trucks world news: April 2007

* UK - Foreign Lorry Problems Continue

New figures from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) confirm the relatively poor operational standards of foreign lorries working in the UK compared to the performance of the UK fleet

UK -TNN -30 April 2007: -- The Freight Transport Association says that the continuing evidence that so many foreign lorries are overloaded, have many roadworthiness faults and are frequently driven by drivers who have exceeded the hours rules, constitutes a major problem for both the UK transport industry and other road users. FTA calls for the introduction of a registration system for vehicles entering the UK which would support the work of the enforcement agencies... FTA External Affairs Director Geoff Dossetter said, "Many foreign lorry operators are cutting costs by failing to maintain vehicles in the required safe and sound condition. Add to that too much overloading and drivers working excessive hours and we have an obvious road safety problem"... One in seven of the heaviest vehicles on UK roads comes from overseas. VOSA figures suggest that one in two of them enters the UK with a roadworthiness fault, one in four is driven by a tired driver and as many as one in four is overloaded...

Labels: dangerous trucks

ANALYSIS * UK - Drivers are Key to Cutting Vehicle Defects

More effective daily safety checks by lorry drivers would help reduce roadside prohibitions and help vehicle operators comply with the roadworthiness undertakings relating to their O-licence...

UK -TNN /'Freight', - 30 April 2007: -- An analysis of HGV safety related defects identified by Freight Transport Association Vehicle Inspection Service (FTA/VIS) engineers during 2006 found that 56 per cent were driver reportable and should have been identified during daily walk-round checks. By far 74 per cent for some sectors, defects such as blown light bulbs, worn tyres or a missing filler cap are either not being found or not rectified... The most common problems related to the electrical system, notably to lighting defects, followed by bodywork, tyres and brakes...

Labels: studies

STUDY * Europe - Improve Road Safety? Target the Right User!

“European Truck Accident Causation” (ETAC): "75% of accidents involving trucks, are caused by other road users"

Brussels,Belgium -TNN (UK) -30 April 2007: -- Scientific study, commissioned by the IRU and the EC, shows that 75% of accidents involving trucks, where human error is the key factor, are caused by other road users... The International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the European Commission (EC), have just published a scientific study on “European Truck Accident Causation” (ETAC), identifying the main causes of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles in Europe. The ETAC study results show that human error, whether by the truck driver or another road user, is the main cause of 85.2% of accidents. However, among accidents linked to the human factor, 75% are caused by other road users versus 25% (NR: ONLY) by the truck driver. Other factors such as technical failures, infrastructure conditions and weather conditions comparatively play a minor role, representing 5.3%, 5.1% and 4.4% respectively of the principal causes of accidents... Therefore, upgraded driving school programmes, helping to understand the manoeuvring of trucks, would significantly improve road safety...

Labels: dangerous drivers

PRODUCTS * Austria - Transdanubia Choses Dynafleet

Austria -TNN (UK) -30 April 2007: -- Company Transdanubia Spedition GmbH has chosen the latest version of Dynafleet, Volvo’s transport information system, for its 350 trucks. Over the next three years the company will replace its existing system with the new Dynafleet ‘Operate’ package... In the beginning of this year, company owner KR Franz Grad made the decision to install Dynafleet in the entire fleet... The complete Dynafleet system consists of a range of services and functions, for instance a GPRS SIM card with unlimited communication between the Dynafleet system and the vehicles; system support provided by the Volvo Action Service as well an E-Learning module for both the Dynafleet system and driver training. It gives updated information reports in detail, via any PC with an Internet connection, on just about everything relating to the drivers and vehicles. In addition, the Dynafleet ‘Operate’ package has a facility that allows drivers to communicate with colleagues and the office...

Labels: products

Prognosis * USA - Transport Demand for Renewable Fuels to Increase

Agriculture officials said the growing renewable fuels industry will benefit the trucking companies that haul these products

Arlington,Va,USA -TTNews, by Andrea Fischer -30 April 2007: -- Biofuels proponents and Bush administration officials spoke here during the first national summit on agricultural and food transportation... “For trucking, the key word is distribution,” said Thomas Dorr, undersecretary of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The scale of this new industry will be huge,” Dorr said. “It is probably the greatest new opportunity for growth in our lifetime . . . and the distribution system will be truck-based”...

Labels: prognosis

Research and Markets * Ireland - The North American Light Truck Running Board and Step Aftermarket

Is Mature and Its Revenue Potential Is Projected To Decline Over the Forecast Period 2006-2012

Dublin,Ireland -BUSINESS WIRE (USA) -April 30, 2007: -- ... This Frost & Sullivan research service titled North American Light Truck Running Board and Step Aftermarket provides a detailed analysis of this aftermarket, which includes major product types, distribution flow, and unit shipment and revenue forecasts. It provides the revenues by product type, geographic region, and as a percent of market share and also includes extensive pricing, demand, and competitive analyses... Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:
- Light Truck Running Boards
- Light Truck Steps

Labels: researchs

Higher truck toll * USA - To raise $10M

PEN,USA -blog.pennlive.com, by Precious Petty and Alyssa Young -April 30, 2007: -- A plan to charge higher tolls for big trucks that cross the Delaware River finally will come to fruition in a few weeks. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has intended for years to raise the toll it charges trucks with three or more axles. Effective May 20, it will rise 50 cents, from $2.75 to $3.25, the commission said today... The change will bring in an additional $10 million in revenue. The commission now raises about $80 million in tolls from this type of truck...

Labels: truck tolls

DEBATE * USA - DOT continues to 'fine-tune' U.S.-Mexico truck plan

USA -eTrucker, by Steven Mackay -27 April 2007: -- A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said today, that the Bush administration had decided to comply with legislation passed this week that would impose conditions on the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking plan... The U.S. Department of Transportation refused to confirm that any concessions had been made or that the plan had been postponed but today issued a two-sentence statement saying the agency continues to "fine-tune" the plan...

Labels: mexican's trucks

STATISTICS * USA

* ATA tonnage index rose 1.2% in March
USA -eTrucker, By CCJ -27 April 2007: -- The American Trucking Associations announced today, April 26, that its advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 1.2 percent in March, which was the second consecutive monthly gain. The index increased 1.6 percent in February...

* Report: Container shipments up
USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -27 April 2007: -- Container shipping into the United States is up, and most of those containers enter the country not at ocean ports but by truck or rail from Canada and Mexico, according to federal statistics... A new U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics report states that in 2005, almost 26 million containers entered the United States, up 37 percent from 2000. Of those containers, 15 million came from Canada and Mexico... The United States ranks second only to China in world maritime container traffic. U.S. container trade in 2005 and 2006 was more than double the trade of a decade ago. Two-thirds of the containers are imported into the United States, one-third exported to other nations...

Labels: trucking statistics

Truckers oppose * USA - Nevada port-of-entry plan

Carson City,NEV,USA -The Deseret News/Associated Press, by Amanda Fehd -30 April 2007: -- Nevada's trucking industry is fighting a plan to let private companies build and profit from high-tech ports of entry that would use X-ray machines to scan trucks for contraband and human smuggling... The bill has support from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol. A new amendment that allows for the private financing persuaded NDOT to switch its original opposition to the bill to a neutral stance... The change allows NDOT to form contracts for operating the ports and charge "commercial motor vehicles a fee to cover all the costs related to the development, financing, construction, maintenance, management and operations" of the ports... The Nevada Motor Transport Association opposes the bill. The group's government affairs director, Ronald Levine, said the scanners "will not do the job and will not stop anything." He said criminals will just take other routes...

Labels: opposition

"GREEN" COMMENTS * Canada - Baird’s fears about Kyoto are worth considering but so are the many answered questions

What to make of the Harper government’s conviction that meeting our Kyoto commitment would drive the country into recession and leave thousands unemployed and facing soaring gas and energy prices?

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News, by Lou Smyrlis -27 April 2007: -- According to federal environment minister John Baird, the deep reductions in emissions starting as early as next January required for Canada to start living up to its Kyoto commitments is “not the answer we’re looking for”. The why is clearly obvious, according to Baird: “the numbers just don’t add up.” An analysis that Baird presented to a Senate committee found that by 2009, over 275,000 Canadians would lose their jobs, electricity bills would jump by 50% after 2010, prices at the pump would shoot up by 60%, and natural gas prices to heat homes would double, if the ruling Conservatives had to comply with a Liberal bill passed by the House of Commons requiring the government to meet its Kyoto targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions... It would be easy to dismiss Baird’s comments as mere fear mongering. After all his party fought against the accord, voted against its ratification, voted against reaffirming Canada’s commitment, and seems quite comfortable with making Canada the only country to sign the international accord and then abandon it. But, still, I think his concerns, deserve the benefit of the doubt...

Labels: green comments

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS

* Sweden - Strong European truck market drives up Scania profits
Sjodertalje,Sweden -Truck News -27 April 2007: -- While North American truck makers struggle in the wake of last year’s pre-buy, Swedish manufacturer Scania is having trouble keeping up with demand... The company reported a 44% surge in net profit during the first quarter. The company said demand for new and used trucks is exceeding the supply in Europe and it expects that to remain the case for the foreseeable future. Sales were up 11% during the first quarter with order bookings jumping 45% to 27,637 bus and truck units...

Labels: truckmakers news

Tory environmental plan * Canada - Won’t stall oilsands growth

Calgary,Alta,CAN -Truck News -27 April 2007: -- Despite much fear to the contrary, oil and gas executives say the environmental action plan announced by the feds on Thursday won’t inhibit further growth for the industry... The plan calls on industry to reduce emissions 18% by 2010 with the long-term goal of cutting emissions by 20% of current levels by 2020. While reaction from big business leaders was mixed on Friday, most agreed the targets were reasonable... He called on government to provide financial incentives for companies that invest in cleaner technology. The Canadian Trucking Alliance has been calling on government for some time to provide incentives for fleets that adopt the latest generation of environmentally-friendly truck engines, but those requests have so far fallen on deaf ears...

Labels: reduce emissions

TRADE * Canada - Heavy-duty truck exports to plunge 29%

Toronto,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -26 April 2007: -- Export Development Canada says Ontario auto exports will drop 6% this year, costing the economy about $4.8 billion. The agency says heavy-duty truck exports will take the biggest hit, dropping 29% to $3.93 billion as a result of the 2007 emission standards...

Labels: trades

AWARDS * Canada - Quebec truck plant doubles up at awards ceremony

Ste.Therese,Que,CAN -Truck News, by Steven Macleod -26 April 2007: -- The PACCAR plant in Ste. Therese, Que., was named Business of the Year and received the Human Resources award in the large business category at the 27th edition of the Mercuriades competition... The PACCAR plant in Ste. Therese assembles the Kenworth T300 line of medium-duty trucks... The competition is sponsored by the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce to celebrate outstanding achievements of Quebec businesses, which distinguish themselves by their excellence... (Picture: From left, Mercuriades gala chairman Benjamin J. Kemball, CEO and president of Imperial Tobacco Canada, presents the 2007 Mercuriades competition...)

Labels: awards

BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE * Canada - A bridge too far?

Toronto,ON,CAN-The Globe and Mail, by BRENT JANG -April 28, 2007: -- Manuel (Matty) Moroun is arguably the most powerful U.S. businessman most Americans and Canadians have never heard of. Ideally, he would like to keep it that way. But in the twilight of his career, the 79-year-old billionaire has decided to lift the veil on his high-stakes battle to maintain control over the most important transportation link between Canada and its largest trading partner... The sole owner of the Ambassador Bridge at the Detroit-Windsor border since 1979, Mr. Moroun has spent a half-billion dollars building a land portfolio in the region to make possible his dream to add a new link to the corridor. The busiest commercial crossing in North America has become a choke point ever since extra security checks were introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States... For the past 15 years, Mr. Moroun has accumulated property in Detroit and Windsor, positioning himself to build a new span next to the 77-year-old Ambassador Bridge. But the quest to strengthen his stranglehold on commercial truck traffic is being threatened, and he is in danger of being elbowed aside by a competing proposal backed by governments on both sides of the border. At risk is not only his virtual monopoly, but the viability of his existing business running the old bridge as well... (Photo: Detroit—Ambassador Bridge)

Labels: border infrastructure

'Green' Trucks * USA - Pol fuels interest in

Politicians are sometimes compared to used-car salesmen, but last week a Bronx congressman moved up to new trucks

New York,NY,USA -The New York Daily News, by BILL EGBERT -April 26th 2007: -- Rep. José Serrano (D-South Bronx) organized a briefing by representatives of a British electric truck maker at his district office to encourage fleet operators to start converting to electric vehicles and move away from diesel engines, which spew fine particulates proven to trigger asthma attacks... Smith Electric Vehicles has been making all-electric trucks for 80 years in the UK, and will begin production at its new Fresno, Calif., factory later this year... The company has 70,000 vehicles in service - with some trucks built in the 1950s still on the road. Its customers include Starbucks, Britain's Royal Mail and parcel-delivery giant DHL... Though an electric truck can cost up to twice as much as a standard diesel, it is up to five times cheaper to operate - about $10 a day... Help is available to those wanting to convert part of their fleet. A representative from the city Department of Transportation briefed attendees about the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, which provides federal grants up to 80% of the cost difference between standard diesel and alternative-fuel vehicles... (Picture: Smiths's bespoke electric vehicle design)

Labels: 'green' trucks

Transport Safety Council * Europe - Volvo Trucks in co-operation with

Every year, about 40,000 people die in road accidents throughout Europe and one-third of these accidents are directly linked to alcohol

Brussels,Belgium -The Easier (Chester,UK) -27 April 2007: -- At a seminar in Brussels this week, Volvo Trucks has launched a co-operative venture with the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC)... Over a period of three years, the partners will conduct a campaign in Europe that goes by the name of ‘Safe & Sober’. The aim of the campaign is to increase know-how about the link between alcohol and traffic accidents and it is directed primarily at politicians, opinion-builders, safety organisations and the transport industry...

Labels: safety events

TECHNONEWS * Holland - Automatically controlled trucks under development

Could the truck of the future be driven by computer control to reduce traffic congestion?

Amsterdam,Holland -Radio Amsterdam/Truck Trader Online (USA) -(originally published) 30 March 2007: -- Will the "trains" of trucks follow each other down the highway, synced-up with sensors and GPS controls?... The truck technology for automatically controlled trucks, or ACTs, is under development at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands... The way ACTs would stay together while riding or breaking is through sensors implated in the road, radar sensors to calculate distance and GPS tracking. Automatic systems would accelerate or slow down the truck faster than a human driver...

