trucks world news: June 2007

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

* Schneider Logistics allies with Canadian firm
Greenbay,WI,USA -Fleet Owner -Jun 29, 2007: -- Schneider Logistics and Dan Goodwill & Associates, a Toronto-based freight transportation company, have joined forces to provide consulting services to shippers throughout North America... The new alliance will offer services such as benchmark and market intelligence, transportation audits, mode and carrier selection, freight rate bidding solutions, route/rate management and implementation of best practices... Greenbay, WI-based Schneider Logistics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Schneider National...

Labels: trucking industry USA

TECHNONEWS * USA - Cell phones make truck tracking easy

GPS technology to help reduce smog

Oakland,CA,USA -The Inside Bay Area, by Erik N. Nelson -29 June 2007: -- Port officials announced Thursday that a new program with wireless phone company Sprint/Nextel allows shipping companies to keep much closer track of containers trucked out of the port... The new system, called Port Truck Tracker, installs specialized software in cell phones carried by truckers that can track them to within 30 feet using a Global Positioning System. It also will allow truckers to report events such as the delivery of a container by pressing a single button on the phone... The new system can be environmentally helpful in that it allows trucking companies, shipping companies and the port to identify bottlenecks where idling trucks generate emissions and direct traffic to alternate routes...

Labels: technonews

TRUCKS' MARKET NEWS * China

* Chinese Truck Market Heats Up
Beijing,China -By RNCOS, Automobile Industry Research (Delhi, India) -June 29, 2007: -- ... Over the past four months, there has been a strong rise in the demand for vehicles in China, primarily due to the increasing demand for trucks and economic growth. As a result, the sales of these vehicles have touched new heights. As per the findings of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production for all vehicles increased by 22% that means sale of 710,200 units. However, commercial vehicles' sales increased 30% to reach 225,100 units... The positive effect on the sales was observed in the whole range of trucks comprising of trucks of various sizes (medium, mini, light), vans, semi-trailer tractors, and unfinished vehicles. The 22% rise was for all of the sorts of trucks however for light trucks the rise remained somewhat less. The highest profit was marked by heavy truck sales, representing a year on year growth of around 59.67%...

Labels: trucks markets

Poll * USA - Wealthier drivers take more chances

The rich get … there quicker?

Seattle,Wash,USA -The Trucker -June 27, 2007: -- According to data from the latest PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll, Washington drivers who earn a household income of more than $75,000 are more likely than their counterparts to speed and talk on a cell phone... The poll results revealed that drivers with higher incomes say not only do they speed, but they also think talking on a cell phone while driving should be legal regardless of whether or not a hands-free device is used...

Labels: drivers safety

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA

FMCSA extends comment period on cross-border trucking demonstration program
Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker -June 29, 2007: -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration today announced it is extending the comment period for its June 8 Federal Register notice concerning the cross-border trucking demonstration program until the close of business on July 9... “In the spirit of transparency, we have extended the comment period to give the public more time to review supplemental information added to the docket and because of technical problems due to relocation of the docket computer servers, which interfered with viewing access,” John Hill, FMCSA administrator, said...

* FMCSA Tries to Fast-Track NAFTA Trucks
Washington,DC,USA -Public Citizen/Auto Safety & Consumer Protection -29 June 2007: -- In the rush to open the border to Mexican-domiciled trucks, FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) has not only continued to ignore statutory requirements and the public’s safety, but also is short-changing the public by allowing only 20 days to comment on this program... The initial notice of proposed rulemaking was only 4 pages in length with a proper 30 days provided for the public to weigh in on this important topic. The current supplemental notice is 18 pages, complete with complicated tables that are ambiguous and cannot be independently verified...

Labels: mexican's trucks

LAWS & BILLS * USA

* Pennsylvania House OKs transportation funding plan; tolls touted for I-80
PEN,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble -June 28, 2007: -- Truckers and other travelers would pay to roll down Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, under a $700 million transportation funding package approved in the state’s House... The bill also would authorize a study of putting tolls on Interstate 95 and bonding the Pennsylvania Turnpike, among other things...

* New Mississippi law requires drivers to ‘move over’
MISS,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 28, 2007: -- Dubbed the “Move Over” law, it is designed to protect police and other emergency personnel during roadside stops. The new law also covers tow trucks and highway maintenance vehicles... The law requires motorists to maintain a safe distance and reduce speed when approaching stationary emergency vehicles that are alongside the road with their lights flashing... On highways with two or more lanes in one direction, drivers would be required to merge into a lane further away from the roadside vehicles...

* Idaho law expanding heavy truck travel takes effect July 1
IDH,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 28, 2007: -- More roads in Idaho will be available for heavier trucks to travel starting Sunday, July 1... Idaho’s current weight limit is 105,500 pounds. Multiple trailer trucks with overweight permits can weigh up to 129,000 pounds, under a 2003 pilot program to test the new weight limit on specified highways in the state... Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter signed a bill into law this spring expanding the program from 850 miles of roads to 1,200 miles of road...

Labels: laws and bills USA

LIQUORS as FUEL * Sweden - Smuggled alcohol used used as fuel in Sweden

Smugglers trying to sneak alcohol into Sweden are unwittingly helping fuel the country's public transport system and reducing its greenhouse emissions

Stockholm,Sweden -The Denver Post/Associated Press, by LOUISE NORDSTROM -29 June 2007: -- ... Almost all of the 185,000 gallons of smuggled alcohol seized by the customs service last year was turned into alternative fuel and used to power buses, trucks and a biogas train, officials said Friday... "We used to just pour it down the drain, but because of the increased volumes we had to look around for new solutions," customs spokeswoman Ingrid Jerlebrink said... The beer, wine and liquor is taken to a plant in Linkoping, 125 miles southwest of Stockholm, where it is heated and converted into biogas...

Labels: ideas fuel saving

International Hauliers * UK - Can become EU accredited

UK -Road Transport, by Roanna Avison/Commercial Motor -28 June 2007: -- Hauliers delivering to customers outside the European Union will be able to apply to become Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) from Sunday (1 July)... The AEO system has been put in place by the EU to add security to supply chains, and mirrors the system in place in the US. Applications can be made from 1 July and the system becomes operational on 1 January... There are three levels of AEO - Customs security and safety and full, which covers both. Starns adds the authorities want to create a more secure international supply chain the best situation would be to have everyone within a supply chain AEO-accredited...

