 Dec 2006: -- The truckers' union continued its strike for the third consecutive day yesterday, but no major disruption of cargo transportation has occurred yet... Members of the Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union staged walkouts nationwide for better working conditions and an improved wage system... Meanwhile, National Police Agency Commissioner Lee Taek-soon said yesterday that the police will crack down on illegal activities of truckers' union members... Noting that dozens of trucks that belong to non-unionists have been burnt or destroyed, he said the police are seriously considering searching union offices to arrest arsonists...

Multimodal News * USA - Engineering a new rail to spur freight traffic

Train travel between Hampton Roads and the Midwest is getting more efficient, which should boost shipments on the route

Newport News,VA,USA -The Daily Press, by PETER DUJARDIN -Dec 3, 2006: -- The Heartland Corridor initiative, as it's now called, is a $309 million effort that will renovate 28 railroad tunnels - 23 in West Virginia, four in Virginia and one in Kentucky - enabling them to accommodate Norfolk Southern's double-stacked trains... Three train depots will be added along the route, and a section of railway in Hampton Roads will be moved... That should help take some of the pressure off existing roads, such as Route 460 and I-64, as the port grows. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, a state agency, predicts the Heartland Corridor could take 150,000 trucks off Virginia's roads annually... (Photo, Handout/Daily Press: A Norfolk Southern train, with two containers on almost every car, winds its way through the mountains in the southwestern corner of Virginia)

NAFTA * USA - Executives explore free trade issues

Kansas City,MO,USA -The Kansas City Star, by RICK ALM -Dec. 02, 2006: -- More than 70 U.S., Canadian and Mexican government and business executives met in Kansas City this week to debate and nurture their evolving trade relationships... Trade among the three nations has increased 172 percent after 12 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement, said Eric P. Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, based in Washington. But he noted that over a slightly longer period, China’s booming economy was up more than 2,500 percent... (Photo by JIM BARCUS/THE KANSAS CITY STAR - International trade issues affect area companies such as Wagner Industries, an importer of Corona beer. At a Wagner warehouse this week, Craig ######### examined a shipment)

"GREEN" NEWS * Japan - Govt plans new move to curb vehicle emissions

Osaka,Japan -The Yomiuri Shimbun -2 Dec 2006: -- In an attempt to curb air pollution in the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, the Environment Ministry will make it obligatory for large stores to reduce the number of vehicles that transport their goods but do not comply with exhaust fume standards... The ministry will submit a bill to amend the Automobile NOx PM Control Law during the ordinary Diet session next year... Currently, only transport companies in large cities are subject to such regulation. But the ministry concluded that it is difficult under the current law to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles driving into Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, and the surrounding areas. Taking this into consideration, the ministry decided to require cargo owners, mainly department stores and supermarkets, to work on a plan to reduce the number of vehicles exceeding nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emission standards... (Photo: Satellital view with Kansai International Airport, it is a rectangular artificial island which sits off-shore in Osaka )

* USA - Law prohibiting workplace smoking in Ohio

USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -29 Nov 2006: -- A new statewide law prohibiting workplace smoking in Ohio applies to bars, restaurants, truck stops and possibly even the cabs of owner-operator big rigs, but the Ohio Trucking Association is hoping for less restrictive legislation... According to the state’s unofficial tally, 58 percent of Ohio voters approved State Issue Five on Nov. 7. That constitutional amendment, backed by the American Cancer Society and other health groups, prohibits almost all workplace smoking and bars it in most public places as well...

DEBATE: TRUCKINGS' HOURS OF SERVICE

* USA - Trucking hours change
Baraboo,WI,USA -Baraboo News Republic, by Scott De Laruelle -2 Dec 2006: -- With an eye toward keeping truckers' eyes open and on the road, new state regulations will help ensure people driving big rigs in Wisconsin can catch a little more sleep between shifts... According to the Department of Transportation, before driving a maximum 12-hour shift, truckers operating within the state now need 10 consecutive hours off-duty — two more than previously required. In addition, drivers may not be on duty for more than 16 straight hours... The regulations, which went into effect last month, were designed to bring Wisconsin in line with federal trucking standards, said State Patrol Capt. Charles Teasdale...