Labels: technonews

TECHNONEWS * USA - Methane from garbage to fuel garbage trucks?

USA -Truck Trader On Line/Williamsport Sun-Gazette -April 27, 2007: -- Mack Trucks, Acrion Technologies Inc., and Lycoming County, Pennsylvania are working to develop a facility to fuel trucks with landfill-produced methane that burns cleaner than diesel fuel... Garbage trucks would fuel up on the methane, produced by the decomposing waste they deliver to the landfill... The landfill already has a facility uses methane gas to generate electricity. With the new facility, the landfill could generate about 5000 gallons of methane fuel a day for trucks...

Labels: technonews

Going green * USA - May mean closing ports to owner-operators

Ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach may agree to become the first major U.S. ports to overhaul operations in order to meet emissions standards

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -April 26, 2007: -- Just what kind of overhaul will happen depends on who you ask... An estimated 16,000 tractor-trailers pull into the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach every day, and port leaders say the vehicles are among the oldest and dirtiest trucks still operating in the United States... A new licensing system would limit the trucks eligible to enter the port to only those on a list of “concessionaires” that would meet environmental and financial standards set by the ports, they say... Paul Johansen, the Los Angeles port’s director of environmental management, said the operational changes will benefit the environment, stabilize the workforce and lead to a more secure port... Johansen acknowledged that environmental and labor groups are generally favorable to the ports’ changes, he said, while the trucking industry hasn’t agreed with the unspecified changes... “There are different interest groups out and about – everywhere,” Johansen said. “There’s enough in our program for people to not like, or to like”...

Labels: green trucks

* USA - New Jersey considers ‘move over’ law

A practice followed by professional truck drivers for decades would become law for all drivers in a bill advancing in the New Jersey Senate.

NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 26, 2007: -- The proposal is designed to protect certain vehicles and emergency personnel during roadside stops... The Senate Law and Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee voted to advance a bill – S2422 – to the chamber floor that would require drivers to maintain a safe distance and reduce speed before passing emergency vehicles, tow trucks or highway maintenance vehicles parked by the road with their lights flashing... According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 30 states have implemented similar safety zone rules...

Labels: safety

STUDY * Canada - Claims use of turnpike doubles can dramatically reduce emissions, improve safety

Ottawa,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -25 April 2007: -- A recent study by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and Natural Resources Canada claims extended double trailer configurations – known as turnpike doubles – are two to three times safer than the overall tractor-trailer population travelling Ontario’s multi-lane highways when measured on a per-vehicle-kilometre-of travel basis. The study says that turnpike doubles also represent a fuel savings of 55% when compared to single-trailer configurations moving the same volume of freight, with an average of 28.8 litres of diesel per 100 km of truck travel. Additionally, the longer configuration could reduce the number of trucks on the road by between 6% and 10%, CTA says...

Labels: studies

LAWSUIT * USA - Schwarzenegger to take on EPA over emissions

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine - April 26, 2007: -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that he plans to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because of its refusal to allow California to implement its latest emissions-reduction law... The Clean Air Act allows states to pass their own air pollution laws, but they must first get a waiver from the EPA... California submitted its waiver request back in 2005 – but Schwarzenegger says the federal government is moving much too slow... In addition to being stalled at the federal level, California’s emissions law has also been challenged by auto makers, who have filed their own legal action to stop the law from being implemented...

Labels: lawsuits

COMMENT: Cops in trucks? * Canada - Now that’s a great idea!

Canada -Truck News, by James Menzies -25 April 2007: -- I recently came across an article from the Associated Press about a new program in Kansas that puts cops in the cabs of trucks to enforce traffic laws... What a great idea. Basically, police officers ride along with truck drivers and report offences to other cops who are patrolling the road ahead by car. The Highway Patrol trooper in the truck radios details of infractions ahead to his co-horts, who then pull over the offending vehicle and hand a citation or warning to the driver. Within the first few days of the program, 53 citations and 67 warnings were dished out to four-wheelers – many of whom were caught driving in an unsafe manner around big rigs... The trucking industry has donated the trucks and drivers for the program free of charge... I would like to see this program adopted here in Canada. Too often, four-wheelers drive recklessly around trucks because they don’t expect a cop to be riding shotgun and they simply don’t understand the stopping distances required by tractor-trailers. Not only could a program like this punish the worst offenders but it would also serve as a useful educational tool...

* USA - Road safety campaign puts troopers in big rigs
Wichita,Kan,USA -The Kansan/Associated Press -23 April 2007: -- Before you swerve around that semi or tailgate a big rig, consider this: There might be a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in the cab, ready to radio ahead with a report of your infraction... Working with the trucking industry and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the patrol has begun putting troopers in the cabs of tractor-trailers specially equipped with cameras on the sides, front and back... The goal is to catch dangerous driving on tape, ticket or warn offenders and draw attention to the perils of sharing the highway with big rigs...

Labels: cops in trucks

DEBATE * USA - TOLL ROAD

* Mississippi - Governor signs toll road bill
USA -Land Line Magazine -April 25, 2007: -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill into law this week to authorize toll roads as a revenue generator for new construction... Former state laws prohibited toll roads... The new law – formerly bill SB2375 – authorizes the Mississippi Department of Transportation, county boards and city officials to borrow against future toll revenues to construct new road and bridge projects. The tolls would be retired after the specific project is paid for... One provision in the law is a mandate that alternative free routes remain available and maintained so drivers have a choice whether to use toll roads or avoid them...

* Florida - House OKs bill that includes authorization to lease toll roads
FL,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 26, 2007: -- The Florida House has approved a far-reaching transportation bill that would allow the Florida Department of Transportation to lease most toll roads in the state to private groups... The Republican-led House voted 78-37 Wednesday, April 25, along party lines to send a bill to the Senate that would apply to any existing toll facilities in the state’s highway system, except the Florida Turnpike system. If the agreement for leasing an existing facility does not include provisions for additional capacity, the project must be approved by FDOT...

* Tennessee - House panel OKs toll road bill
Tenn,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 26, 2007: -- With the state struggling to pay for needed transportation work, legislation on the move in the Tennessee House would authorize tolling as a method to pay for new road and bridge work in the state... The proposed “Tennessee Tollway Act” would allow the state to issue bonds and incur debt to pay for toll projects. Private groups also would be allowed to build and operate the “pay-to-play” routes... The House Transportation Committee approve a bill Tuesday, April 24, that would allow tolls “as an additional and alternative method” to pay for highway work. It doesn’t specify toll roads or rates...

Labels: toll roads

BILLS * USA

* Maine
Maine,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 24, 2007: -- ... The House voted, to give initial approval to a bill that would boost the Turnpike Authority’s bonding capacity by $100 million. The bill would bring the agency’s total capacity to $461 million. The current limit is $361 million... Other bill – LD320 – would authorize the Turnpike Authority to widen the section of the roadway from Exit 44 in Scarborough to Exit 53 in Falmouth. Two years ago an adjoining nine-mile stretch was widened from four to six lanes... A separate bill, would make permanent certain fine amounts for six-axle trucks hauling special commodities or forest products that violate axle weight limits. It also would permanently eliminate axle weight fine violations during the months of January and February on most state roads... Another bill – LD265 – would increase the maximum gross vehicle weight limit and axle weight limit for large trucks equipped with idle-reduction technology. The bill would authorize affected trucks to weigh up to an additional 400 pounds... While several bills of interest remain active others have been sidelined. Among them is a bill – LD694 – that required if a vehicle exceeds the limits for both gross vehicle weight and axle weight the lower of the fines would have applied...

* California - Bill banning cell phone use for young drivers advances
Cal,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 24, 2007: -- A California Senate panel has approved a bill that is intended to prohibit cell phone use by young drivers in the state... The Senate Transportation and Housing Committee voted a bill – SB33 – to the Senate floor that would make it illegal for drivers with instruction permits, student or provisional licenses to use any type of cell phone, send text messages or work on laptops. It would exempt emergency phone calls...

* Indiana - Truck-related bills near passage in
IND,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 25, 2007: -- A couple of bills making there way through the Indiana General Assembly are of particular interest to truckers – one would eliminate a trailer registration fee and the other would open more roads to trucks... The Senate unanimously approved the bill would eliminate the $2 annual fee to renew the permanent registration of semi-trailers subject to the International Registration Plan... Another bill that would allow large trucks more access to certain roads in the state. The bill – SB220 – has been sent back to the Senate for final approval before moving to the governor’s desk... The bill would designate sections of state Routes 3 and 9 and U.S. 20 as extra heavy duty highways...

* Texas - Senate approves red light camera bills, with restrictions
TX,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 25, 2007: -- A Two bills on the move in the Texas Legislature would continue to allow cities to post cameras at intersections to nab those who run red lights. However, restrictions would be put in place to prevent abuse by local governments... The cameras, which snap pictures of red-light runners or speeders’ vehicle tags, have been authorized in more than 20 cities throughout the state since 2003. Tickets are mailed to vehicle owners, regardless who was driving at the time...

* Several Oregon bills of interest to trucking industry
OR,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 26, 2007: -- The Oregon General Assembly meets in regular session once every two years. Since this year’s session opened in January legislators have offered numerous bills related to trucking that include incentives to reduce idling, heftier fines for violating out-of-service orders and higher fuel-related taxes... House and Senate lawmakers approved a bill by unanimous consent that would increase the maximum weight limits for large trucks equipped with idle reduction technology. The bill would authorize affected trucks to weigh up to an additional 400 pounds... Another bill before the governor includes a provision that would get tough with those driving truck who don’t heed their out-of-service orders. It would increase the minimum and maximum penalty for violating OOS orders... While some truck-related bills have flourished in the statehouse others have floundered. Among the bills that appear to be on their last leg is a measure that would increase taxes on truckers and other drivers to generate $125 million a year for roads... Sponsored by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, the bill would increase the state’s per gallon tax on gasoline by 5 cents. It also would establish automatic tax increases of 5 cents every five years. For truckers, the corresponding weight-mile fees also would be increased... Another fleeting effort would increase car and truck registration fees. Sponsored by Rep. Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, the bill would increase fees for an 80,000 pound truck from $490 annually to $660... A separate bill focuses on splash and spray guards on large trucks. Sponsored by Rep. Scott Bruun, R-West Linn, the bill – HB3031 – would fine truckers $180 for operating a truck tractor and trailer combination without splash and spray guards mounted at every double wheel well on each side of the vehicle... Another bill that its days appear numbered would give weighmasters and motor carrier enforcement officers more power. The bill – HB3273 – would allow weighmasters or motor carrier enforcement officers to stop and detain vehicles. Vehicles would be required to stop and submit to any enforcement “when directed to do so by any sign, warning lights or other signal”...

Labels: bills

DEBATE * USA - DOT Clears 23 Mexican Carriers For Cross-Border Pilot Project

Fleets Meet U.S. Standards for Safety, Driver Health

USA -TTNews, by Sean McNally -25 April 2007: -- The U.S. Department of Transportation has audited 26 Mexican carriers applying to participate in a proposed longhaul cross-border trucking pilot project, as the department gets closer to opening the border, with nearly 90% meeting the standards set out by the U.S. government, a DOT spokesman said... Of the 26 carriers audited, 23 passed, meaning they had satisfied U.S. standards for a number of regulations including hours-of-service compliance, maintenance and drug and alcohol testing... Three of the carriers audited by U.S. officials in Mexico did not meet those standards...

* Groups Sue FMCSA Over Mexican-Trucks Plan
USA -TTNews -25 April 2007: -- A coalition of groups led by Public Citizen the Teamsters Union said Tuesday they have filed suit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to block the federal government’s plan to allow a pilot program of Mexican trucks into the United States... The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in California, the groups said. Also joining Public Citizen — which had been a lead, and successful plaintiff in challenging FMCSA hours-of-service safety rules — were the Sierra Club, Environmental Law Foundation, a local truck drivers’ union branch and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association...

Labels: mexican's trucks

BIOFUELS * USA

* Heavy-Duty Engine Manufacturers Allow Biodiesel Use Without Voiding Warranties - Acknowledging the growing popularity of vegetable-based biofuels, most heavy-duty engine makers have switched their policies to authorize biodiesel mixtures of at least 5% in their engines

USA -TTNews, by Frederick Kiel -23 April 2007: -- ... Most manufacturers said that using biodiesel blends they approve would not affect engine warranties, although they did say that if the fuel caused an engine breakdown, warranties would not cover it... Cummins Inc., Caterpillar Inc., Volvo Trucks North America, Mack Trucks Inc. and Detroit Diesel Corp. all said customers could safely use some level of biodiesel... The National Biodiesel Board agreed with that viewpoint... “Since engine manufacturers warranty the materials and workmanship of their engines, they do not warranty fuel of any kind,” the board said in a statement... “If there are engine problems caused by a fuel (again, whether that fuel is petrodiesel fuel or biodiesel fuel), these problems are not related to the materials or workmanship of the engine but are the responsibility of the fuel supplier and not the engine manufacturer,” the board said...

* Biodiesel standard OK’d in New Mexico
NM,USA -TTNews -April 24, 2007: -- Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a bill into law that requires all diesel fuel sold in New Mexico to be at least a 5-percent blend of biodiesel by 2012.

Similar efforts are being pursued in other states...

* Missouri
MO,USA -TTNews -April 24, 2007: -- The state Senate approved a bill that would require all diesel fuel sold at retail in the state to be a biodiesel blend... The bill – SB204 – would require at least 5-percent biodiesel at the pumps by April 2009. Retailers would not be forced to carry the blended product if the price is more expensive than regular diesel...

* Oregon
OR,USA -TTNews -April 24, 2007: -- The Oregon House also is on the biodiesel bandwagon. The chamber approved a bill that includes a requirement that at least a 2-percent biodiesel blend be offered as soon as state production of biodiesel reaches 5 million gallons per year. A 5-percent biodiesel blend would be required when production reaches 15 million gallons per year...

* Montana
MON,USA -TTNews -April 24, 2007: -- A bill has died that would have required all diesel fuel sold in the state to have at least a 5-percent blend of biodiesel. The bill – SB432 – was tabled in the House Transportation Committee, effectively killing it for the year. The Senate had already approved it...