Labels: trucks markets

* UK - Management the key to fuel cost savings

Philippa Jones joins delegates at the IEA conference and discover that simple management techniques can save hauliers significant fuel costs

Paris,France -Road Transport (UK)/Commercial Motor, by Philippa Jones -29 June 2007: -- Simple cost-effective actions can help road hauliers run more efficient businesses, reduce their fuel bills and improve their environmental credentials, experts have told an international conference on fuel efficiency in Paris... Fuel accounts for at least 30% of operating costs in most road transport operations, but few, if any, haulage companies are really maximising the potential to be more fuel efficient, according to Jonathan James, a consultant with Faber Maunsell...
* Drivers staying in top gear for 87% of a journey and using cruise control for 89% of it would use 21% less fuel than a driver who was in top gear for 71% and in cruise control for 25% of the same route and in the same vehicle - UK government's Freight Best Practice programme.
* Properly aligning a truck's chassis with its trailer wheels saves 4-18% in fuel - Lancaster-based Kidds Transport.
* Monitoring journeys in real-time and changing journey plans to suit new circumstances saves money - United Biscuits saved £107,000 a year by using a real time tracker...

Labels: ideas fuel saving

Across the pond * UK - On-line safety audits

UK - Fleet Owner (USA), by Wendy Leavitt -Jun 28, 2007: -- A website for fleet managers in Great Britain has revealed that more than one-third (35%) of fleet operators there do not fully comply with all relevant corporate and regulatory requirements relating to fleet safety, according to a report issued by the Fleet Safety Forum in partnership with risk management specialists Interactive Driving Systems... Funded by the UK Department for Transport, the website allows companies to anonymously compare their fleet safety procedures and crash data with that of other companies to help them identify potentially life-saving improvements... The report’s findings also indicate:
* Only 44% of companies optimized work schedules and travel requirements to minimize road risks and to encourage compliance with speed limits, working time regulations, road safety laws and to avoid the times of day when falling asleep at the wheel is most likely.
* Just 54% of companies gave all new employees a formal induction, which covered policy, equipment familiarization, collision and fuel reporting, emergency procedures, vehicle checking/maintenance and the importance of safety for brand reputation.
* Only 58% of companies had a system in place to maintain driver records, including medical/health information, reference and license checks, training records and qualifications, collision history and fuel efficiency.

Labels: dangerous companys

Commercial License Fraud * USA - "License" To Kill

Thousands of truckers are on the road illegally - And your safety is at stake

USA -Readers Digest -July 2007: -- In recent years, 32 states have reported cases of commercial license fraud, with busts ranging everywhere from Florida to Ohio to Colorado. A 2006 report from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) identified about 15,000 “suspect” license holders in 27 states, over a third of whom ultimately had their CDLs taken away or voluntarily gave them up... In Macon, Georgia, according to an investigative report by the Chicago Tribune, one truck-driving school paid private “third party” testers to falsify the exams of 623 students. When Georgia officials uncovered the racket and had all those students retake the test, only 142 qualified... According to safety advocates, there are probably tens of thousands of truckers on the road with sham licenses. It’s bad enough that we’re sharing the highways with these risky drivers. But there are huge homeland security concerns too. After all, some truckers who get phony licenses may wind up hauling deadly chemicals or other hazardous materials that could be used as terror weapons...

Labels: CDL frauds

Trucking Accidents' Study * USA - Negligence by truckers a major cause of large truck crashes

Norfolk,VA,USA -Injury Board, by John Cooper -June 28, 2007: -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a report to Congress in 2006 about the reasons for tractor trailer wrecks... In those cases where the action or inaction of the driver commercial truck is the cause of the collision, driving too fast for conditions and fatigue were often important factors. Big rigs accidents commonly happen when the truck drivers are feeling under pressure by their motor carrier employers or they are unfamiliar with the roads. Bad brakes was the main reason for collisions where a defect or maintenance problem with the truck's equipment was involved... Over 60% of the studied trucks involved in these crashes were tractors pulling a semi trailer. Most of these are the commonly seen 18 wheelers that carry most of the freight on U.S. Highways. There are over 141,000 truck crashes that occurred in the U.S. over a two year and nine month period of study. This is over 40,000 wrecks involving tractor trailers a year. Some of the types of accidents in decreasing order of frequency were leaving the lane/running off the road, side swipes, roll over's, and head on collisions, among other types...

Labels: accidents

Traffic Safety Coalition * USA - Looks to reduce truck-car crashes

Walker,MI,USA -The Grand Rapids Press (Grand Rapids,MI), by John Tunison -June 28, 2007: -- In his 20 years on the road, semitrailer driver Tim VanHouten has seen just about everything from fellow travelers... Cars cutting him off, riding in his blind spots, crowding into the space he needs to make a wide turn... VanHouten joined police, trucking company leaders and others Wednesday at the DeltaPlex Entertainment and Expo Center parking lot in an effort to improve road safety, partly by making other drivers aware of driving challenges that truckers face every day... The West Michigan Traffic Safety Committee -- a coalition of police, road engineers, school officials and trucking companies -- released statistics it hopes truckers can use to possibly prevent crashes... The committee identified stretches of road in Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties that have higher crash rates than other roads, listed daily time frames when most crashes occur and issued statistics on distracted and fatigued drivers... Cars usually at fault: In Kent County, cars were responsible 56 percent of the time compared to 41 percent for trucks, with 3 percent undetermined... In Ottawa County, the figures showed a fault rate of 56 percent for cars and 44 percent trucks. In Allegan, it was 52 percent cars, 37 percent trucks and 11 percent undetermined... Drivers who were distracted or fatigued accounted for 16 percent of truck crashes in Kent and Ottawa counties, but jumped to 36 percent in Allegan...

Labels: drivers safety

* USA - New truck driver ordinance to be decided

Trucks rolling through Houston bring almost everything to our city, but sometimes they bring us trouble

Houston,TX,USA -KHOU (subscription)/11 News, by Doug Miller -June 28, 2007: -- ... On Wednesday, concrete flew off some trucks and jammed the traffic on two Houston freeways... The maddening traffic trouble had Houston political leaders talking about tougher restrictions on truckers... Within a matter of weeks, Houston City council members are expected to vote on a proposed ordinance that would require truck drivers to obtain city permits before driving oversized or overweight loads on city streets... But soon, some the biggest rigs on the road may pay a price for hitting the road in Houston...

Labels: tax policys

Roadcheck 2007 * Canada - First to report stats

Canada -Land Line Magazine (USA) -June 28, 2007: -- Officials in Canada say public safety officers conducted 7,275 commercial-vehicle inspections during CVSA Roadcheck 2007, placing 1,324 trucks and 291 drivers out-of-service for violations... The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administration reported that inspectors in all 10 provinces and two territories sidelined 18.6 percent of trucks and 3.9 percent of drivers for violations during the annual blitz June 5-7... The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance conducts the annual Roadcheck in the U.S., Canada and Mexico...