* USA - As Trucking Rules Are Eased, a Debate on Safety Grows
Washington,DC,USA -The New York Times (NY,USA), by STEPHEN LABATON -2 Dec 2006: -- ... In the course of pursuing its case, the family broached a larger issue: whether the Bush administration’s decision to reject tighter industry regulation and instead reduce what officials viewed as cumbersome rules permitted a poorly trained trucker to stay behind the wheel, alone, instead of resting after a long day of driving... After intense lobbying by the politically powerful trucking industry, regulators a year earlier had rejected proposals to tighten drivers’ hours and instead did the opposite, relaxing the rules on how long truckers could be on the road. That allowed the driver who hit Ms. Edwards to work in the cab nearly 12 hours, 8 of them driving nonstop, which he later acknowledged had tired him... But advocates of tighter rules say the administration’s record of loosening standards endangers motorists. The fatality rate for truck-related accidents remains nearly double that involving only cars, safety and insurance groups say. They note that weakening the rules has reversed a course set by the Clinton administration and has resulted in the federal government repeatedly missing its own targets for reducing the death rate...

Job training - Canada - Given boost

Canada -London Free Press, by HANK DANISZEWSKI -Dec 2, 2006: -- The provincial government has set up a new umbrella agency to oversee hundreds of job placement and training agencies across the province... Employment Ontario will provide a single website and 1-800 number for both job seekers and employees, said Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Chris Bentley... Bentley has already reached a deal with the trucking industry to allow a voluntary trucking apprenticeship for people who have not completed high school...

Stake * China - DaimlerChrysler AG buys into truck maker

Beijing,China -People´s Daily Online -Dec 01, 2006: -- German-US auto group DaimlerChrysler AG will acquire a stake of major Chinese truck producer Beiqi Foton Motor Co, but its plan to build Mercedes-Benz trucks in China with the Shanghai-listed firm still faces obstacles... DaimlerChrysler will buy 297 million shares issued by Foton for 816.8 million yuan (US$104.1 million), the Chinese company said yesterday in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange... The deal will enable DaimlerChrysler to have 24 per cent of Foton and become its second biggest shareholder after Beijing Automotive Industry Corp (BAIC), China's No 5 vehicle manufacturer... Foton said DaimlerChrysler will be its strategic overseas investor which means that the German-US automaker will hold its stake for at least three years according to government rules released in January...

Delivery - Turkey - Mercedes-Benz commences delivery of trucks to state railways

Ankara,Turkey -Automotive World (UK) -1 Dec 2006: -- The first vehicle from an order of 65 Mercedes-Benz Actros 1832 all-wheel-drive road-railer trucks was delivered to Turkish state railways (TCDD) at the InnoTrans 2006 in Berlin recently... This contract is claimed to be the single largest order in the ...

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECT

* USA - Springfield's plans to lease trucks put on hold
SPRINGFIELD,Mass,USA -Eyewitness News (East Providence,RI,USA) -1Dec 2006: -- Springfield's plans to lease one (m) million dollars worth of new vehicles for the city's Public Works and Parks departments have been placed on hold... Parks director Patrick Sullivan says the money had been budgeted to lease about 45 vehicles, including vans, pickup and plow trucks and log loaders... He says many vehicles in the department's fleet are seven to 12 years old...

* Leasing of trucks delayed
SPRINGFIELD,Mass,USA -The Republican, by AZELL MURPHY CAVAAN -Dec 01, 2006: -- Plans to lease $1 million worth of new vehicles for the city's Public Works and Parks departments have been placed on hold - casualties of a court decision that prevents the city from collecting a trash-removal fee, officials said yesterday... The savings is about half of what the city needs to recoup in order to keep the budget balanced, according to Springfield Finance Control Board Executive Director Philip Puccia...

* UAE - Transport firm to introduce 500 CNG trucks in 2007
United Arab Emirates -Automotive World (London,UK)/ANK -1 Dec 2006: -- Al Nabooda Automobiles says it will convert 500 trucks to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) within the next six months, online Middle Eastern news source, Al Bawaba has reported. The news came from an announcement made by the company...

Finance Plan * Canada - CTA gives thumbs up to federal one

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -1 Dec 2006: -- The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is commending the federal government for its ‘Advantage Canada’ financial plan... says CTA chief David Bradley.“I have never been one to suggest we should settle for a level playing field,” ad Bradley. “I believe that in order to enable its industries to fully compete in a global economy and in turn to create economic growth and prosperity for all Canadians, our governments need to help build and foster competitive advantages for industries, including trucking, in areas such as taxation, infrastructure and regulation.”...