Labels: biofuels

Strange Definitions

By Cerberus: Road Train Member

Ga,USA -The Truckers Report - Originally published Oct 2006: --
Abdicate: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Account: A countess' husband.
Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.
Amnesia: The condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to have sex again.
Antique: An item your grandparents bought, your parents got rid of, and you're buying again.
Arbitrator: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's.
Atheism: A non-prophet organization.
Avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do.
Baloney: Where some skirt hemlines fall.
Barium: What we do to most people when they die.
Beauty parlor: A place where women curl up and dye.
Benign: What you be after you be eight.
Bernadette: The act of torching a mortgage.
Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.
Burglarize: What a crook sees with.
Cannibal: Someone who is fed up with people.
Chickens: The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead.
Classic: A book that people praise, but do not read.
Clothes dryer: An appliance designed to eat socks.
Coffee: A person who is coughed upon.
College: The four-year period when parents are permitted access to the telephone.
Committee: A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.
Conference: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.
Control: A short, ugly inmate.
Counterfeiters: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.
Courtesy: The art of yawning with your mouth closed.
Derange: Where dee buffalo roam.
Dictionary: A place where success comes before work.
Diplomat: A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
Divorce: The future tense of marriage.
Eclipse: What an Italian barber does for a living.
Egotist: Someone me-deep in conversation.
Eyedropper: A clumsy ophthalmologist.
Experience: The name people give to their mistakes.
Family planning: The art of spacing your children the proper distance apart to keep you on the edge of financial disaster.
Fancy restaurant: One that serves cold soup on purpose.
Father: A banker provided by nature.
Feedback: The inevitable result when a baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots.

Labels: definitions

Who Represents Truck Drivers * USA

I’ve heard there are 1.3 million big rigs running around the US. I can’t verify that number but let’s go with it. Of that number how many have any voice about HOS rules, DOT concerns, rogue cops, unreasonable company demands and on and on? You know the answer...

Winter Haven,Fl,USA -Flat Tire, by W. J. Andy Andrews (originally published: March 6, 2007) -23 April 2007: -- We’re the ones keeping the goods and materials moving and we have no say in the matter at all. The HOS rules are a joke. You’re paid by the mile... If you start your day at 7am, drive 4 hours for a pick up and have to wait 8 hours to get loaded or unloaded, how many more hours can you drive that day? 2 more hours and you’ve got to take 10 off. That’s 6 hours driving for the day at say 37 cents per mile. If you’re lucky you might do 375 real miles. $138 for the day, do that for 6 days before you have to recycle and take out all of the taxes and other deductions, and then figure your meals and what do you have left? About $325.00 take home pay... Is it any wonder that more drivers are going to loose leaf log books? (In case we make a mistake and need to correct it of course). In reality, drivers are showing 10-11 hours per day driving on the log book, but spending more hours per day, to get the miles they need in order to make a decent pay check... And there are those “do-gooders” out there who want trucks off the road altogether, who don’t know the first thing about the industry who are getting the ear of the Feds. Like liberal advocacy groups around the country, they have all the answers but never ask any of the questions... So who represents the truckers? Trucking Companies have their lobbyists and certainly make contributions to their favorite elected officials. OOIDA tries very hard to be heard. Unions do their part, but what about the rest of us? The truth is, we’ll never have a voice...

Labels: aspiring truckers

So you want to be a truck driver * USA

Who are Truck Drivers?... Why does one want to become a truck driver?... Where do truck drivers come from?Is it an easy job?... What training do I need?...

Winter Haven,Fl,USA -Flat Tire, by W. J. Andy Andrews (originally published: March 1, 2007) -23 April 2007: -- There are endless questions and equally endless answers, but deep down inside I think we really enjoy what we do. OK. Stop right there... If you were to listen to many drivers you would think that most hated their jobs, the people they deal with, the DOT, Police, 4 wheelers the company they work for and on and on. Now after that’s over, ask one what he or she would rather do and not too many would pick any other profession. No one I’ve talked to would want to work in an office, or punch a time clock or have a boss or manager hanging around... To an outsider, driving a truck seems simple work, but there are challenges apart from traffic. There’s weights, appointment times, schedules, equipment problems, log books that need to be accurate, weather, road construction and accident holdups to contend with. But when you get right down to it, I think there’s a certain freedom in the work... You get to go and see places you otherwise wouldn’t see. You’re on your own most of the time and some people like that. Truthfully, I think it gets in your blood. I’ve retired twice from trucking and where am I now? Right back in it. My youngest daughter says I’ll retire when they pry my cold stiff fingers off the steering wheel. Maybe she’s right, I don’t know... To easiest way for a person to get started in trucking is to find a company that will train their own drivers. The downside is that you usually are committed to that company for about a year. There are numerous driving schools around the country. If there is a trucking company near you, call their recruiter and ask for advice on a good school... When you are first hired you will spend some time with a trainer until he feels you are ready to go solo. Don’t be intimidated by the size of a truck and trailer. Frankly I find it easier to drive a truck than I do a car. That may sound odd, but after a while you will understand what I mean... (Photo: W. J. Andy Andrews and the truck he drive)

Labels: aspiring truckers

THE LONG HAUL * USA

Truck drivers of all kinds confront many dangers on the roads today. Ex.: 51% percent of truckers are worried about shredding a tire compared to less than 1% concerned about carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lebanon, MO,USA -podcasts.truck.net, by Tom Stetter (Transducer Technology, Inc.) -23 March 2007: -- From bad weather to bad drivers, some days it seems like the world is conspiring against you to keep you from delivering your load on time... While road crews shutting down 2 out of 3 lanes on a 9 degree down grade, blown tires sending rubber shrapnel everywhere, and just getting plain old tired are very tangible hazards, there is another that is very easy to overlook. It is nearly impossible to detect with your five senses and potentially more dangerous than anything else out there. This threat is carbon monoxide... The trucking industry employs over 9 million Americans and 227,000 Canadians, making it one of the top occupations in both countries. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, the occupation of truck driver is the most frequently cited among Canadian men. These almost 10 million highly skilled and constantly tested drivers work on average 60 hours a week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, to contribute to a revenue stream approaching the trillions of dollars every year... With so many drivers on the road, in garages, and at fuel stations, one would think that carbon monoxide exposure would be a top priority. In fact it is exactly the opposite. A blown tire, dead battery, or faulty air line, while all still dangerous, vastly outweigh CO exposure as a top worry among drivers. This is not because truck drivers are uneducated, rather, it is due to a lack of awareness about what carbon monoxide is, how often exposure can happen, and how dangerous it can really be. This awareness should be provided by OSHA, the EPA, and our employers and employer organizations, but sometimes unfortunately it is not... Carbon monoxide is a problem that faces every one of the millions of truck drivers on the road all over the world. Through education, prevention, and a little good old common sense, you can steer clear of the dangers of carbon monoxide...

Labels: Truckers' Health

Successful Trucking * USA

Creatures of habit

USA -etrucker/Overdrive, by Todd Dills -March 2007: -- Any successful business is a product of successful practices. An examination of respondents to the 2007 Overdrive Owner-Operator Market Behavior Report — and especially those whose net income ranks in the top 25 percent — reveals highlights on the road to success... The typical high-earning owner-operator is a little more than 50 years old and has been in business as an owner-operator since he was 30. He makes more than $70,000 a year after expenses and is three times as likely to be leased as independent... As with any linkage of income and other factors, a given practice — say, computing cost per mile or performing oil analysis — might not produce several thousand dollars of extra income year after year. But those behaviors do save money, and often are indicative of a broader business-oriented mind-set that pays off in the long run... On the surface, the high-earning owner-operator isn’t much different from average and below-average earners. Look closer, though, and you’ll see a combination of characteristics that many owner-operators don’t have. The following seven practices, based on this year’s Behavior Report, should provide a few ideas to help boost your income...

* WORK FOR A PERCENTAGE OF GROSS: O.J. Luster of Macon, Ga., leased to Cross Country Express of Sparks, Nev., pulls a company reefer with his aerodynamic Kenworth T2000. He prefers getting paid a percentage of gross revenue because it allows him more control. “I have much more latitude as far as what I’m doing, where I’m going, and how much I make,” says the 15-year owner-operator...

* BUY YOUR OWN TRAILER: A little less than half of Behavior Report respondents own the primary trailer they pull. That same half makes at least $6,000 more yearly than owner-operators leasing trailers or pulling a carrier-provided trailer. “If you provide your own equipment, they’ll generally pay you a better rate,” Brady says...

* INVEST IN AN APU: Auxiliary power units drastically cut idling time, especially in applications that require a lot of waiting or that involve lots of overnight hauls in northern states. Increasingly, they’re proving themselves as fuel- and engine-savers. “The guys that are buying them are the leaders of the pack in terms of being willing to invest in new technologies,” says Amy Egerter, spokeswoman for gen-set manufacturer RigMaster Power, based in Toronto...

* MAINTAIN A SIZABLE SAVINGS FUND: Of all the financial practices that can help an owner-operator, one of the most critical is maintaining an emergency savings fund for major maintenance expenses. Less than half of owner-operators surveyed maintained such a fund, but they averaged nearly $9,000 more in income... This variance can be explained by different factors, Brady says. “You might naturally be a saver. It could be a personality thing”...

* DO REGULAR OIL ANALYSIS: Successful owner-operators stay on top of preventive maintenance to avoid downtime and get the most out of their equipment, whether they trade every three years or every 15 years... Regular oil analysis stands out as a practice of high earners in the 2006 Behavior Report...

* BUY NEW EQUIPMENT: A new truck isn’t right for every owner-operator. Those new to the business, with little or no equity to help reduce the truck loan and its monthly payment, and without the miles or volume to guarantee enough income to cover the high monthly payments, usually do better starting out with used equipment... According to the Behavior Report, those who do buy new typically make $7,000 more than those buying used and $12,000 more than those leasing...

* KEEP DETAILED RECORDS: Owner-operator Jerry Knight keeps track of cost per mile by charting his expenses in detail. “My wife does most of that,” he says. “It’s important.”... Tracking his costs and other operating information enables him to know exactly how his business works and helps him make sound decisions — for example, he says, his recent installation of a gen-set... These owner-operators have the information they need to separate best practices from stuff that just doesn’t work, thus boosting their take-home dollars in the end...

Labels: successful trucking

Congestion Pricing Plan * USA - ATA sees 'problems' with New York

USA -eTrucker, by Dean Smallwoo/Associated Press d -23 April 2007: -- The American Trucking Associations says it sees "problems" with a proposal to charge motorists for driving into Manhattan under a plan unveiled Sunday, April 22, to cope with New York City's booming population and ease environmental stress... ATA spokesman Clayton Boyce told that congestion pricing would have a negative impact. "It will be a real problem for operations for trucking companies and shippers, including all the retailers in Manhattan, which is substantial," Boyce told the AP. "And all the people who get FedEx and UPS deliveries will have problems and will bear extra expense, so we definitely see problems with it."...

Labels: taxes policy

JOBS * USA - Factory Losses Severe for U.S. Workers

3.2 Million Jobs Gone Since 2000 - Many people believe those jobs will never come back...

Washington,DC,USA -Associated Press -20 April 2007: -- Three weeks ago, Dawn Zimmer became a statistic when she was laid off from her job assembling trucks at Freightliner's plant in Portland, Oregon... She and 800 of her colleagues joined a long line of U.S. manufacturing workers who have lost jobs in recent years. A total of 3.2 million - one in six factory jobs - have disappeared since the start of 2000... "They are building a multimillion-dollar plant in Mexico and they are going to build the Freightliners down there. They came in and videotaped us at work so they could train the Mexican workers," said Zimmer, 55, who had worked at Freightliner since 1994... That is the issue for American workers. Many of their jobs are moving overseas, to Mexico and China and elsewhere...

Labels: jobs

Starting a Trucking Business * USA - Ten Things You Should Know About

Here are the ten most important things a person needs to learn about before starting a trucking company

Naples,FL,USA -PR Buzz (press release), by Christopher Anderson -21 April 2007: -- If you are considering becoming an owner/operator or starting a multi truck company here are the top ten things you should research before you begin.

All of these things can be found on the internet:
-1. Name and Entity Creation
-2. Equipment Type and Commodity
-3. Federal Authority
-4. Insurance and Bonding
-5. BOC-3 Filing
-6. Licensing the tractor and trailer
-7. IFTA License
-8. Federal Heavy Highway Use Tax
-9. Single State Registration
-10. Individual State Permits These are the top ten vital things a future driver should now about before starting.
By learning these ten items, a future driver begins his road to a successful trucking business.

* USA - Owner Operators - Trucking Jobs Opportunities
USA -Owner Operator Job -23 April 2007: -- For Truck Owner ... Find trucking owner operators jobs at the # 1 source for owner operator jobs. Independent contractors can find driving jobs with better trucking companies ... Tambien atienden en castellano...

* USA - WANTEDS: Truck Drivers, Driving, OTR, Freight
Olathe,KS,USA -transamtruck -23 April 2007: -- TransAm Trucking in Olathe Kansas is looking for drivers, OTR, Student... Drivers and recent Truck Driving School grads for jobs. Hiring truckdrivers ...
Example PAYMENTS:
* Our first year experienced drivers earn over $52,000 per year.
* Owner Operators gross an average of $138,000 per year.
* Our first year student drivers earn more than $46,000 per year...
... Too in spanish!!... Tambien atienden en castellano...

Labels: starting trucking

MARKET SALES * USA - '07 downturn to sink deeper than expected

New York,NY,USA -Today's Trucking (Canada) -20 April 2007: -- North American class 8 truck orders were 14,011 in March, down a whopping 73 percent from the height of the pre-buy during the same month last year... According to New York-based transportation equipment analysts Bear Stearns, the majority of the remaining orders continue to be for export markets, which accounted for roughly 50 percent of total net new orders in January and February of 2007... Meanwhile, class 5-7 orders were also down over 70 percent last month from the same period last year. However, arguably, medium-duty orders are a "purer" measure of economically-derived demand, given that there was a smaller pre-buy in the class, says Bear Stearns...

* USA -Survey says heavy truck sales expected to drop 43 percent this year
USA -Land Line Magazine/ just-auto.com (UK) -April 20, 2007: -- The U.S. automotive industry is not the only one watching heavy duty truck sales numbers. According to a recent survey by the British Web site just-auto.com, U.S. truck manufacturers estimates that this year’s sales of Class 8 trucks will dwindle 43 percent to 182,400 units... More stringent emissions standards required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency beginning Jan. 1, 2007, ushered in a rush of pre-buy orders ahead of the emissions deadline... In November 2006, DaimlerChrysler predicted that higher-priced, lower-polluting models would drive the sales market down in spring and summer 2007, with sales falling 39 percent from 2006...