Labels: roadchecks

Fatal Accidents * USA - Occur at intersections with flashing lights

Distracted drivers and big rigs make for a deadly pair at unregulated intersection

Jacksonville,FL,USA -The Florida Times-Union, by DANA TREEN & MATT COLEMAN -28 June 2007: -- When tons of concrete and a load of automobiles crushed into other vehicles in separate fatal accidents just hours apart Wednesday, the collisions occurred beneath flashing lights designed to warn and protect drivers on busy intersections... In their tragic aftermath, the deadly accidents instead raise questions about the safety of flashers and highlight the dangers and distractions of road increasingly shared by huge trucks and smaller vehicles... About 11:20 a.m. Wednesday, a pregnant Leila J. Davis, 37, of St. Augustine Beach pulled beneath a flashing red light into the path of a fully loaded concrete truck on Florida 16 west of the Shands Bridge in Clay County... The truck driver, also warned of the intersection by a flashing yellow light, could not avoid Davis' Kia minivan, smashing into its side and driving it 150 feet into the median, killing Davis and her unborn child, said Lt. Bill Leeper of the Florida Highway Patrol... (Photo: At least eight vehicles were damaged at Nimnicht Chevrolet around 1:30 a.m. when a car ran a flashing red light at the intersection of Cassat Avenue and Park Street and struck a fully loaded car carrier Wednesday)

Labels: dangerous motorists

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

* USA - Happy birthday, UPS; you wear 100 well
Seattle,WASH,USA -UPI News (PR)/Daily India -June 27, 2007: -- United Parcel Service, which began in a Seattle basement and grew to an international billion-package shipper, celebrates its 100th anniversary this summer...

* USA - C.H. Robinson Plans European Growth
Nantucket,Mass,USA -Associated Press/Forbes -28 June 2007: -- Trucking and logistics company C.H. Robinson Worldwide will focus on global expansion over the next few years as it sees tremendous growth opportunities outside North America, the company's top executive said at a conference Thursday... During a presentation at the Wachovia Securities 2007 Nantucket Equity Conference in Nantucket, Mass., Chairman and Chief Executive John P. Wiehoff said the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company will attempt to replicate the strength of its North American business in Europe in the future...

* USA - Schneider Logistics hooks up with Canuck consultant
Green Bay,Wis,USA -Truckstop News -28 June 2007: -- Dan Goodwill and Associates Inc., a Canadian transportation consulting firm, and Schneider Logistics, one of the U.S.'s largest truckload carriers, have formed a strategic alliance to provide transportation advisory services to shippers throughout North America...

* Canada - Does purchase signal change in growth strategy for Bison Transport?
Winnipeg,Man,CAN -Fleet Owner (USA), by Lou Smyrlis -28 June 2007: -- The purchases of Glenncoe Transport and Winfield Motor Freight mark a change from past growth strategy for Bison Transport, which has chosen to fuel its considerable expansion over the past decade through organic growth... The acquisition follows on the heels of several recent expansions and new service launches, including the opening of a new terminal and maintenance facility in Calgary, a new Intermodal Division connecting Ontario with Western Canada, a Refrigerated Division serving US and Canada, and a rapid expansion of Bison’s turnpike double operations (twin 53’ trailers) in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta...

Labels: trucking industry

* Australia - Trucks face higher charges

B-Double trucks, which are increasingly travelling in metropolitan areas, face higher government registration and fuel taxes under a politically sensitive review of heavy vehicle user charges

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Mark Davis -June 29, 2007: -- ... The National Transport Commission is expected to publish proposed charges within the next few weeks as part of a scheme that seeks to recover the costs of building and maintaining roads from the trucking sector... The commission's failed determination sought to raise registration fees by up to 37 per cent for large trucks such as B-doubles and road trains, and raise by 2.1 cents a litre the net diesel excise paid by truck operators...

Labels: tax policys

Something Was Wrong * USA - Taking a message to the streets

A planned caravan of 100 big rigs with a clean-air message falls short, and few commuters notice

Los Angeles,CA,USA -Los Angeles Times by Tiffany Hsu & Rong-Gong Lin II -June 28, 2007: -- Los Angeles has seen demonstrations, but civil disobedience on an L.A. freeway is tough, as truckers learned Wednesday... Their effort to have an intimidating convoy roll down the 110 Freeway from downtown Los Angeles to the Port of Long Beach didn't seem to faze motorists used to bad traffic. Officials and traffic reporters had warned that the protest by truckers could cause a traffic headache, with organizers promising a caravan of 100 big rigs. The truckers, part of the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, were supporting a draft plan by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to slash diesel pollution from trucks by 80% in five years. The plan would require replacement or renovation of the oldest and dirtiest trucks with trucking companies, not the drivers, facing higher costs... But at the Exposition Park staging area for the protest, it quickly became clear something was wrong: Only 27 big rigs showed up...

* Ports delay decision on port overhaul plan until September
CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), By Charlie Morasch -June 28, 2007: -- Officials from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach emerged from a closed-door meeting Wednesday and announced they were delaying consideration of its emissions-busting Clean Trucks Program, which offered sweeping changes to port operations including banning owner-operators from entering the port... The proposed plan has been criticized for its broad changes that many have said go beyond the plan’s stated goal of lowering emissions. The California Trucking Association and an attorney of the American Trucking Association and the Waterfront Coalition of retail and agricultural shippers have vehemently opposed the plan, which has several similarities to a formal proposal made by the Teamsters-backed Coalition for Clean Air... Officials for the ports issued a joint news release Wednesday, June 27, saying they will undertake an economic impact study and assemble an industry task force to study and recommend specifics for the operations changes... Outside Wednesday’s closed-door meeting, Los Angeles news cameras hovered above southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway and filmed an estimated 20 trucks convoyed in support of the new plan...

Labels: supports

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

*Sweden - Volvo says U.S./Sweden to help fund new hybrids
Stockholm,Sweden -Reuters -28 June 2007: -- World number two truckmaker Volvo said today that it was joining a cooperation program to cut fossil fuel consumption partly funded by the U.S. and Swedish governments... The projects, involving among others Volvo's U.S. subsidiary Mack Trucks, included development of hybrid technology for heavy vehicles and analyses of biofuels in diesel engines... "For Volvo, it would involve producing powertrains based on alternative fuels suitable for heavy vehicles," the company said in a statement. "This means that we can implement a number of projects within the environmental area that would otherwise have not been possible."... It did not disclose the details of the financing agreement...