COMMENTS

* USA - Trucking industry undertaxed by state
Harrisburg,PA,USA -The Patriot News -Nov 30, 2006: -- The Pennsylvania secretary of transportation declared on TV that the state's roads are in poor condition and the only way to fund the necessary repairs is a 12-cent added tax on gasoline... Trucks are all over our roads, big 53-foot trailer-trucks that can haul 19,000 pounds per axle. That's why we have big ruts along Route 72 from Cornwall up through Lebanon City, and there's many more like it... Why isn't the state Legislature going after the trucks? Make them pay because they are ruinin

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31.12.06

TRUCKS' PURCHASE

PRODUCTION * Azerbaijan - Ganja Automobile Plant to assemble trucks

26.12.06

* USA - Feds, cities target hazardous cargo

* USA - Group offers scholarships for vets interested in trucking

Freeze * USA - sends many trucks, cars sliding

BORDER TROUBLES * Turkey/Syrian - Trucks form 10-km Line at Border

MARKET SHARES * USA - Cummins Receives Upgrade From Fitch

DEBATE * USA - U.S. Borders: Going-Going-Gone!

* South Africa - Plan to ban trucks on major city roads

Newcomers to trucking * USA - Could face tougher entry process

Infra? Structure * USA - Alaska's The Kamikaze Trail

See This...!!! * USA - Trucks with testicles

Safety * USA - Planning for, in winter conditions

Agreement * USA - Transportation Intermediaries Association Partners with Traffic World

Statistics Underscore * USA - Drunk Driving is Deadliest of Crimes

"GREEN" NEWS

PRODUCTION * USA - Ford plant hails launch of new Super Duty

21.12.06

Coming * China: Fight for Oil

Prejudices * Germany - Today's trucks are cleaner, greener and more quiet...

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * Study - USA

Spy trucks? * USA - No, just testing pilotless plane

MARKET SHARES * USA - Resurgent Heavy truck demand drives Navistar into profit

World's Best Truck Drivers * Sweden - Scania Begins Search for

Award Listing * Canada - Trucking carriers plentiful on top 50 biz list

TECHNONEWS * Sweden - Increased Road Safety With More Braking Functions as Standard

Petitions * Canada - To the U.S. to help Canadian trucking insurers compete

"GREEN NEWS" * USA - L.B. Port pollution to be studied

* UK Report: Back to the Future?

Peak Times * Germany - Govt aims to charge trucks higher toll fees at

TRUCK SALES

NONECOLOGICAL NEWS * Japan - Trucking firms skirting pollution law

HOS DEBATE * USA - Michigan bill to revise they

New legislation * USA - Missouri focuses on trucks; road safety

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

PRODUCTION * Thailand - Tata Motors, Thai firm JV for pick-up trucks

PROGNOSIS - USA - Truck Inc Says Profit 2006 Will Slide

TRUCKS' PURCHASING

16.12.06

TechnoNews * USA - Battelle has high expectations for refining hydrogen fuel cell

Recalls * USA - How companies respond can impact consumer confidence

PRODUCTS

MARKET SHARES * USA - Navistar Delays Results Again; NYSE to Delist Shares

PROGNOSIS * USA - Mega-Trucks Could Mean Mega-Profits for You

15.12.06

SPECIAL REPORT * USA - ‘Hot fuel’ lawsuit filed in San Francisco

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS

DANGEROUS CARGOES * USA - Many truckers skirting the rules

DRIVERS SHORTAGE * USA - CMU to tackle trucking trouble - Drivers over 55, purposes

Watch Your Pockets * USA - You Must Declare Lunch at the Border

FREEZE * Russia - 181 trucks of snow removed from Krasnoyarsk streets

PRODUCTION * India - Tata-Fiat auto JV investment could expand to trucks

Infrastructures * Canada - More HOV lanes planned for Ontario highways

REVENUES

JOB CUTS * Canada - Ontario plant subject to spring layoffs

14.12.06

MARKET SHARES

After Traffic Wreck... * USA - ... Arkansas bill would require minimum wait

OIL * OPEC - Sets 500,000-Barrel Oil Output Cut

President * USA - Signs Surface Transport Security Order

Onboard Diagnostic Systems * USA - EPA Proposes First One for New Large Trucks and Buses

JOB CUTS * USA - Eaton to lay-off 30 in Galesburg

"GREEN" NEWS

PRODUCTION

13.12.06

Criminal records... * USA - ... of errant truckers

Pitched Laws * USA - Drivers bypass weigh stations; lobbyists help keep it legal

SAFETY * USA - More truckers are buckling up than ever before

"Worst Roads" * USA - Louisiana Receives Trucking Industry Title

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - 21 fleets push for commercial hybrid development

SUCCESS STORIES

JOBS * Canada - Canadian survey predicts steady employment in '07

DEBATE * USA - USA's HOS? No thanks, drivers say in survey