Labels: trucks sales

Unsafe trucks * Canada - Caught by safety sweep

Surrey,British Columbia,Canada -The Leader, by Dan Ferguson -Apr 20, 2007: -- As the tractor-trailer pulled into the roadside safety inspection stop at the Highway 91 pullout, its leaky brake lines caught fire... The truck was spotted Tuesday by police helicopter Air One and intercepted by a ground patrol when it tried to avoid the safety inspection south of the Alex Fraser Bridge by taking a back road... The badly maintained rig was one of 73 commercial vehicles out of 153 that failed to pass a surprise inspection on day one of a three-day blitz by police and provincial ministry of transport inspectors in North and South Delta... Some of the safety violations uncovered were minor, like burned-out bulbs in brake lights. Others were far more serious, with some trucks having as many as four non-functioning brakes (on a six-axle unit)... (Picture: Commercial vehicle safety and enforcement officer Leo Belanger checks a truck on Highway 91 Wednesday afternoon as part of an integrated road check program)

Labels: controls

ONE MORE!!!.. Tax for trucks * USA - New York mayor mulls carbon for...

As if the parking, tolls, and idling hasn't already made Manhattan the most expensive city in North America for truckers to deliver to.

New York,NY,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN)/Associate Press -23 April 2007: -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability has unveiled a program to deal with the city's booming population, congestion, and infrastructure capacity reports... Cameras would capture trucks and cars in Manhattan and send owners a 'congestion' bill... The most controversial aspect of the plan includes a carbon tax or "congestion pricing," which would charge motorists and truckers for driving into congested Manhattan below 86th Street on weekdays during prime business hours... Trucks would be charged a hefty $21 a day, while and car drivers would pay $8 between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m...

Labels: taxes policy

Commercial Vehicles * USA - Bill would redefine they

Washington,DC,USA -eTrucker, by By Jill Dunn -23 April 2007: -- A U.S. House bill would change the federal definition of commercial motor vehicles to include only those that weigh more than 26,000 pounds... Federal motor carrier regulations give states discretion in deciding whether in-state vehicles under 26,001 pounds are considered commercial vehicles, but those crossing state lines are held to the federal standard of 10,001 pounds... The bill doesn’t change safety standards for vehicles of any weight that transport 16 or more passengers or hazardous materials...

Labels: commercial vehicles

AUTOMAKERS' NEWS

* USA - Employees consider Buying Chrysler
NY,USA -Land Line Magazin/Wall Street Journale -April 20, 2007: -- The United Auto Workers Union is reportedly considering a bid to buy 70-percent control of the ailing Chrysler division of automaker DaimlerChrysler... UAW workers don’t want a group of private investors to take over the company. The UAW thinks it might be able to finance the takeover through cuts in health care benefits and other concessions... Meanwhile, Chrysler – despite losing money and being on the auction block – says it will invest nearly $2 billion in building two new plants in Michigan and refurbishing several others...

Labels: automakers news

Biodiesel

* Canada - Big biofuel plant planned in
Innisfail,Alberta,Canada -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) -April 20, 2007: -- A small town in Alberta, Canada, will soon be home to what’s being called the “world’s largest” biofuel refinery... According to media reports, the 300-million-gallon-a-year plant will be built in Innisfail, which is located about 70 miles north of Calgary on Highway 2... The partners in the project – Riverstone Holdings, the Carlyle Group and Dominion Energy – plan to break ground next year. Once it’s up and running, the plant will produce both bio-diesel and ethanol, as well as crushed canola...

* USA - Conoco, Tyson to partner on biodiesel
NY,USA -Land Line Magazine/ The Wall Street Journal -April 20, 2007: -- Conoco-Phillips and Tyson Foods have announced plans to team up to make biodiesel fuel out of animal fat... Tyson produces about 300 million gallons of beef, pork and chicken fat each year. Once production of the animal fat diesel begins, the company plans to ship about 60 percent of its fat to a Conoco-Phillips plant for processing. The remaining 40 percent will be used in cosmetics, soap and pet food, as it is now... If the companies win EPA approval, they hope to be pumping out 175 million gallons of animal fat biodiesel a year...

Labels: biodiesel

DEBATE * USA - Mexico’s numbers still not confirmed from Roadcheck 2006

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine,by David Tanner -April 20, 2007: -- North America’s largest annual inspection blitz for commercial vehicles is scheduled for June 5, 6 and 7, but the big question is whether Mexico will participate this year – not to mention the question of what went on south of the border last year... The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual North American Roadcheck program involves about 10,000 state, provincial and federal officers, and is conducted at checkpoints and roadside stops throughout North America... Mexico reportedly participated last year, but CVSA’s statistics were solely based on inspections conducted in the U.S. and Canada... In Roadcheck 2006, CVSA inspectors in Canada and the U.S. conducted 60,357 truck and bus inspections in 72 hours, according to CVSA... Inspectors placed 5.6 percent of those drivers out of service, up from 4.4 percent in 2005. More than 57 percent of the cases where truckers were put out of service were because of hours-of-service violations, CVSA officials stated in a report...

* USA - Stop Mexican mystery trucks
Grants Pass,OR,USA -WorldNetDaily. by Henry Lamb: Executive VP Environmental Conservation Organization and Chairman of Sovereignty International... April 21, 2007: -- The parade of tractor-trailer trucks now heading toward the nation's capital hopes to bring D.C. traffic to a standstill April 23-24. The protest is against the recent announcement that Mexican trucks will be allowed to deliver goods directly from Mexican ports to customers anywhere in the United States... This protest is an eruption of frustration by Americans who are directly impacted by the erosion of a fundamental principle of American governance: the power of government is limited by the consent of the governed. The decision to allow Mexican trucks into the interior of the country has not been approved by Congress and therefore does not reflect the consent of the governed... Most Americans are still unaware of the evolving North American Union. The Mexican truck ruling is only one of the many ways the NAU is eroding national sovereignty and transforming America's system of government. But people are slowly learning about this disaster. There is a resolution now in Congress to halt the effort, and at least 12 state legislatures have launched resolutions calling on Congress to stop it... Citizen action is the only way the NAU can be stopped. Now is the time to help Congress see the light by making them feel the heat...

Labels: mexican's trucks

Judge's Affairs * USA - OOIDA, truckers to file appeal in Landstar case

FL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Coral Beach -April 20, 2007: -- Taking the fight against Landstar System to the next level, OOIDA will appeal a Florida federal judge’s ruling that truckers did not prove they were entitled to damages, even though they did prove that the motor carrier violated truth-in-leasing regulations... The appeal, to be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, will challenge orders filed in late March by U.S. District Court Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr., including his ruling that the truckers were not entitled to a court order to keep the Landstar companies from violating the regs in the future... OOIDA also wants class-action status restored to the case so that more than 27,000 owner-operators will be included as plaintiffs against Landstar and its operating companies Ranger, Ligon and Inway... Paul D. Cullen Sr., OOIDA’s trial counsel said, that the trial court is apparently of the belief that a motor carrier’s obligation ends if the amount of a chargeback is stated in its lease and a deduction of that same amount is reported in a settlement sheet... OOIDA officials are not satisfied with that view of the law and have vowed to continue the fight... “Under this interpretation,” Jim Johnston, OOIDA president and CEO said, “the regulations are completely useless in protecting drivers from improper chargebacks by motor carriers. This is certainly not what either Congress or the Interstate Commerce Commission intended when the regulations were adopted. I have every confidence that the Court of Appeals will correct these errors when OOIDA presents its appeal.”...

Labels: judge's affairs

DEBATE * USA - Effort to slow cross-border trucking moving forward

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -April 20, 2007: -- The first legislation to slow the Bush administration’s push to open the border to 100 Mexican motor carriers – with an unlimited number of trucks – could be one step away from hitting the president’s desk... The amendment would restrict spending any money on allowing Mexican motor carriers to operate beyond the border zone until three conditions are met. Those conditions are:
* Granting such authority must first be tested as part of a pilot program;
* The pilot program must comply with the requirements of Section 350 of the 2002 appropriations legislation and the requirements of Section 31315(c) of Title 49, United States Code, related to the pilot programs; and
* Simultaneous and comparable authority to operate within Mexico is made available to motor carriers domiciled in the United States...

Labels: mexican's trucks

But if you wish to take a look to an ancient truck

... Coming from the deep XX's century:... 'TRUCK X'... (Archive: Biglorryblog, who has deliberately blanked out the vehicle name)

Labels: trucks of yesteryear

Monsters Trucks of yesteryear .... It's always a treat to admire they !!!

Montreal,Canada -Expo Cam 2007/auto123 (Laval,Quebec,Canada) -19 April 2007: -- Present in Montreal was a 1948 International KB8-8, one of the last long-nose trucks in the post-WWII era. On top of the traditional red-and-black attire, this one sported the logo of its owner, Transport Robert, from Rougemont. What a contrast with the new brand ones. (PN: See below)

Labels: trucks of yesteryear

New Fees * USA - Could Help Clean Up Ports

Right now, there are no fees charged to the 32,000 trucks a day moving through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles

Long Beach,CA,USA -Gazette Newspapers, by Kurt Helin -20 April 2007: -- ... or the cargo they carry... where the money could be used to improve port infrastructure or clean up the environment... But that could change dramatically in the next few years under proposals backed by the port’s Board of Harbor Commissioners... First, on Monday the commissioners voted to support a container fee bill working its way through the legislature in Sacramento... James Hankla, chairman of the Board of Harbor Commissioners, said of supporting the bill. “Why should we in Southern California subsidize the cost of goods movement for people in the midwest?”... The second fee would be part of a sweeping plan to replace the dirty, older trucks in the port with newer, cleaner running trucks... The problem was finding the estimated $1.8 billion to do it...

Labels: fees

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

* China - Auto Shanghai 2007 - DaimlerChrysler Shows Broad Portfolio at
Shanghai,China -Engineering News (press release -Garden View,Eastern Cape,South Africa) -Apr 20, 2007: -- DaimlerChrysler will show almost 50 vehicles this year at Auto Shanghai, including vehicles from Mercedes Car Group, Chrysler Group and Truck Group, in addition to its history as a safety pioneer, roadmap to sustainable mobility and new vehicle financing products in China... DaimlerChrysler’s Truck Group will show four heavy-duty trucks in its outdoor display. Three versions of the Mercedes-Benz Actros will be shown, the Actros Tractor, Actros Wrecker and Actros Pump. These trucks, which are renowned for their reliability, safety, quality and technical innovations, show various adaptations which serve the fast-growing construction, logistics and concrete industries in China... Mercedes-Benz will also show its Axor Heavy Duty Tractor (See photo) , a more economical solution for construction and utility usage... Mercedes-Benz Trucks are the leaders in their segments in China (Imported vehicles from Western Europe), with 44% market share...

* India - M&M unveils SUVs, trucks to be sold in US
Atlanta,GA,USA -Press Trust of India/Business Standard (Mumbai,India) -April 20, 2007: -- Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has unveiled a line of sport utility vehicles and trucks that it plans to start selling in the United States in 2009... The roughly 50,000 vehicles M&M is expected to manufacture in India and sell in the United States the first year will enter a crowded market. But Mahindra and its US importer, Global Vehicles USA Inc of Alpharetta, Georgia, say the vehicles will be set apart by their sleek design, affordability and fuel efficiency...

Labels: truckmakers news

TRUCKING NEWS * USA

* PA - Yellow trucking to keep jobs here
East Pete firm scraps plan to move 126 positions to other sites

Lancaster County,Pa,USA -Lancaster New Era, by CHAD UMBLE -Apr 20, 2007: -- Yellow Transportation has dropped its plans to eliminate 126 jobs at its East Petersburg terminal, the trucking company told employees Thursday... The plan, originally presented in November, would have moved local employees to Yellow terminals in Hagerstown, Md., Philadelphia or Baltimore... The company didn't give a reason for their change of plans, although Rhinier speculated that the transfers were scuttled because of union contingencies that would have required some workers to still be paid if they weren't given certain assignments...

* GA - Judge sentences woman to nearly 3 years in prison for bank fraud
Macon,Ga,USA -WIS (Columbia,SC) -20 April 2007: -- A judge has sentenced a Perry woman to nearly three years in prison after she entered a guilty plea to one count each of bank fraud and money laundering... Shirley Lord Patel was accused of defrauding Betty Lord Trucking Incorporated and the Bank of Perry...

Labels: trucking news

TRUCKING INDUSTRY COMMENTS * USA

* Trucking fortunes take high, low roads - Trucking is one of the first industries to suffer when the economy lags and one of the first to recover

Phoenix,AZ,USA -The Arizona Republic, by Stephanie Paterik -Apr. 20, 2007: -- Two Phoenix-based trucking giants released vastly different earnings statements this week, with Knight Transportation Inc. announcing a 5 percent uptick in first-quarter profits and Swift Transportation Co. reporting that its profits plummeted 74 percent. Most American trucking companies can sympathize with Swift, which said it took a hit from higher fuel costs, bad weather and waning demand...

* Trucking industry hitting slower gear
Chicago,IL,USA -- Medill News Service/The Chicago Daily Herald, by Jackie Keenan -April 20, 2007: -- The 2006 trucking industry boom is stepping on the brakes in 2007, according to a report by New York-based Fitch Ratings Ltd. But even though truck shipments will be fewer this year, the sector’s labor market is enduring a dangerous driver shortage that causes many companies and industry leaders to worry about the future... George Billows of the Illinois Trucking Association said even though growth is slowing, the shift to a global economy will become stronger. He said “75 percent of the imports and exports in this country go by truck, and as we import more, you need truck drivers to deliver that.”... Illinois estimates 85,000 drivers will be needed here by 2014, a 14-percent increase from 2004, and the expected supply falls far short...

Labels: trucking comments

TRUCKING CONTRACTS * Canada - Complete contracts are the keys to successful relationships between fleets and owner/operators

Get in writing

Toronto,ON,Canada -Truck News -20 April 207: -- As clichéd as the phrase may be, a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper on which it’s written. When it comes to business relationships between fleets and owner/operators, written contracts should be as detailed as possible to avoid misunderstandings that can lead to disagreements and costly legal challenges... One of the first steps is to ensure that such contracts reference a term... Obviously, a contract will need to outline details about how payments will be remitted... A fuel surcharge may kick in if fuel prices suddenly rise, but at what point will they be paid? Who is responsible for “deadhead” miles without loads, or fees such as permits, tolls, and base plates?... So, too, should the document include requirements relating to an owner/operator’s equipment...

Labels: trucking contracts

ExpoCam 2007 * Canada - New heavyweight and middleweight trucks

Montreal,Canada -Auto123.com, by Amyot Bachand -April 19, 2007: -- Recently, Place Bonaventure hosted ExpoCam 2007, Canada's national truck show. There were many new heavyweight and middleweight trucks on hand...