* Sweden - New Volvo FH set for 2009 launch
Stockholm,Sweden -Road Transport (UK) -28 June 2007: -- Volvo Trucks will take the wraps off a new version of the FH truck range in 2009 to ensure the truck remains toward the top of the European tractor market league table... Senior Volvo sources indicate the vehicle will be a further evolution of the successful product line-up, first launched in 1993, and will focus on improvements to the ride and handling of the truck as well as attention to the fit and finish of the cab...

* USA - A merger for Volvo, AB Volvo? ...
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Christine Tierney -June 27, 2007: -- Of all the mergers and acquisitions rumors that have risen since the breakup of Daimler and Chrysler, one of the most intriguing is a report that AB Volvo of Sweden might be interested in reuniting with Volvo Cars... AB Volvo is the heavy-truck manufacturer that sold its passenger car business to Ford Motor Co. in 1999 at the height of a global mergers and acquisitions spree in the auto industry... Ford, now struggling and deeply in debt, is reluctantly considering the sale of the Volvo car unit...

* USA - Navistar vehicle shipments fall 31% in Q2
Chicago,Ill,USA -Reuters -June 26, 2007: -- Navistar International Corp., a U.S. truck and engine maker, said today that global shipments of its vehicles tumbled 31 percent during the second quarter... The Warrenville, Ill.,-based company said it shipped 26,200 heavy and medium trucks, school buses and other vehicles during the quarter ended April 30, 2007, down from 38,100 during the same period a year earlier... Like other companies exposed to the North American trucking market, Navistar is experiencing a sharp decline in demand for big trucks and engines because of tough new clean-air rules that went into effect Jan. 1... Many fleet operators, worried about the cost and reliability of the new engines designed to comply with the rules, stocked up on new vehicles last year and are not buying this year...

* Italy - Iveco, Samotlor-NN in JV to build trucks in Russia
Milan,Italy -Reuters -28 June 2007: -- Fiat's Iveco truck making unit said today it plans to form a joint venture with Russian industrial group Samotlor-NN to make its Daily-brand vehicles in its first major foray into Russia... Iveco said its venture would spend about 50 million euros ($67.17 million) to build a plant in Nizhniy Novgorod with a production capacity of 25,000 units a year... Iveco, which will own 51 percent of the venture, said the vehicles would be sold in Russia and neighbouring countries... Iveco and other truck makers are expanding in Russia and other developing markets to offset stagnant demand in mature markets such as Western Europe...

* India - Ashok Leyland and Moldova
India -Road Transport (UK) -19 June 2007: -- Rumour has it that Ashok Leyland is about to break ground on a truck bus plant in Moldova... It'll be interesting to see quite where the output will end up...

* USA - GM sells Allison Transmission for $5.6 billion
New York,N.Y.,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Adam Ledlow -28 June 2007: -- General Motors has agreed to sell its Allison Transmission commercial and military business to The Carlyle Group and Onex Corporation for approximately $5.6 billion. The sale agreement covers substantially all of Allison Transmission, including seven manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, Ind. and its worldwide distribution network and sales offices...

Labels: truckmakers news

Air Pollution * USA - Some Truckers Underscore the Problem

A convoy of 100 diesel trucks is scheduled to trundle down the southbound Harbor (110) Freeway from South L.A. to Port of Long Beach

Los Angeles,CA,USA -KNX1070 -28 June 2007: -- ... a demonstration for cleaner air and better working conditions likely to slow morning traffic. Spearheaded by a hearse, meant to symbolize the premature deaths caused by pollution emitted at the port, the convoy will use one freeway lane and should take two hours to reach its destination... The convoy is being organized by the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports, a group that includes truck drivers and environmental, health, labor and community groups in southern Los Angeles County. It supports a draft plan by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to reduce diesel pollution from trucks by 80 percent in five years...

Labels: clean trucks

Passports * USA - New York and other States prefer computerized driver’s licenses to

New York is poised to follow the state of Washington into a new era of border security and personal identification

NY,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by David Tanner -June 27, 2007: -- ... It’s called an enhanced driver’s license, and it contains a computer chip containing proof of citizenship and identification that travelers can present to border authorities... Like Washington state and now New York, two dozen states are looking to implement enhanced driver’s licenses to substitute for the passport requirement, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said during a press conference last week... There are current substitutes for a passport, including a Merchant Mariner Document, Alien Registration Card Form I-551, a NEXUS air card, a FAST card or U.S. Military traveling orders... In addition to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the Department of Homeland Security has also provided a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” in the Federal Register for the Real ID program, which could one day be required at entry points to vulnerable facilities such as borders and power plants...

Labels: passports

BILLS & LAWS * USA

* New Jersey bill mandates snow-free vehicles
NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 27, 2007: -- A New Jersey Senate panel has approved a bill that would have the state get tough with drivers who fail to clear snow and ice off their vehicles... The rule would apply to commercial and non-commercial vehicles... The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved the bill that would permit police to pull over drivers whose vehicles are not cleared of snow and ice...

* Missouri bills die – focus was on trucks, road safety
Miss,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble -June 27, 2007: -- The recently completed legislative session in Missouri closed the book on several bills of interest to truck drivers. Among those bills were efforts that included incentives to reduce idling, rules for household movers and increase safety on the state’s roadways... Senate lawmakers didn’t bring the bill up for a final vote before the session ended. The House previously approved the bill that included a provision to take advantage of an income tax credit made available by Congress in 2005... The bill – HB488 – would have created a tax credit for installing idle reduction technology for the next two years. The credit would have been equal to 50 percent of the amount of purchase and installation on class 8 trucks – up to $3,500 per truck...

* New Virginia laws to improve road safety take effect July 1
VA,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 27, 2007: -- The first one targets alcohol-related reckless drivers. The new rule requires those who had their driver’s license suspended for reckless driving for alcohol-related or drug-related reasons to complete an alcohol safety action program before they could have their licenses reinstated... The second one is intended to keep novice drivers off the phone and other devices while at the wheel. It prohibits drivers under age 18 from using any cell phone, hand-held or “hands free,” or other wireless device...

* California bill banning cell phone use for young drivers nears passage
CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble -June 27, 2007: -- A bill to prohibit cell phone use by young drivers in California is one step closer to passage in the statehouse... The Assembly Transportation Committee unanimously approved a bill that would make it illegal for drivers under 18 to use any type of cell phone, pager or text messaging device... This action in California follows a National Transportation Safety Board report that recommended novice drivers be prohibited from using cell phones while on the road... The safety board says that young drivers account for only 7 percent of the driving population but are involved in 15 percent of fatal accidents. Distracted drivers take 1.5 seconds longer to respond to hazards, the agency says... Currently, about 14 states forbid young drivers to use phones while behind the wheel. In addition to California, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey are the only other states that have bans on all drivers from using hand-held phones. Washington is slated to begin enforcement of its own law in 2008...

Labels: laws and bills USA

To Tourist Eyes * New Zealand - Trucks not good look

Napier City Council is in a bind with its ambitions to remove trucks from Marine Parade.

Hawke's Bay,New Zealand -The Hawke's Bay Today, by Louis Pierard - 28 June 2007: -- ... the real problem, the nearly quarter million-dollar cost is a concession to the need to mitigate the noise of heavy transport using the Parade... Despite the arguments from defenders of keeping the trucks on the Parade - and there are many of them, who argue the port is pivotal to the Bay's economy and that any diversion will cost in time and money to be passed on to consumers - there are bigger reasons for making the parade truck-free, and as soon as is possible... The matter is in the lap of Transit New Zealand and its own spending priorities. Short-term remedies bring diminishing returns for the council. At some point, and soon, it will have to bite the bullet to decide whether Marine Parade is far too important an asset to be compromised by the continued use by heavy trucks... It will be a tough decision that will alienate residents having to endure the diverted traffic. But it might also expedite the development of the proposed alternative... (Picture: Napier Port from the air)

Labels: trucks vs tourism

Your morning coffee * USA - May double in price if trucks hide

Town wants to rid village streets of delivery trucks; business owners say plan's too costly

Vail,CO,USA -The Vail Daily, by Edward Stoner -June 26, 2007: -- Your morning coffee may double in price if the town moves forward with a plan to get rid of delivery trucks on pedestrian streets, said Becky Magoon, co-owner of the Covered Bridge... The coffee shop often gets hundreds of pounds of deliveries in a day — and it is a relatively small eatery in Vail, she said... “We’re creating more problems than we’re solving,” said Kim Mause, the other co-owner... At the direction of the town, developers are building dozens of public loading docks around Vail Village. The docks will be ready soon, and the town is trying to figure out how businesses should use them... Business owners say using the docks would make their deliveries more costly, more complicated, less safe and less timely...

Labels: trucking policys

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS

* USA - Toyota Owned Hino Trucks To Build First Vehicle Plant In West Virginia

WILLIAMSTOWN,W.Va,USA -The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati,OH) -June 26, 2007: -- West Virginia is set to get its first vehicle assembly plant, thanks to Hino Motors Manufacturing, a Toyota-owned commercial truck manufacturer... On Monday, Hino said that it will invest $8.6 million into an existing 194,000-square-foot facility (formerly owned by Walker Systems) in order to turn it into a truck plant capable of churning out 2500 units per year... Last year, Hino shifted 6595 last fiscal year, but it hopes to sell 7550 trucks over the same period this year...

* Belgium - Production up at Volvo Trucks
Ghent,Flanders,Belgium -Flanders News -26 June 2007: -- After all the recent redundancies in the Flemish automotive industry, there is at last some good news to report. Volvo Trucks in the East Flemish city of Ghent has produced its 600,000th vehicle. The 16-tonner was handed over to its Swiss owner on Tuesday morning... Volvo Trucks in Ghent is something of a success story... Staffing levels are continuing to rise and the plant is to take on a number of new tasks later this year...

* India - Daimler plans to assemble trucks in

Mumbai,India -The Business Standard -June 27, 2007: -- Auto major DaimlerChrysler plans to assemble Mercedes-Benz trucks in the country soon, in order to tap the growing demand for freight transportation... According to a statement issued by the company today, "DaimlerChrysler India not only plans to import complete vehicles, but also to assemble semi-knocked down Mercedes-Benz trucks in the near future," said... Daimler India sells its Actros range of heavy trucks that are imported and is setting up a plant in Maharashtra with a capacity to make 5,000 cars a year... According to agency reports, a company spokesman said, the plant would also be used to make trucks...the range and capacity have not been finalised...

Labels: truckmakers news

Truck Tonnage Index * USA - ATA's one, fell 1.3 percent in May

Alexandria,Va,USA -The Trucker -June 27, 2007: -- The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.3 percent in May, marking the second consecutive month-to-month drop. In April, tonnage fell 2.2 percent...

Labels: transportation indexs

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* ITEC looks to Brazil for MaxxForce engine iron

Warrenville,Ill,USA -The Trucker -June 27, 2007: -- International Truck and Engine Corp. will rely on its Brazilian subsidiary MWM International Motores, and Brazil-based supplier Tupy, to provide compacted-graphite iron (CG Iron) cylinder blocks for the new MaxxForce 11 and MaxxForce 13 big bore diesel engines, the company said today... Tupy will cast the advanced CG Iron cylinder blocks at its plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and MWM International will machine the blocks at its Santo Amaro plant, also in Sao Paulo. The machined blocks will be shipped from South America to International’s new engine plant in Huntsville, Ala., where the MaxxForce big bore engines will be assembled, according to the ITEC news release...

Labels: truckmakers news

New Trucks Fleet * UK - BB go RO-RO with their first new Volvo trucks

Lincolnshire,Chester,UK -Easier -25 June 2007: -- BB Haulage has taken delivery of two Globetrotter XL-cabbed, Euro 5 Volvo FH-480 6x2 tractor units, which will be based at the company’s Caistor depot in Lincolnshire... These are the company’s first new Volvo’s and will be used on RO-RO operations out of UK ports, including Immingham... The new Volvo’s feature ‘Prestige’ trim and are equipped with I-Shift transmission, climate control, in-cab fridge, GPS satellite tracking and long-range fuel tanks...

Labels: new fleets

Aerodynamics * The Netherlands - Could Make Trucks 10% More Efficient

"But surprisingly the big problem of the big trucks isn’t at the front, it’s at the rear...

Phoenix,AZ ,USA -Freshly Green/FarPont Media, by Jarsto -25 Jun 2007: -- Researchers at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have found that even modern trucks are shockingly unaerodynamic. But surprisingly the big problem of the big trucks isn’t at the front, it’s at the rear... The sharp angles at the rear, where the truck abruptly ends, cause a vacuum that in turn creates eddies of wind behind the vehicle. All of which has a negative effect on its performance. By getting rid of the vacuum researchers believe the amount of wind resistance a truck experiences could be reduced by up to 25%... A variety of methods to improve the airflow at the back of trucks are currently being theorized, developed, and tested. It is believed that some of these could increase fuel efficiency by at least 10% if properly implemented... More on this subject is available from the Delft University of Technology...