Middleweights

Navistar: The new International MXT-MV is capable of reaching 160 km/h...

Hino: This Japanese manufacturer launched its all-new 358 model, a Class 7 truck with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 33,000 pounds...

General Motors: GM proudly showcased its new commercial middleweight trucks from the GMC W4500 series...

Sterling: Sterling ... they created the MTB. Have a look at its super-size truck styling...

Heavyweights

International: It's always a treat to admire these monsters of yesteryear... the brand new International Prostar, the latest and most advanced model in Navistar's lineup...

Peterbilt: The 389, which features a more rounded front fascia, a more massive grille as well as styled headlights. Meanwhile, the engine is 160 % more powerful than the old one...

Volvo: The Swedish manufacturer showcased its new 2008 VT880 truck -- further proof that Volvo is a pioneer in terms of safety and comfort...

Western Star: How impressive is the 4900EX 132BBC! Now built in the U.S, this truck displays flamboyant colors!

Labels: events

BORDER NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Belarus - Latvia is interested in increasing number of permits for cargo transportation across

Minsk,Belarus -National Legal Internet Portal -19 April 2007: -- Latvia says it would like to see an increase in the number of permits for cargo transportation across Belarus. This was announced in the course of a visit of a Belarusian delegation to Riga. The delegation consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Belarusian Association of International Road Hauliers and the State Customs Committee of Belarus, a source at the Belarusian embassy to Latvia told... “Taking into account the principle of parity, which exists in this sphere, our country is planning to increase the fleet of trucks by 1,000 by 2007, which is more than twice as more as we had in 2006. It will help us partially meet the interest of the Latvian partners,” the source said.

Labels: border news

Regulations * USA - County cranks up cargo container ones

San Diego,CAL,USA -North County Times (Escondido,CAL) -19 April 2007: -- Hoping to end rural communities' squabbles over the use of huge, sea-going cargo containers on private property, county supervisors adopted rules Wednesday banning them from "historic districts," limiting their numbers in residential areas, and ordering that they must be "invisible" from roadways... County supervisors directed county planners two years ago to review and update their cargo container regulations...

Labels: trucks ban

Free seminar * USA - Targets owner-operators

USA - eTrucker -19 April 2007: -- The Partners in Business Seminar at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas will offer two hours of in-depth information on how to profitably run an owner-operator business... The seminar will be 2-4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24. Participants will receive a free copy of the new 2007 Partners in Business manual... The Partners in Business Seminar is brought to you by your partners at Overdrive magazine, ATBS, Freightliner Trucks and Castrol...

Labels: seminars

CONTROLS * USA - New e-manifest mandates for Mexican border

USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -April 19, 2007: -- Trucks entering the United States from Mexico though all land border ports in California, New Mexico and Texas must transmit cargo information electronically through U.S. Customs and Border Protection... The agency will practice soft enforcement the first 60 days, with compliance notices to carriers that arrive without submitting or attempting to submit an e-manifest beforehand. During this time, agents will use limited enforcement discretion... After the first 60 days, carriers that don’t file electronically can be refused entrance into the United States or receive penalties of up to $10,000 for violation of the Trade Act of 2002...

Labels: controls

Corridor for trucking * Canada/USA ... A capital idea

Belleville,Ontario,Canada -Belleville Intelligencer -April 19, 2007: -- The formal designation of existing highways into a new transportation corridor linking Ottawa and Washington could someday make Belleville an even better place to do business, says the small business committee chairman for the Belleville and District Chamber of Commerce... Michael Harris told chamber members that the proposed Capital Corridor linking both nations’ capitals would benefit Quinte-area transportation companies by getting their goods across the border more cost effectively and in a timely fashion...

Labels: infrastructures

Life-Saving * USA - Highway Safety Leaders Deliver Measures for Charlotte Drivers

Charlotte,NC,USA -PRNewswire/USNewswire -19 April 2007: -- Life-saving highway driving tips were presented today as part of the American Trucking Associations' national Share the Road highway safety tour by top professional truck drivers and other safety partners... Today's presentation of Share the Road safety measures is important to area motorists because, according to national statistics: -- Around three quarters of all truck-involved fatalities are unintentionally initiated by car drivers (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). -- 35% of all truck-involved highway fatalities occur in a truck's blind spots (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). -- Watching this demonstration will help reduce accidents and save lives...

Labels: safety

BILLS * USA

* Nevada bill would add weight-distance tax for trucks
NE,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 18 , 2007: -- A bill moving through the Nevada Assembly calls for truckers to chip in more to help pay for $3.8 billion in road work in the state... The Assembly Transportation Committee approved the bill, which would add a weight-distance tax of 15 cents per mile for many large trucks. The tax would affect trucks weighing more than 55,000 pounds, including local garbage trucks and cement haulers...

* Pennsylvania bill would allow leasing of toll roads
PEN,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 19 , 2007: -- Gov. Ed Rendell would really like to see state lawmakers approve legislation soon to authorize public-private partnerships in Pennsylvania... The governor wants to auction off the Pennsylvania Turnpike to help raise money for transportation projects throughout the state. To do that, the legislature must send a bill to the governor’s suite authorizing such deals... Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona, has offered a bill that would grant the governor’s wish. The measure in the House Transportation Committee would allow the state to enter into agreements with private business to lease toll roads and bridges...

* Texas Senate committee considers bills to curb private tolling
TX,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 19 , 2007: -- Since the Texas Legislature opened early this year dozens of bills have been offered to curb the state’s tollway powers. A handful of bills that are moving forward include a provision to place a two-year moratorium on private toll roads... The Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee took up a pair of bills Wednesday, April 18, that are intended to buy the state more time to review the effects of handing over roadways, such as the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, to private business...

* Road safety bills advance in Delaware
DEL,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 19 , 2007: -- To improve safety on roadways in Delaware, one bill would prohibit drivers in the state from talking on hand-held devices while driving. Another bill would toughen the state’s open container law... The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved a bill that would prohibit drivers from using hand-held cell phones while behind the wheel. Talking on a phone equipped with a “hands-free” accessory would still be permitted... Another bill approved by the House panel also is intended to make the state’s roadways safer... The bill would ban consumption and possession of open containers of alcohol in vehicles traveling highways in the state. Exceptions are included for passengers in RVs, fifth-wheel trailers, buses, limousines and taxis...

Labels: trucking bills

DEBATE * USA - Mexico’s numbers still not confirmed from Roadcheck 2006

USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by David Tanner -19 April 2007: -- North America’s largest annual inspection blitz for commercial vehicles is scheduled for June 5, 6 and 7, but the big question is whether Mexico will participate this year – not to mention the question of what went on south of the border last year... The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual North American Roadcheck program involves about 10,000 state, provincial and federal officers, and is conducted at checkpoints and roadside stops throughout North America... Mexico reportedly participated last year, but CVSA’s statistics were solely based on inspections conducted in the U.S. and Canada... In Roadcheck 2006, CVSA inspectors in Canada and the U.S. conducted 60,357 truck and bus inspections in 72 hours, according to CVSA... Inspectors placed 5.6 percent of those drivers out of service, up from 4.4 percent in 2005. More than 57 percent of the cases where truckers were put out of service were because of hours-of-service violations, CVSA officials stated in a report...

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Volvo Investing in a New Production Facility for Trucks In Russia
Stockholm,Sweden -BUSINESS WIRE -April 19, 2007: -- The Volvo Group is investing a total of SEK (Swedish$Crowns) 935 M in an assembly facility for trucks in Russia. The investment is being made to meet increasing demand on the fast-growing markets in Russia and the former countries in the Soviet Union. The new facility will have a capacity of 10,000 Volvo trucks and 5,000 Renault trucks per year... The facility will be located in the city of Kaluga, approximately 200 kilometers southwest of Moscow. A final agreement with the authorities in Kaluga is expected to be signed in the near future and the new facility is scheduled to be completed in 2009...

Labels: truckmakers news

Safety Violations * USA - 17% of drivers, 11% of trucks pulled off highway for

Bend,OR,USA -Bend Weekly News Sources -Apr 18,2007: -- According to preliminary statistics, 505 inspections resulted in 54 vehicles and 85 drivers placed out-of-service for equipment and driver-related safety violations during last week's three-day interagency commercial vehicle inspection at the Interstate 5 southbound Woodburn Port of Entry. This inspection and enforcement effort was the 12th truck check operation since the program began in 1998 targeting impairment and vehicle safety... (OSP photo: 11% of 505 commercial vehicles, and 17% of the truck drivers were placed out-of-service for equipment or driver safety violations during a three-day inspection period)

Labels: safety violations

TRUCKS' SALES

* France - La Poste to order 10,000 electric delivery vans
France -Automotive World (UK)/ Agence France Presse -19 April, 2007: -- The French state-owned mail group La Poste plans to order 10,000 electric delivery vehicles over the next five years as part of its plan to promote electric cars in the country, reports... According to the report, the government will...

* Russia - Rosoboronexport increases exports of trucks to Uruguay
Rio de Janeiro,Brazil -Itar-Tass -April 18, 2007: -- Russia's Rosoboronexport has increased exports of cross-country vehicles to Uruguay. In recent months, apart from traditional imports, including Ural, UAZ and Gaz trucks, the Uruguayan Defense Ministry has received 48 multi-purpose "Vodnik" trucks of Gaz series built by the Arzamas Machine Building Plant, Rosoboronexport's authorized representative in Uruguay Alexander Denisov told ARMS-Tass at the 6th Latin-American Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (LAAD)...

* Russia - Rusbiznesavto Group acquires 1,000 Chinese buses
Moscow,Russia -Automotive World (UK), by Zoran Samardzic -17 April, 2007: -- Rusbiznesavto Group, one of the leading distributors of commercial vehicles, power units and vehicle parts in the Russian Federation, has agreed to purchase 1,000 buses from Higer of China. The deal was secured during the Chinese National Exposition ...

Labels: trucks sales

TRUCKS NEWS * Germany - MAN TGX and TGS trucks to offer improved aerodynamics

Germany -Automotive World -18 April, 2007: -- The MAN TGX and TGS trucks, which will be launched at the international commercial vehicle show in Amsterdam in October, will offer improved aerodynamics, the company has announced... MAN says that in comparison to the current TGA model, the newly designed...

Labels: trucks news

CONTROLS * USA - Truckers Crossing Border Must Send Data

Truckers crossing the Mexico-U.S. border into California, New Mexico and Texas will be required to send electronically information about their cargo to customs officials effective Thursday

Washington,DC,USA -Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX) -18 April 2007: -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said Wednesday truckers will be required to submit cargo information through the agency's electronic truck manifest system... Those electronic manifests were already required, effective in January, for Arizona, six Canadian border crossings in North Dakota and all of Washington state, according to the customs agency... The electronic records are designed to give customs officers the ability to perform early screening on trucks and provide more time to inspect suspicious cargo...

Labels: controls

Fuel troubles * Canada - Alberta-made diesel poses problem for some trucks

Detroit,Mich,USA -CanWest News Service (Canada), by Chris Vander Doelen -April 17, 2007: -- Scientists hope the coming flood of diesel-powered vehicles to North American car dealerships sheds further light on a little-known problem with fuel made from the Canadian oilsands... Diesel fuel made from 100 per cent oilsands petroleum has been causing injector malfunctions and other problems in some diesel truck engines in Alberta, an international conference of engineers heard Monday. The problems disappear when the pure Alberta fuel is mixed with diesel from anywhere else in the world... The problems are believed to be linked to the molecular structure of fuels derived from the oilsands, and the process used to extract it...

Labels: fuel troubles

DEBATE * USA - Join National Truck Out Boycott

Beverly Hills,CA,USA -American Chronicle, by Bill Haymin -April 19, 2007: -- Another invasion from South of the border is about to flood this country that will turn into national tragedy and a mess that Americans won't be able to comprehend, much less cope with: Mexican trucks by the thousands coming across the border and allowed to exceed the 25 mile entrance limit for off loading. Here's the raw truth: ... "This disastrous plan will allow Mexican trucks and truckers to cross our border with no weight or load accountability restrictions enforced, as their loads will not be under the same security scrutiny that our truckers' loads have to comply to. There are not nearly enough qualified U.S. DOT inspectors to do the job of inspecting the Mexican trucks and drivers. As quoted by Norita Taylor of OOIDA..."

Labels: mexican's trucks

OPINION * USA - Can drivers cede control for safety?

NHTSA head says it'll be a tough sell

Detroit,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Richard Truett -April 19, 2007: -- The next generation of safety equipment will require the driver to give up some control of the car. But innovations such as lane departure warning systems and adaptive cruise control won't be accepted by consumers unless the government and automakers convince drivers to trust the electronics to prevent a crash, Nicole Nason, director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Wednesday during a speech at the 2007 SAE World Congress... "Crash-worthiness was the low-hanging fruit. It was easy to convince people to make crash-worthiness part of their purchasing decision. People responded to the message that they needed to be protected from someone else," Nason said. "But the next generation of safety technology could provoke a different response," she added...

Labels: opinion

TECHNO NEWS * USA - Sensor supplier shows safe seats at SAE

Detroit,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Natasha Robinson -April 19, 2007: -- Automotive sensor supplier Sensata Technologies Inc. on Wednesday displayed features aimed at improving seat belt alert systems... The technology, called a piezo electric sensor wire, is beneath a seat cushion. It detects the difference between a human and a weighted object, thus keeping an alarm from ringing because of objects in the seat. It also determines the amount of force an airbag needs when deployed and tightens a seat belt during a crash... An example of the technology was featured at the 2007 SAE World Congress here... The product, which has been in production for about two years, is used in some Honda, Chrysler and Hyundai vehicles...

Labels: technonews

MARKETS * China - Chinese carmakers follow Mao strategy on big markets

Shanghai,China -Reuters -April 19, 2007: -- Mao Zedong won China's civil war in the late 1940s by capturing the surrounding countryside before attacking the big cities. Now, the country's ambitious, yet still cautious, carmakers are adopting a similar tactic... After shipping locally made cars for years to emerging markets, where the focus was on low-cost rather than quality, China's home-grown manufacturers such as privately-owned Geely Automobile Holdings and state-run Brilliance China, have set their sights on fiercely competitive, but potentially lucrative markets in Europe and the United States...