Labels: technonews

U-Haul's Trucks * USA - Are Unsafe and Not Maintained !!!

USA -Los Angeles Times/The Consumerist, by Marco -26 June 2007: -- The investigation has uncovered that U-Haul fails to properly maintain their aging fleet of vehicles while mechanics "hang paper" (forge safety inspections and repairs) to keep the trucks and the money rolling... During a yearlong investigation, Times journalists surveyed more than 200 U-Haul trucks and trailers in California and other states and found that more than half were overdue for a company-mandated "safety certification," a check of brakes, tires and other parts typically required every 30 days... Some safety checks were more than a year overdue... In response, U-Haul said its fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles is safe and well-maintained. It said it is investing heavily to modernize the fleet and spends about $350 million a year -- about 20% of its rental revenue -- on maintenance and repairs... The consumer stories mentioned in the report are horrifying—trucks sent out on the road with the wrong tires and no lug nuts, trucks with emergency brakes that fail and roll over their drivers, breakdowns that end with big rig trucks smashing into families stranded by the side of the road... Darryl Stasher, formerly a top U-Haul executive in Mississippi, said he was accused of "hanging paper" when the company fired him in 2001. Stasher, who worked for U-Haul more than 17 years, said that the charge was a pretext in his case, but that the practice was rampant. "They set standards and guidelines that, in reality, they knew were not happening," he said. "All these trucks were breaking down the day after they were rented, and after they said maintenance had been performed"...

Labels: dangerous trucks

Chinese tires * USA - Questioned over potentially dangerous defect

New York,NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal/Land Line Magazine -June 26, 2007: -- There hasn’t been an official recall, but reported that nearly 1 million car tires that were made in China and sold in the U.S. could be dangerously defective... Two people were killed in summer 2006 when tread on a steel-belted radial allegedly separated, causing a van to crash... Federal officials told the Journal the problem is that at least some of the tires lack a key feature designed to make tires more durable... The tires in question are sold under the brand names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS...

Labels: tires

PRIVATIZATIONS * USA

* Legislative mix-up gives New Jersey governor privatization power
NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) , by Reed Black -June 25, 2007: -- Although they didn’t plan to, New Jersey lawmakers have given Gov. Jon Corzine a free pass to get ready to lease or sell state assets, such as the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway... According to media reports, a 291-page budget bill the lawmakers were racing the clock to pass contained a few paragraphs authorizing the governor to do “what may be necessary” to privatize state highways...

Labels: privatization toll roads

BILL & LAWS * USA

* Louisiana bill clarifies tax exemption for certain trucks and other bills
Lou,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) , by Keith Goble -June 25, 2007: -- The Louisiana Senate has approved a bill intended to clarify the sales and use tax exemption for certain trucks and trailers... State law now exempts from sales and use tax trailers and trucks with gross weights of at least 26,000 pounds, as long as they are used at least 80 percent of the time in interstate commerce and are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation... The Senate voted unanimously to approve a bill that would establish a set of criteria for determining eligibility for tax exemption for a subset of the trucks and trailers covered by the current tax exemption. The bill would apply the new criteria to trucks weighing at least 80,000 pounds... Other bills also making their way through the statehouse include a bill to repeal a tax on household movers and add more state troopers...

* Pennsylvania may limit idling statewide
Pen,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) , by Keith Goble -June 25, 2007: -- A bill in the Pennsylvania House is intended to reduce unnecessary idling of large trucks throughout in the state. In most instances, drivers idling their trucks while sleeping or resting would be exempt from the rule... Exemptions would include situations when vehicles are stuck in traffic, required by law enforcement to stop or when idling is necessary “to operate defrosters, heaters or refrigeration to prevent a safety or health emergency” that is not part of a rest period...

* A bill in Massachusetts would alter the state’s rules on the idling of all vehicles
Mass,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) , by Keith Goble -June 25, 2007: -- ... The bill would hold owners and operators of vehicles liable for idling violations. It'ld add exceptions to state law for situations when vehicles are stuck in traffic, required by law enforcement to stop or when idling is necessary to operate defrosters, heaters, air conditioners, or installing other equipment “solely to prevent a safety or health emergency”... Drivers idling their trucks while sleeping or resting also would be exempt from the rule...

* New Missouri law provides tax breaks for certain trucks
Miss,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) , by Keith Goble -June 26, 2007: -- Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has signed a bill into law that includes a provision that offers tax breaks for certain trucks. It also modifies rules for household movers... The new law, clarifies the common carrier sales tax exemption for the purchase of motor vehicles, with gross weights of 24,000 pounds or more, or trailers... Missouri law previously applied the exemption only if the common carrier operated solely in interstate commerce. The bill makes the exemption applicable to vehicles and trailers used in both intrastate and interstate commerce...

Labels: laws and bills USA

DRIVERS' STORIES * USA - "I really like the freedom from having someone stare over my shoulder all the time.”

Malvern,ARK,USA -The Trucker, by JERRY BREEDEN -25 June 2007: -- Local resident Stan Ramey doesn’t dance around the issue when asked what he likes most about driving big rigs for a living... “I’m in it for the money,” he said. “I’ve got a mortgage and some other bills I’ve got to pay and trucking makes it possible.” Ramey admits, however, that driving “is just something I’ve always liked to do, ever since I was a kid"... Something else Ramey doesn’t care much for is the Hours of Service regulations. “They bother me because they’re so messed up nowadays. It’s hard for drivers to be right, or in compliance, all the time. You just have to do the best you can"... ”It would help a lot,” he added, “if the infrastructure in this country was in better shape. We desperately need better roads. They need a lot of attention”... What Ramey does like about the business is that it allows him to “run both ends of the country. I like going north and I like the South, too. I especially like the British Columbia run. It’s quiet compared to most of the others because there’s a lot less traffic up that way. I really like the freedom from having someone stare over my shoulder all the time”...

* Ya gotta like trucker Ted Meredith’s approach to life.
Springfield,Mo,USA -The Trucker -25 June 2007: -- Meredith has been driving big rigs since his stint in the U.S. Army, which dates back to 1979... "Why did I stop driving for myself?... If you can manage your money, you can make it. That’s all I can say about that. Why do I like trucking? It’s what I know best. It’s what I do best. I choose to do it. It’s what I want to do. I don’t do it just for the money"... Asked if he is married, Meredith replied, “Not at the moment. That doesn’t mean I won’t be sometime in the future. I’m still looking for the right lady, but I ain’t holding my breath"... Meredith continued. “In the beginning, most women marry truckers because of the security, the money. Then as time goes by and the love keeps growing, they start wanting you to stay home more, and pretty soon, when you ain’t home every night, the relationship takes a nose dive... To be honest,” he said, “I love women. I really do. It’s just that it’s so hard to find one who really understands this business and is willing to allow me to make a living the best way I know how."...

Labels: drivers' stories

TRUCKS PURCHASING * USA

* County wants new trucks
Jacksonville,TX,USA -The Jacksonville Daily Progress, by Kelly Youngnews -June 25, 2007: -- ... Consideration will be given by the Cherokee County commissioners regarding whether to authorize County Judge Chris Davis to sign all documents concerning the financing of three new Mack dump trucks... The new trucks, which cost $97,315 each, will be used by precincts No. 1, 2 and 3...

Labels: trucks purchases

Arson suspected * Australia - In trucks blaze

Pakenham,Victoria,Australia -Werribee, Hoppers Crossing Star -26 June 2007: -- A SUSPECTED arson attack destroyed a prime mover truck and damaged three others in Hoppers Crossing last Sunday evening... Police say the incident occurred in a transport company’s locked compound in Elm Park Drive about 6pm... The windscreens of three prime movers and one water tank truck were broken and the vehicles were painted with grafitti... Police said the cabin of one of the prime movers was set alight and the fire totally destroyed the vehicle, valued at between $90,000 and $120,000...

Labels: attacks

DRIVERS' HEALTH * USA - You may have high blood pressure and not even know it.

Recent estimates show that nearly one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people don’t know they have it

USA - The Trucker, by BARB KAMPBELL -25 June 2007: -- According to the American Heart Association, uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure, and is the reason it’s often called the “silent killer”... The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked... The American Heart Association’s 10 ways to control high blood pressure: ... The bottom line is that everyone needs to know if high blood pressure is a factor in their health. Since having it checked is the only way to find out...

Labels: drivers' health risks

PRODUCTS & ACCESORIES

* USA - Order for more than 2,000 TriPac Hybrid Auxiliary Idle Reduction and Temperature Management Systems (APUs)

Minneapolis,MIN,USA -eTrucker -June 25, 2007: -- Thermo King Corp. says that Marten Transport of Mondovi, Wis., has placed an order for more than 2,000 TriPac Hybrid Auxiliary Idle Reduction and Temperature Management Systems (APUs). The systems will be installed over the next 18 months on company-owned tractors... The TriPac system provides drivers with heat, engine pre-heat, air conditioning, accessory power and battery charging while reducing idling, conserving fuel and extending tractor engine service intervals...

Labels: products

TRUCKING INSURANCE * USA - Leading Insurer Co. Improves Coverage for the Industry

Mayfield Village,OH,USA -Business Wire -June 25, 2007: -- The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, one of the nation’s largest commercial auto groups, has announced coverage enhancement options for the commercial trucking market. New coverages are designed to provide more protection to new and growing transportation businesses, offering flexible solutions that meet their constantly changing needs... They include:
* Comprehensive Coverage for All Vehicles
* Seasonal Coverage for All Vehicles
* Single Physical Damage Deductible for all Covered Vehicles

Labels: trucking insurances

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Acquisitions...

Purchase of 42 Trucking and Logistics Companies - By Large Private Equity Firms in Effort to Go Public

Englewood,CO,USA -NewswireToday - 25 June 2007: -- A private transaction has taken place between two large private equity groups purchasing $500 million in trucking companies throughout the United States... These two groups, one based on Salt Lake City, and one based in Los Angeles, are in the process of acquiring 42 trucking and logistics companies in an effort to build a large portfolio of profitable freight and logistics companies located in the U.S.... The intent of this project is to create a new publicly traded company on that will be listed on the American Stock Exchange by the end of 2007, and begin trading as a new entity. The two groups are looking at separate parts of the project based on type of business and geographic location in order to maximize profits and relative expertise... Corporate Acquisitions Group is representing both buyers and all sellers in the transaction... Corporate Acquisitions Group provides an objective point of view for both the buyers and the sellers throughout the acquisition process, providing expertise on how best go about a large and complex sale such as this one...

* Sector Glance: Trucking Companies Rise
New York,NY,USA -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX)/The Associated Press -June 25, 2007: -- Shares of trucking companies climbed Monday on speculation that more companies might be taken private by investors following a tender offer by two top executives at U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc.... U.S. Xpress President Patrick E. Quinn and Chief Executive Max L. Fuller, on Friday made an offer to buy the outstanding shares of U.S. Xpress for $20 a share... Wachovia Securities analyst Justin B. Yagerman said he believes shares of truckload stocks will rise "due to continued interest by private money in the sector," combined with expectations for overall freight improvement in the second half of 2007... Swift Transportation Co., one of the nation's largest trucking companies, was taken private in May by its founder, Jerry Moyes... Here is how some key trucking stocks did Monday:
* U.S. Xpress surged $4.74, or 33.4 percent, to $18.94.
* J.B. Hunt gained 34 cents to $28.41.
* YRC Worldwide Inc. rose 51 cents to $38.21.
* Con-way Inc. increased 12 cents to $53.21.
* Werner Enterprises Inc. climbed 45 cents to $20.01.
* Universal Truckload Services Inc. rose $2.03, or 10.4 percent, to $21.52. A Stephens Inc. analyst upgraded the stock Friday...

* Trucking stocks on the rise amidst company privatization rumors
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 26, 2007: -- Publicly held stocks some trucking companies are going up – partially because, investors hope the companies will go private and offer top dollar for the shares... The speculation is fueled by Swift Transportation’s decision to go private in May, and this week’s revelation that top executives at U.S. Xpress Enterprises have offered to buy up all the outstanding shares and take that company private... On Monday, U.S. Express stock shot up almost 34 percent in value to just under $19 a share... Going private gets a company out from under many of the regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the requirement to issue quarterly financial reports...

* USA - YRC Fleet buy, to fuel China expansion plans
Overland Park,Kan,USA - Reuters/Trucks News (Canada) -27 June 2007: -- The planet's largest LTL carrier is expanding its network in the world's fastest-growing market... YRC Worldwide (formerly Yellow Corp.) announced a preliminary deal to acquire Chinese transportation giant Shanghai Jiayu Logistics Ltd. -- its largest such transaction in Asia to date... YRC, which was formed when Yellow Corp. bought rival Roadway for $1 billion in 2003, already operates a large Chinese air freight firm Jinjiang International Industrial Investment and a Chinese freight forwarder... According to Reuters, YRC chief executive Bill Zollars said the company would seek further acquisitions if opportunities arose...