Labels: markets

COMMENTS * USA - Housing unknown factor for US truckers

Con-way Chief Executive Officer Doug Stotlar told

Chicago,Ill.USA -Reuters, by Nick Carey -Apr 17, 2007: -- The ongoing weakness of the U.S. housing sector is the chief unknown factor for predicting recovery in the trucking sector, the top executive at truck company Con-way Inc., said on Tuesday... "The biggest question right now is when is housing going to recover?" Chief Executive Officer Doug Stotlar told Reuters in a telephone interview... The U.S. trucking sector has been suffering a downturn since the third quarter of 2006, with most weakness coming from housing and some from the woes of the U.S. domestic car makers in Detroit...

* USA - Housing market, truck demand in Caterpillar sights
New York,NY,USA -MarketWatch (Los Angeles,CAL), by Padraic Cassidy -Apr 18, 2007: -- A marked downturn in the North American heavy-duty truck market and slowing demand for construction equipment are some of the largest parts of Caterpillar Inc.'s business, and both trends will be eyed closely when the company posts quarterly results on Friday morning... Sales at the Peoria, Ill.-based equipment manufacturer are expected to rise about 5% in the first quarter, to about $9.16 billion from $8.74 billion in the first quarter of 2006, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial... Bear Stearns recently cut its earnings forecast for Caterpillar to 99 cents a share from $1.03, based on lower sales in the North American construction market, cuts in equipment-dealer inventory and lower truck engine sales...

Labels: comments

* Canada - Canuck wins truckmaker's technician rodeo

Vernon,B.C.,CAN -Today's Trucking -18 April 2007: -- Abe Wall of IRL Truck Centre in Vernon, B.C. was named the winner of the first-ever "International Truck and Engine Technician Rodeo," hosted by International Truck & Engine... The rodeo, held last week at International's Melrose Park Engine Plant, in Melrose Park, Ill., featured the top eight service technicians from International dealerships across North America in a competition designed to test their skills in eight key areas of servicing a commercial truck...

Labels: technician rodeo

Drivers vs. Fat * Canada - Celadon workers enjoying company wellness project

Celadon truckers are taking off the pounds almost as fast as they're hauling them...

Indianapolis,Ind,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -18 April 2007: -- The Indianapolis-based truckload company carrier announced that 73 employees have lost nearly 1,000 pounds by participating in a weight loss program tied to the company's Highway 2 Health wellness initiative... After completing a 12-week onsite Weight Watchers course, 54 employees at Celadon's headquarters have lost 704 pounds, while 19 employees at its Kitchener, Ont. division -- in the tenth week of their program -- have lost 257 pounds... Celadon implemented its Highway 2 Health program in August as an effort to lower its health care costs while creating a healthier workforce. The carrier offered a financial incentive to encourage participation...

Labels: drivers' helth

TRUCK MARKETS * Canada - Isuzu establishes Canadian arm

Isuzu will sell both gas and diesel low cab forward trucks in Canada

Toronto,Ont,CAN -Today's Trucking -April 17, 2007: -- Starting this June, Isuzu's line of class 3-5 low cab forward medium duty trucks will be widely available across Canada, after the truckmaker announced today it has established a Canadian distributor of its operations, Isuzu Commercial Truck of Canada Inc.... The new Toronto-based company, ICTC, will import and sell Isuzu commercial vehicles and provide parts and service support -- strengthening its overall sales and service network in North America, says Isuzu...

Labels: trucks markets

Transportation Deal * USA - Approved in Virginia

VI,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 17, 2007: -- The Virginia General Assembly signed off on a transportation fix with which some hope voters will be satisfied. Despite the accomplishment that has been a couple of years in the making, even supporters of the plan say it’s inadequate... Of particular interest to truckers, the legislation includes provisions to boost penalties for overweight trucks and heavy truck registration fees. It also increases the state’s 16-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel to 17.5 cents... Other elements of the plan rely on higher fines for the state’s worst drivers, tolls, tax and fee increases, surplus money and possible regional taxing authorities for Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia...

Labels: laws USA

BILLS * USA

* Illinois legislators discuss several trucking bills
Ill,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 17, 2007: -- A bill awaiting consideration on the floor of the Illinois House would allow some large trucks access to local roads in the state. Sponsored by Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, the truck-access bill would change restrictions on how far trucks may travel off main routes to deliver their loads, fuel up or get rest... The bill – HB918 – would allow those truckers to travel off any highway – not just those designated by the state – for whatever distance is necessary to load, unload, get a meal, fuel or repair their vehicles, or obtain needed rest. The only requirement would be that the trucker take the “shortest practical” route to his or her destination... Another bill would repeal a $400 fee targeting Illinois-based truckers. Sponsored by Rep. Careen Gordon, D-Coal City, the measure would eliminate the annual commercial distribution fee charged on each truck... Uproar from the trucking industry led to the law being amended the following year to gradually reduce the surcharge amount... A bill nearing passage in the Senate is intended to lower diesel emissions in the state. Sponsored by Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, the bill would put impose a 2.5 percent surcharge on the sale or lease of trucks that don’t have 2007 engines. The measure – SB268 – also would set up a program to register all diesel-powered vehicles – on-road and off-road... Another emissions bill is moving along much slower. Sponsored by Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Des Plaines, the bill would require all 1993-1998 model trucks in excess of the 16,000 gross vehicle weight rating to have federally mandated computer hardware and/or software installed to control nitrogen oxide emissions...

* Washington bill targets unsafe intrastate truckers
WASH,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 16, 2007: -- Unsafe trucking companies are the subject of a bill headed to Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire’s desk... The Senate approve a bill – HB1304 – that would make it easier to shut down trucking operations in the state with faulty trucks and people who drive them recklessly... Sponsored by Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, the bill would authorize the Washington State Patrol more authority to monitor, inspect and penalize intrastate carriers...

Labels: trucking bills

Another HERO * USA - Trucker pulls unconscious motorist from wreckage

Police in a Cleveland suburb say a trucker pulled another driver out of his four-wheeler last weekend before the man’s wrecked pickup burst into flames

Cleveland,OH,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -April 17, 2007: -- According to Lt. Chris Viland, the pickup driver lost control and ran into a Carquest automotive parts store and was knocked unconscious at about 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 14 in Solon, OH... John Krupka, 50, has driven a parts delivery truck for Carquest for four years, and was parked at the Solon Carquest – just one of his daily nine stops at stores in the area – when he witnessed the accident... “By the time I got to him the fire was up on the dashboard of his truck,” Krupka said. “The only thing I could think of was he was in trouble and to help him out.”... He reached into the truck and tried pulling the man out the door, but the large man was difficult to move. As Krupka got his head near the window, the man woke up enough to help Krupka move him from the fire, which by then had started devouring the pickup and was overtaking the parts store... Krupka said he continues to receive congratulatory handshakes from supervisors at work and his kids keep giving him a hard time about being a hero... “I wish someone would do something like that for me if something ever happened to me and my family,” he said...

Labels: driver hero

Speeds: Car vs. Trucks * USA - Oregon bill would widen gap between

OR,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble -April 17 , 2007: -- An effort in the Oregon House would widen the speed gap between four-wheelers and big trucks to 15 mph on the state’s rural interstate highways... Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, has offered a bill that would increase the speed limit for passenger vehicles from 65 mph to 70 mph along rural stretches of interstates. Truck traffic would continue to be restricted to the current 55 mph speed limit... Oregon is the only state west of the Mississippi River with speed limits for cars below 70 mph. California is the only other state with truck speeds at 55 mph. Idaho, Montana and Texas limit trucks to 65 mph, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety...

Labels: trucks speeds

FUTURE * USA - High-tech hotbed

Biggest buzz surrounds Toyota's single-person car

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Eric Morath -17 April 2007: -- From a vehicle that drivers can wear to lasers that make a dark road visible without illuminating it, a glimpse into the future of automotive technology is on display this week at the 2007 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress at Cobo Center... Automakers and suppliers from around the world who converged Monday for the annual conference of the Society of Automotive Engineers showed off gizmos that seem out-of-this-world today, but could become as common as power windows or anti-lock brakes tomorrow... (Laser Photo (left) by Daniel Mears / The Detroit News - Pursuit Vision's laser night vision makes objects visible by projecting a laser light and recording reflections from that light - Old Truck photo (right): Volvo's first truck 80 years ago -Volvo's file)

* USA - Future of diesel engines looks brighter - But oil industry official cautions about high price to convert refineries away from gasoline production
Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -17 April 2007: -- Government and auto industry officials expressed optimism Monday about the future of diesel-powered passenger cars and light-trucks, even as an oil industry official raised concerns about the costs of increasing diesel fuel use... Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy expressed strong support for boosting diesel use during a panel discussion Monday at the Society of Automotive Engineers 2007 World Congress. The panel was titled "Is Light Duty Diesel Ready for Prime Time?"...

* USA - The buzz at SAE: Fix fuel economy
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News -16 April 2007: -- The race to develop breakthrough technologies to dramatically reduce gasoline consumption will be front and center as 35,000 automotive engineers gather in Detroit this week...

Labels: trucks future

* Australia - Trucking industry hits out possible higher rego costs

Australia -ABC Online -16 April 2007: -- The trucking sector believes higher registration costs are imminent after the release of a Productivity Commission report into transport reform... The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) officially backed the Road and Rail Freight Pricing Report on Friday... It suggests the need for higher charges for both heavy vehicles and rail, and calls for an overhaul of roads funding... But Livestock and Bulk Carriers Association spokesman Andrew Higginson says it is a waste of time to extract more money from carriers to spend on roads that are not major freight routes...

Labels: trucking policies

AWARDS * Australia - Top drivers and industry representatives recognised

Spring Hill,Queensland,Australia -The Queensland Business Review -16 April 2007: -- Some of Australia’s top truck drivers and industry representatives were awarded for their commitment to the trucking industry at a moving close to the Australian Trucking Convention in Cairns on Saturday night...

* National Professional Driver of the Year: Des Docherty from Eventrans in Brisbane was named the 2007 National Professional Driver of the Year...

* National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year: Melissa Strong from Roadmaster was named the industry’s Woman of the Year....

* National Award for Outstanding Contribution: Tony Conlon of the Queensland Trucking Association received the National Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry...

Labels: awards

* Canada - Manitoba Public Insurance to invest Cdn$5 million in truck driver training

Manitoba,CAN -Canadian Underwriting -17 April 2007: -- Manitoba Public Insurance [MPI] intends to invest Cdn$5 million over the next three years in a training partnership aimed at Manitoba’s commercial trucking business... “Over the next three years, annual injections of Cdn$1.65 million will help up to 750 Manitobans become Class 1 drivers – a skill in serious demand as the trucking industry deals with higher standards and impending retirements,” MPI announced in a press release... The training initiative is intended to offset the tuition costs for training up to 250 professional drivers annually to National Occupational Standards...

Labels: drivers shortage

* Sweden - Volvo's new improved heavy truck mirrors

I Can See Clearly Now...!!!

Stockholm,Sweden -Biglorryblog (UK) -16 April 2007: -- ... says ‘goodonya’ to Volvo for coming up with better rear-view mirrors (left) for its heavy truck models... from the second week in June, Volvo Trucks says it'll be introducing the new rear-view mirrors on all its Volvo FM, FH and FH16 models and “Thanks to the new mirrors, visibility is improved both to the rear and offset front”... (Picture: Biglorryblog)

Labels: mirrors

* USA - Idaho to open more roads to heavy trucks

ID,USA -eTrucker -16 Aug 2007: -- Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter recently signed a bill into law that opens more roads in the state to heavier trucks as of July 1... Idaho's weight limit is 105,000 pounds, but under a pilot program begun in 2003, multiple-trailer trucks with overweight permits can weigh up to 129,000 pounds on specified highways... The new law expands those roads from 850 total miles to 1,200 total miles...

Labels: trucking policys

DEBATE * Bahrain - Trucks clamp is opposed

Manama,Bahrain -The Gulf Daily News, by Soman Baby -17 April 2007: -- A Government move to ban companies transporting workers in open trucks has been delayed due to an objection from the business community... New rules governing workers' transportation have been drawn up by the Labour Ministry and the Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Traffic... Trucks should be used only to transport materials and not human beings, said Labour Ministry labour relations director Shaikh Ali bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa... However, the business community in Bahrain says it is not practical to transport all workers by buses to their workplaces and back... Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) board member and contractors' committee chairman Samir Nass, said transporting construction workers on air-conditioned buses would also adversely affect their health... Three workers were killed and 21 injured in a two-truck crash in Bahrain in October last year... In a similar incident in September last year, 28 construction workers were injured when they were hurled from the back of an open truck...

Labels: security

* Canada - OTA credits smooth operation of CBSA security policy to association's education campaign

Toronto,Ont,CAN -Trucks News, by Adam Ledlow -16 April 2007: -- The Ontario Trucking Ass. is taking partial credit for the successful implementation of the new Canada Border Services Agency security enhancement policy because it has been educating its members on ways to eliminate border delays due to failed PARS (Pre-Arrival Review System) transactions... The policy, which can into effect Apr. 1, mandates carriers to use line release customs clearance at the border. Following the CBSA announcement indicating that failed PARS shipments would be returned to the US, the OTA board developed a position regarding CBSA enforcement of the policy and a communication strategy targeting shippers who utilize underperforming custom brokers. The OTA says that while the trucking industry can partially share in the blame for this problem, experience has shown that PARS failures are also often the result of customs brokers not filing entries in a timely manner...

Labels: border news

* USA - Trucking industry says ‘We’ll pay more tax’

In a surprising move, the US trucking industry has actually said it would welcome higher fuel taxes.

USA -Truck News (Canada), by James Menzies -16 April 2007: -- The caveat being, the money would have to be set aside for infrastructure funding. And we’re not talking bicycle paths here, which sadly has been where some of the current fuel tax revenue generated in the US has been directed... American Trucking Associations president Bill Graves recently told the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, that the industry prefers fuel taxes as a source of funding for the nation’s highways. It opposes slapping tolls on existing highways... It’s an interesting view, and one that certainly won’t be shared by many motor carriers. Canadian carriers operating in the US will also have to pay if they fuel up south of the border. But those companies will also benefit if roads are kept in better condition and congestion is alleviated...

Labels: taxes policy

'Rodeo BUS' * USA - Puts bus drivers to the test

There may not be any animals involved, but Charlotte Area Transit System bus drivers competed to be crowned best of the best Saturday in a "bus rodeo."...

Charlotte,NC,USA -News 14 Charlotte -14 April 2007: -- Sixty operators and special transportation service personnel put their driving and safety skills to the test... CATS officials said it's a great way for the drivers to demonstrate their skills behind the wheel... "Safety is the number-one priority, and we look at that and then we're also testing their skills," said CATS General Manager of Safety and Security Jim Dougherty. "But these are skills they are exhibiting in their daily driving habits on the roads as they are picking up customers and delivering safe service to the community."... The rodeo winner will represent CATS at the International Bus Rodeo in Nashville, Tenn., next month...

Labels: rodeo bus drivers

Markets * India - New refrigeration tech on trucks now

Retail players can look forward to lower costs

Mumbai,India - Business Standard, by P R Sanjai -April 16, 2007: -- "India will need at least 4000 to 5000 refrigerated trucks in next three years as the market is growing big with global food retail chains are entering into India," says Ajay Gupta, Director, Commercial Engineers & Body Builders Co (CEBBCo)... This is the findings of a study carried out by CEBBCo with the help of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) of Indore... Jabalpur-based CEBBCo, a flagship company of JN Group of Industries, is the leading maker of vehicle bodies apart from refrigerated vans. The need for refrigerated vans is driven by economics. Every year, India wastes over 30 per cent of the fruits and vegetables owing to shortage of proper cold chain infrastructure...

Labels: trucks markets

Infrastructures * USA - Want heavier trucks? Fully fund highways

Pawlenty transportation system won't support behemoths

Minneapolis,MN,USA -The Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription) -April 15, 2007: -- Business interests are back in St. Paul this year arguing in support of a Pawlenty administration proposal to allow heavier trucks on Minnesota highways. The Legislature's answer should be simple and direct: Put your proposal away until Minnesota's highways and bridges are fully, adequately funded to handle existing commercial traffic... Minnesota currently restricts most truck weights to 80,000 pounds (the same as the federal limit on freeways), and Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration proposes raising that to 100,000 pounds. Opponents (including railroads, naturally) argue against the change, citing worries about road wear and tear, and the safety risks that heavier vehicles would entail... There are economic benefits that would accrue from allowing the heavier vehicles, however, and the concerns could be answered -- were Minnesota's roads, and especially its bridges, in top shape. The critical factor for road wear, for example, isn't the overall weight of a truck, but the number of axles on which that weight is distributed, provided that roads and bridges are in good shape... The problem is that Minnesota's roads and bridges are in deplorable shape, and the same administration that is proposing heavier trucks is determined to keep them that way -- by pledging to veto the Legislature's 10-cent gas-tax increase, the first for Minnesota since 1988, and half-cent metro sales tax for transit...

Labels: infra...structures?..

COMMENTS * USA - Truckers' costs rise, demand still down

NEW YORK,NY,USA -AP/FXstreet/AFXnews/The Foreign Exchange Market (Barcelona,Spain) -13 April 2007: -- The trucking industry suffered the brunt of weak freight demand in the transportation sector late last year and while analysts aren't banking on a rebound in their fortunes anytime soon, shares of some key names are beginning to show new life... Although truckers recoup some of their fuel costs through surcharges to shippers, it can take weeks for them to catch up with actual pricing and when prices rise and fall rapidly, carriers can lose out altogether. According to the American Trucking Associations, an increase of one penny in the price of fuel on an annualized basis costs the industry an additional $381 million a year... On top of higher fuel costs, truckers will also pay more for their equipment this year. With new emissions regulations in effect this year, trucks with engines designed to burn ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel now cost up to $15,000 more than previous models. Maintenance on the new engines also costs more and they are less fuel efficient than their predecessors. Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel also costs more at the pump and analysts think prices might advance further when off-highway vehicles start using it later this year and inventories grow tighter... The industry's driver shortage shows no signs of improving, either, so companies continue to pay a premium to put qualified people behind the wheel. Analysts think the industry is about 40,000 drivers short, while the American Trucking Associations says the number could reach 111,000 by 2014 if trends continue... Against this backdrop of rising costs, freight demand remains soft after an unusually weak fourth quarter. According to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations, tonnage in January and February fell compared to the same period last year...

Labels: comments

Great Shots * UK - Truckfest legend 'Leading Lady'

Isn't she a peach? --- A classic Scania with a classy chassis

UK -Biglorryblog -13 April 2007: -- It's not often that we goes gah-gah over a truck but I'm prepared to make an exception with this sexy little minx. And what a classic motor too... It's the genuine Scania 142.470 3 Series tag axle tractor originally run and customised by legendary owner driver and Truckfest prize winner Graham Cordiner before eventually winding up in the hands of David Fairweather, genial boss of truck accessories company CDC... After a hard working life David has ensured it's been lovingly restored complete with wonderful airbrushed panels on the side of the cab featuring pictures of legendary Hollywood leading ladies past and present... And for a pie..how many starlets can you spot on this panel?... (Photos by Tom Cunningham: To thank for these great shots...)

Labels: trucks pictures

DEBATE * USA - American Highways are about to Become More Dangerous

Kernersville,NC,USA -The Conservative Voice, by Alan Burkhart -April 13, 2007: -- In spite of the fact of highway safety being the prominent issue that it is, our Boy Wonder in the White House feels that allowing thousands of potentially dangerous Mexican trucks to stream across our border will somehow benefit America... To be fair, I pick up and deliver in the border town of Laredo, TX quite often. I've seen a broad spectrum of Mexican trucks ranging from outright junk to heavily-customized rigs that'd make any American trucker green with envy... Unfortunately, in my experience the junk far outnumbers the well-maintained rigs I’ve seen coming out of Mexico. I'm not basing this assertion on hard numbers. I am basing it on my own observations, along with those of my co-workers, and almost 30 years experience in the industry... The rules that govern my industry are divided into several groups: Hours of Service, Equipment and Safety, Cargo Securement, weight and length, and Medical...

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCKING COMMENTS

* USA - Truckers' costs rise, demand still down
New York,NY,USA -BusinessWeek, by JAMES M. AMEND/The Associated Press -April 13, 2007: -- The trucking industry suffered the brunt of weak freight demand in the transportation sector late last year and while analysts aren't banking on a rebound in their fortunes anytime soon, shares of some key names are beginning to show new life... In a sign that investors may also think better days lie ahead, shares of some key trucking names have rebounded from the second-half swoon last year. As cyclical stocks, truckers usually hit bottom before the economy and then rise ahead of an expansion...

* USA - Trucking Stocks Stall on Profit Warning
NY,USA -Forbes/Associated Press -13 April 2007: -- Trucking stocks traded mostly lower Friday as investors responded to a profit warning from one company and an analyst's downgrade of another... Truckload carrier US Xpress Enterprises Inc. said it would likely post a loss in the first quarter, which compares with a profit last year, citing lower-than-expected freight demand, severe winter weather and rising fuel prices. The news was not entirely unexpected, as the company usually experiences a rough start to the year and carriers throughout the sector have complained of similar headwinds... The sector also witnessed a downgrade of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. by Edward Wolfe at Bear Stearns, who took the stock to "Peer Perform" from "Outperform," due mostly to the 37 percent it has gained since the start of the year...

Labels: comments

OPINION * USA - New technology keeps on trucking

What is needed, says Chris Patterson, are direct incentives to help buyers...

Toronto,Ontario,Canada -Daily Commercial News, by Korky Koroluk -April 13, 2007: -- Canadian and American governments have been told they must do more to help truck and heavy equipment operators convert to the new, environmentally friendly technologies that are being developed... What is needed, says Chris Patterson, are direct incentives to help buyers... Patterson has a vested interest: He’s president and CEO of Freightliner LLC, whose brand names include Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Select trucks, as well as Thomas school buses and Detroit Diesel engines. His commercial interest doesn’t stop him from being right, however... The environmentally superior diesel engines mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are on the market, but are much more expensive than the older, dirtier engines. So without some financial help, Patterson says, buyers are forced to put off new purchases, keeping old engines in service longer, and thus helping to defeat the purpose of the new EPA standards...

Labels: opinion

Safety Systems * Sweden - Volvo’s new ones, keep the driver on course

Stockholm,Sweden -Easier (Chester,UK) -13 April 2007: -- Volvo Trucks has a long tradition of pursuing the development of safety systems for heavy trucks. Over the years, the company has achieved a number of pioneering breakthroughs, such as the introduction of the safety cab, the fitting of seat belts as standard, the deformable steering wheel and much more... These developments have contributed to the fact that since 2001, fatal accidents on the European road network have dropped by about 20 per cent, although the EU target is to halve this figure by 2010... One way of reducing risks in traffic is to integrate accident-preventive active safety systems into the vehicles themselves, so coinciding neatly with the EU’s Road Safety Day on April 27th, Volvo Trucks is introducing two such systems, Lane Keeping Support and Adaptive Cruise Control... Lane Keeping Support alerts with precision: Activated at 60 kph, Lane Keeping Support (LKS) is a system which continuously monitors the lane marker lines and alerts the driver with an audible signal if the vehicle is unintentionally about to stray from its lane... Camera in the windscreen: LKS consists of a position sensor (i.e. a camera and accompanying control unit that reads off the road markings) and a computer that registers whether the truck is about to stray from its current lane. The camera is installed at the upper edge of the windscreen, the control unit is fitted in the radio shelf and the computer is located behind the passenger seat... ACC with greater braking force and improved radar function: As well as launching LKS, Volvo is also presenting a new generation of ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), in which the wheel brakes have now been integrated into the system... Lane Keeping Support will be available on the Volvo FH and FH16, while Adaptive Cruise Control will be available on all Volvo FM, FH and FH16 models with I-Shift... Delivery of both systems will start this autumn...

Labels: safety systems

CONTROLS * USA - Starting radiation detection at foreign ports

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 12, 2007: -- The U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Energy announced, that operational testing of a scanning system for nuclear or radiological cargo within shipping containers has begun at sea ports in Honduras and Pakistan... According to a DHS press release, the tests are the first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative to deploy nuclear detection machines at six foreign ports... Four other ports are scheduled to begin testing the scanning system this year at Southampton in the United Kingdom, Salalah in Oman, Port of Singapore, and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in Korea, according to the news release...

Labels: controls

BILLS * USA

* California bill would tax port containers
CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 12, 2007: -- ... The bill would collect a $30 fee on every 20-foot equivalent unit passing through the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland port complexes. Money from the nation’s first-, second- and fourth-largest container ports would be used solely for improvements to road and rail infrastructure and clean-air programs... The portion provided to alleviate port congestion would go to the California Transportation Commission to fund projects that improve the rail system that moves containers to and from the ports. The text of the bill says the commission would be prohibited “from using the funds to construct, maintain, or improve highways”...

* Road delay bill heads to governor’s desk in Georgia
GA,USA -Land Line Magazine /The Augusta Chronicle -April 12, 2007: -- The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday, April 11, that would get tough with road contractors who cause construction delays... The bill would prevent companies that fall more than 25 percent behind on public works or state Transportation Department construction contracts from bidding on new projects. The bill – HB202 –states that the delay would have to be the contractors’ fault for the provision to apply. Reasons beyond the contractors’ control would not apply, reported...

* Wisconsin bills intended to improve safety on roadways
WI,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 13, 2007: -- A bill in the Wisconsin Assembly would penalize drivers in the state who cause accidents while talking on hand-held cell phones. The measure is one of several highway safety-related bills under consideration in the Legislature. Current Wisconsin law doesn’t prohibit drivers from using cell phones while at the wheel... Violators would face $300 fines. If the wreck involved injury or death to another person, the fine would jump to between $5,000 and $10,000 and/or up to one year behind bars... Another bill, is intended to help families in the state deal with the problem of telling aging relatives that they should no longer be behind the wheel... The bill would require people age 75 to 85 to take free vision tests or submit results from a doctor’s test every three years. Drivers over age 85 would be required to take vision and written knowledge tests every two years... One other bill focuses on people who have a history of getting behind the wheel after too many drinks... The bill would mandate long prison terms for the most severe repeat drunken drivers. Offenders with more than 10 convictions would face up to $25,000 fines and/or as much as 12-and-a-half years in prison... The bills are in committee... Other safety efforts that are expected to be introduced would bar young drivers from using cell phones while at the wheel and permit police to pull over drivers solely for not buckling up...

* Anti-gouging bill tabled in Montana
MON,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 13, 2007: -- A failed effort in the Montana House was designed to protect consumers in the state from being gouged at the fuel pump... The Senate-approved bill was tabled in the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing it for the year... The bill was intended to prevent price gouging in the state during state or federal emergencies following wildfires and other disasters. The protections would have applied to retail sales of goods and services, including fuel...

Labels: bills

Safety * USA - OOIDA member on CDL panel

OOIDA Life Member Miles Verhoef says before a would-be trucker gets a CDL, he or she should undergo meaningful training, including lots of time behind the-wheel during both day and night driving, and experience in different kinds of weather.

April 12, 2007: -- Verhoef, who lives in Tomah, WI, will soon have the chance to make his opinions heard where they count... With backing from OOIDA, Verhoef’s been appointed to a CDL task force formed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The group represents state and provincial officials in the U.S. and Canada who administer and enforce motor vehicle laws...

Labels: CDL rules

STORY: A Good Samaritan * USA - Texas trucker lends a helping hand

TX,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 12, 2007: -- Trucker Jeff Vowels of Houston, TX, said he feels he was in the right place at the right time and bets the trucker he helped save would agree with him... Vowels said he was unloading blocks of copper at ASARCO Inc. in Amarillo, TX, around noon on Monday, April 9, when a truck driver who was unchaining his load told him he wasn’t feeling well... “The next thing I knew, the driver was slumped over behind the steering wheel, saying he thought he was having a heart attack,” he said. “I didn’t even have time to ask the guy his name – it all happened so fast.”... Vowels then unloaded the other driver’s truck for him, parked it at the staging lot, called the driver’s company which was listed on the side of truck, Smithway Motor Xpress Corp, based out of Fort Dodge, IA, to let them know he left the keys to the truck at the refinery’s security office... Jim Kwakenat, SMX director of safety, confirmed that the driver who was hospitalized was Marvin Ward of Carthage, MO, a flatbedder who has worked for the company for 16 years. He also said that Ward did have a heart attack, but was released from the hospital on Thursday, April 12, after having two stints put in cardiac arteries...

Labels: story

DEBATE * USA - Impact of ACE e-Manifest on Carriers

The overall finding: ACE e-Manifest has been a mixed-bag: workload and costs have generally increased for carriers and the border process has become smoother

* USA -Greeneye emanifest.ca, by Jason Berberich -April 2, 2007: -- The American Transportation Research Institute has published an analysis of the ACE e-Manifest roll-out and how it's affecting carriers. You can download the report from their website: Assessing the Impact of the ACE Truck e-Manifest System on Trucking Operations... Here are a few point I think are worth noting: The northern and southern borders are facing different issues: Paperwork and broker communication are the biggest challenges on the Canadian/U.S. border, while inspections and processing times are a concern on the Mexico/U.S. border... Processes and paperwork requirements are not currently consistent at all border crossings (I'm sure this is not a surprise to you)... ACE e-Manifest actually improves inspection targeting: The number of trips where the driver is directed to secondary inspection have decreased by 50%, while the actual number of post-secondary inspections have increased by about 42%... e-Manifest start-up costs have been considerable for many carriers... Let me expand on that last point a bit. Here is the full paragraph regarding e-Manifest costs (emphasis is mine) :"The case studies also reveal that although initial start-up costs are considerable for many carriers, the ACE Truck e-Manifest will potentially provide net operational benefits for medium and large carriers. This experience may differ for small carriers or carriers that do not cross the border frequently, primarily due to the substantial initial investment necessary and the lack of returns to scale. For some small carriers, the new technology may be the impetus to cease border crossing operations."... It's really a shame that small carriers are even facing that situation. But, the reality is 1) Customs' ACE Portal is confusing and difficult to use and 2) Most 3rd party e-Manifest service providers charge you an arm and a leg just to get started... That's where we come in...

Labels: Ace e manifest

Anniversary * Sweden - Volvo celebrates 80 years

Stockholm,Sweden -BUSINESS WIRE -April 13, 2007: -- On April 14 this year, it will be exactly 80 years since the first Volvo car, the Volvo ÖV4, rolled off the production line at the plant in Hisingen, Göteborg. Meanwhile, Volvo has developed into both a global manufacturer of commercial vehicles and a world-leading carmaker... Volvo’s founders were convinced that the company’s products had to be safe if Volvo was to make the grade as a vehicle manufacturer and 80 years of successful operations has proved the correctness of this approach... A modest start Back in the 1920s, business conditions for the hundreds of car manufacturers around the world were far from favourable... (Picture: Thanks to TNNews - UK)

Labels: events

PRODUCTS

* Europe - Siemens VDO digital tachograph sales hit 500,000 mark
Germany -Automotive World (UK)(Subscriptios) -13 April, 2007: - Siemens VDO has announced that it has produced and sold around 500,000 digital tachographs. The company estimates that around 10% of the all the commercial vehicles in Europe feature its digital tachograph DTCO 1381... Siemens VDO's DTCO 1381 stores the...

Labels: products

* Australia - Trucking industry should brace for higher charges

Australia -Blues Country Magazine -April 12, 2007: -- The trucking industry should brace itself for higher charges, according to federal Transport Minister Mark Vaile... Speaking at the Australian Trucking Convention in Cairns, on the eve of the release of a Productivity Commission report into land transport pricing, Vaile told industry representatives that higher infrastructure costs must be met by industry... ATA Chief Executive Stuart St Clair says it’s a "continuing disappointment that the states and territories have failed to join with their federal counterparts in achieving reform and productivity growth"...

* Australia - COAG sets agenda for Radical Road Pricing Reform
Australia -Australasian Bus & Coachs -13 April 2007: -- Federal and state governments have agreed to a seven-year phased rollout of radical road pricing reforms, which will end cross-subsidisation of heavy vehicle classes within a year while looking ahead to incremental and mass-distance charging...

Labels: trucking policys

* Canada - Province Tracking Biodiesel Potential in Trucking

There's now proof positive bio-diesel really can be a clean-energy alternative when it comes to long-haul trucking

Winnepeg,Manitoba,Canada -CJOB - April 12 2007 : -- Manitoba Energy Minister Jim Rondeau says a pilot project with Border Chemical has demonstrated the potential... Last October, two transport trucks were sent on their way. One of them using five-percent biodiesel ran 50-thousand kilometres with temperatures reaching well below -40. There were no reported problems. There was no difference in the performance of the two trucks, only a reduction in diesel smell... The test concludes later this spring.

Labels: biofuels

* Canada - Trucks slowing on green strategy

Toronto, ONT,CAN -The Australian (Sydney,Australia), by Bernard Simon -April 13, 2007: -- North American truck-makers have encountered a steeper slide in orders than expected, as a weakening US economy compounds an anticipated slump that followed the introduction of tighter exhaust-emission regulations... According to ACT Research, orders for Class 8 heavy trucks were 72 per cent lower in the January-March quarter than for the same period a year earlier... A UBS survey of 122 truck operators in the US and Canada concludes that business conditions are the weakest since the survey began two years ago. For the first time, more truckers reported year-on-year declines in freight rates than increases... Truckers said they were finding it especially difficult to fill their vehicles on return trips... The weakening dollar meant that "US manufacturers have about a 40 per cent price advantage over their European counterparts", compared with 5 per cent six years ago, Mr Vieth said. Sales in Mexico and Australia have been bolstered by the prospect of new clean-air regulations there...

Labels: research

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* India - AMW to steer 49-tonne trucks on Indian roads
Mumbai,India -Daily News & Analysis, by Satish John -April 12, 2007: -- Asia MotorWorks (AMW), a small minnow from Bhuj in Gujarat, is all set to take a big leap into the lanes so far mostly traversed by global truck manufacturing giants... AMW on Thursday showcased its entire global truck series - 4923 Tractor, 4018 Tractor, 4923 Tip Semi-trailer, 2523 Rock & Box body tipper and 2518 haulage and 2518 concrete mixer... The company, which commissioned its assembly line almost four months ago, will source all the critical components for its trucks from other agencies. It will get its engines from Cummins, gears from ZF and clutches systems from Valeo... As compared to other global truck makers, what go in favour of AMW are the tax concessions it enjoys. This includes deferred payment of sales tax and excise duty benefits apart from the fact that it has dabbled into a new category in the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) segment... We will roll out 2,00,000 trucks in the capacity range of 25 tonne to 49 tonne. “We are rapidly expanding and in the next two years will be able to breakeven,” Bhuwalka said. The company already has 900 trucks on the road and has registered sales worth Rs 150 crore...

* Sweden - Volvo opts for CGI…at last
Stockholm,Sweden -Automotive World, by John Mortimer -12 April, 2007: -- Volvo Powertrain has at last come off the fence and committed itself to long-term production of compacted graphite iron (CGI) engine parts, with its foundry using the SinterCast process control route... After several years of trials and tribulation, the...

* UK - Scania to introduce Griffin tractor and new maintenance package at CV show
UK -Automotive World (subscription) -12 April, 2007: -- Scania says it will introduce a new concept known as 'Total Transport Solutions' and a V8 tractor unit, the Griffin, at this year's UK Commercial Vehicle Show on 24 April... "Total Transport Solutions" is the name of a new range of products and services d...

Labels: truckmakers news

Marketing * UK - Big-up Bibendum and his new truck-based ad campaign

The Michelin Man's enduring appeal

London,England,UK -Biglorryblog (UK) -12 April 2007: -- ... Now not a lot of people know this, but according to independent research conducted last year on behalf of Michelin, 83% of the UK population recognise the Michelin Man. Good old André Michelin certainly hit on a winner when he came up with ‘Bibendum’ (that’s the Michelin man to you and me) way back in 1888. It seems that André (a trained artist), reckoned that a stack of tyres would resemble a man if it had arms. And... a marketing legend was born... And as if to prove it conclusively, in 2000 the Michelin Man was voted ‘Advertising icon of the Century’ by none other the Financial Times... (Picture: Biglorryblog)

Labels: marketing

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Illinois Gets its First Hydrogen Station

USA -blog.cars -11 April 2007: -- ... There are nearly 50 hydrogen refueling stations in the lower 48 states, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, so we don’t usually perk up when a new one arrives. But this particular establishment opened in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, Ill., just 20 miles up the expressway from our office, right next to O’Hare airport... Des Plaines-based Gas Technology Institute, a nonprofit firm for natural gas research and development, opened the hydrogen pump alongside two natural gas ones at its headquarters yesterday morning...

Labels: green news

TRUCKS' MARKETS WORLDWIDE

* Bulgaria - Q1 truck sales jump 127% y/y
Sofia,Bulgaria -Dnevnik.bg -11 April 2007: -- The domestic dealers of new trucks and buses moved a total of 570 units in the first quarter of 2007, posting a hefty sales gain of 127% year-on-year, shows data released Wednesday by the Union of Automobile Importers in Bulgaria...

Labels: trucks markets

Weight Limits * USA - Proposal to raise they for trucks draws opposition

St. Paul,MN,USA -WKBT (La Crosse,WI) /The Associated Press -11 April 2007: -- A proposal to let bigger rigs onto Minnesota's state and local roads is raising objections... A group of local officials, law enforcement and others say higher weight limits for trucks would wear down roads faster and increase risks for other drivers... Triple-A president Steve Frank says the weight increase started out as a small exemption for milk trucks and finished forest products, but was broadened to all trucks without public debate...

Labels: weight allowances

Limiting Truck Speeds * Canada - Time for Government to Act it's Now

Ontario Trucking Association: "Safety and Climate Change Benefits Too Significant to Ignore"

Toronto,ONT,CAN -CCNMatthews -April 10, 2007: -- The Ontario Trucking Association today welcomed comments by OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino that speeding is a serious road safety issue and that trucks should be forced to limit their speed to 105 km/hr... OTA President David Bradley responded to the Commissioners comments saying, "OTA has been lobbying the government for almost two years now to have the province enact legislation requiring all trucks operating in Ontario to have their engine speed limiters set at no more than 105 km/hr, so we're obviously very happy that the Commissioner has publicly indicated their support for a hard cap on truck speeds"... A speed limiter is a built-in microchip that allows a truck engine's top speed to be preset...

Labels: truck speeds

Trucking Industry * USA - Regulators O.K. Trucking's Survey

New York,NY,USA -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX)/Associated Press -April 10, 2007: -- The Department of Justice said Tuesday it would not oppose a plan by the National Association of Small Trucking Companies and the accounting firm Bell & Co. to conduct an operational and financial survey of small- and medium-sized trucking companies that the group plans to share with its members... The Hendersonville, Tenn.-based association wants to provide it 2,250 members with competitive benchmarks and the government said it does not consider the idea anti-competitive and thinks it could lead to consumer benefits... Association President David Owen said the survey would offer smaller trucking companies benchmarks on items such as truck maintenance costs, fuel costs and driver wages...

Labels: trucking industry

DEBATE * USA - NAFTA trucking ready; remove roadblocks now

San Antonio,TX,USA -The San Antonio Express, by Billy Calzada -News -10 April 2007: -- ... By 2000, the U.S.-Mexican border was supposed to be open to two-way, long-haul trucking. U.S. truckers were to be able t

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30.4.07

* UK - Foreign Lorry Problems Continue

ANALYSIS * UK - Drivers are Key to Cutting Vehicle Defects

STUDY * Europe - Improve Road Safety? Target the Right User!

PRODUCTS * Austria - Transdanubia Choses Dynafleet

Prognosis * USA - Transport Demand for Renewable Fuels to Increase

Research and Markets * Ireland - The North American Light Truck Running Board and Step Aftermarket

Higher truck toll * USA - To raise $10M

DEBATE * USA - DOT continues to 'fine-tune' U.S.-Mexico truck plan

STATISTICS * USA

Truckers oppose * USA - Nevada port-of-entry plan

"GREEN" COMMENTS * Canada - Baird’s fears about Kyoto are worth considering but so are the many answered questions

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS

Tory environmental plan * Canada - Won’t stall oilsands growth

TRADE * Canada - Heavy-duty truck exports to plunge 29%

AWARDS * Canada - Quebec truck plant doubles up at awards ceremony

28.4.07

BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE * Canada - A bridge too far?

'Green' Trucks * USA - Pol fuels interest in

Transport Safety Council * Europe - Volvo Trucks in co-operation with

27.4.07

TECHNONEWS * Holland - Automatically controlled trucks under development

TECHNONEWS * USA - Methane from garbage to fuel garbage trucks?

Going green * USA - May mean closing ports to owner-operators

* USA - New Jersey considers ‘move over’ law

STUDY * Canada - Claims use of turnpike doubles can dramatically reduce emissions, improve safety

LAWSUIT * USA - Schwarzenegger to take on EPA over emissions

COMMENT: Cops in trucks? * Canada - Now that’s a great idea!

DEBATE * USA - TOLL ROAD

BILLS * USA

DEBATE * USA - DOT Clears 23 Mexican Carriers For Cross-Border Pilot Project

BIOFUELS * USA

24.4.07

Strange Definitions

Who Represents Truck Drivers * USA

So you want to be a truck driver * USA

THE LONG HAUL * USA

Successful Trucking * USA

Congestion Pricing Plan * USA - ATA sees 'problems' with New York

23.4.07

JOBS * USA - Factory Losses Severe for U.S. Workers

Starting a Trucking Business * USA - Ten Things You Should Know About

MARKET SALES * USA - '07 downturn to sink deeper than expected

Unsafe trucks * Canada - Caught by safety sweep

ONE MORE!!!.. Tax for trucks * USA - New York mayor mulls carbon for...

Commercial Vehicles * USA - Bill would redefine they

AUTOMAKERS' NEWS

Biodiesel

DEBATE * USA - Mexico’s numbers still not confirmed from Roadcheck 2006

Judge's Affairs * USA - OOIDA, truckers to file appeal in Landstar case

DEBATE * USA - Effort to slow cross-border trucking moving forward

21.4.07

But if you wish to take a look to an ancient truck

Monsters Trucks of yesteryear .... It's always a treat to admire they !!!

New Fees * USA - Could Help Clean Up Ports

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

TRUCKING NEWS * USA

TRUCKING INDUSTRY COMMENTS * USA

TRUCKING CONTRACTS * Canada - Complete contracts are the keys to successful relationships between fleets and owner/operators

20.4.07

ExpoCam 2007 * Canada - New heavyweight and middleweight trucks

BORDER NEWS WORLDWIDE

Regulations * USA - County cranks up cargo container ones

Free seminar * USA - Targets owner-operators

CONTROLS * USA - New e-manifest mandates for Mexican border

Corridor for trucking * Canada/USA ... A capital idea

Life-Saving * USA - Highway Safety Leaders Deliver Measures for Charlotte Drivers

BILLS * USA

DEBATE * USA - Mexico’s numbers still not confirmed from Roadcheck 2006

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

19.4.07

Safety Violations * USA - 17% of drivers, 11% of trucks pulled off highway for

TRUCKS' SALES

TRUCKS NEWS * Germany - MAN TGX and TGS trucks to offer improved aerodynamics

CONTROLS * USA - Truckers Crossing Border Must Send Data