Labels: acquisitions

SAFETY * USA - Containers get high-tech security

FL,USA -FleetOwner -25 June 2007: -- Florida’s Port Everglades Terminal is the latest port facility looking to upgrade freight security, in this case by adopting General Electric’s CommerceGuard container security device (CSD) system... Richard Rovirosa, CEO & gm of Port Everglades Terminal, said deploying a CSD system helps detect and report intrusion into a container, ensuring the safety of cargo as it travels from point of origin to final destination... He said that’s critical as Port Everglades handles more than 864,000 TEU (20-ft equivalent container units) annually and serves as a major cruise ship destination-- making it a high-traffic location of critical importance to the U.S. maritime economy...

Labels: safety systems

Idle Emissions * USA - TTI and EPA Launch Web Site to Reduce They

Washington,DC,USA -TruckingInfo -25 June 2007: -- Researchers with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) have finished the first phase of a three-year project for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designed to help reduce the estimated 500 tons of nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere each day by idling trucks... It is estimated that these idling trucks waste 300,000 gallons of fuel every day. The TTI project resulted in a nationwide deployment strategy for truckstop electrification (TSE) and a user-friendly web tool that pinpoints ideal locations for this technology... Until recently, truckers had no option but to keep their diesel engines idling in order to power their onboard air conditioners, heaters, televisions and microwaves. Starting a few years ago, some truckstops across the country installed idle reduction technology equipment, which allows the drivers to turn off their engines and "plug-in" to the outside power supply...

Labels: idling reduction

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

*Sweden - Volvo’s Five-Month Truck Sales Drop 10%
Stockholm,Sweden -Bloomberg (NY,USA) -25 June 2007: -- Sweden’s Volvo AB said its truck sales fell 10% first five months of the year, as U.S. deliveries plunged after stricter emissions standards made trucks more expensive... Sales in the five months through May fell to 82,865 vehicles worldwide... The figures include sales from the Nissan Diesel brand, which were consolidated as of April 1. Not including Nissan, sales for Volvo declined 17%... Volvo, the parent company of Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks, said in May that first-quarter North American truck orders, an indicator of future sales, fell 80% to 5,273...

* USA - Hino to Build W. Va. Truck Plant
Tokyo,Japan -Bloomberg (NY,USA) -25 June 2007: -- Japan's Hino Motors Ltd. said it will spend $8.6 million to open a new U.S. assembly plant in West Virginia in November... The Williamstown, W. Va., factory will employ about 80 and will build 2,500 medium- and heavy-duty trucks a year, said in a statement... Hino, which is 50% owned by Toyota Motor Corp., is Japan’s largest heavy-duty truck maker...

Labels: truckmakers news

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

* USA - DHL Sets New N.Y./Europe Service
New York,NY,USA -Transport Topics -25 June 2007: -- DHL Express said Monday it has started a new service from New York City to several major European destinations, including guaranteed arrivals by noon in Paris and Zurich, Switzerland... DHL said it is offering the deliveries by the end of the next business day for the Monday through Thursday service to Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London and Madrid...

* USA - U.S. Xpress Execs Offer to Buy Firm
USA -Transport Topics -25 June 2007: -- Truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Enterprises’ Co-Chairmen Patrick Quinn and Max Fuller said they will offer $20 a share to buy the company... The two said late Friday they will make the offer through their corporation, Mountain Lake Acquisition Co... U.S. Xpress’ shares closed at $14.20 a share Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market...

* USA - Menlo expands Asian reach
USA -Fleet Owner -25 June 2007: -- Logistics provider Menlo Worldwide is buying out Singapore-based Cougar Holdings Pte Ltd., and its primary subsidiary, Cougar Express Logistics, for $33.9 million – including a $28.2 million cash payment to Cougar and the assumption of $5.7 million in debt – so it can expand its freight operations into Southeast Asia...

Labels: trucking industry USA

MARKETING NEWS * USA - S. California's Emissions Rules Could Boost New Truck Sales

Long Beach,CAL,USA -The Long Beach Press-Telegram -23 June 2007: -- A push for lower emissions from heavy-duty trucks, coupled with grants from state and localities in order to meet Southern California’s air-quality standards, are prompting interest in and sales of new trucks in the region... New air quality regulations have made emissions a prime feature for the estimated 14,000 drivers hauling goods in and out of the sprawling Long Beach-Los Angeles seaport... Under pressure from community groups concerned about pollution, port commissioners are seeking to ban access to marine terminals by the most-polluting rigs — those built before 1990 — starting Jan. 1... Economists put the cost of such a fleet turnover at more than $1.5 billion, nearly half of which is expected to come from grants provided by public agencies...

Labels: marketing

Employee Incentives * USA - Can help fleets meet an array of objectives

Washington,DC,USA -Truck News (Canada) -22 June 2007: -- Driver compensation is usually measured in terms of an hourly wage or a rate based on travelled distances, but an array of additional incentives can play an important role in helping your fleet retain workers, lower fuel bills, and reduce accident claims... In a recent study, for example, the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) concluded that safety incentives helped studied fleets reduce insurance claims, workers’ compensation claims and crashes by 65%... (Photo Gallery: llanroney)

Labels: drivers incentives

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA

* Group says road tests are rigged - Safety advocates charge Mexican trucks, drivers not meeting U.S. rules

Akron,OH,USA -Bloomberg News Service/Akron Beacon Journal, by By Angela Greiling Keane -25 June 2007: -- The government program to test whether Mexican trucks and their drivers can operate safely on U.S. roads is rigged in favor of their success, a highway-safety advocacy group says... "Public safety is the loser'' in the Transportation Department's program to give as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies access to U.S. roads, the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a Washington-based group, said in a report released Wednesday...

Labels: mexican's trucks

Roadcheck 2007 * USA - Maine's inspects commerical trucks for safety violations

Kittery,Maine,USA -The Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover,NH), by STEVEN GINTZ -June 23, 2007: -- State Police said while work still needs to be done, commercial trucking throughout the state is steadily improving in terms of proper operation and safety... The biggest driver-related violation, said State Police Lt. Thomas Kelly, is the falsifying of records of duty status, either with errors in records or to conceal they have driven more hours than allowed. Out of 673 total inspections, 61 false records of duty status were found, according to police records... On the vehicle-related side, Kelly said most problems involve brakes, but police require immediate work to be done, regardless of the issue. A total of 79 vehicles were declared out of service and needing work, said Kelly... Additionally, with inspections being random, other issues are discovered as well, including drug and alcohol violations and even immigration issues...

Labels: roadchecks

* Canada - Ontario Trucking Association Announces Scholarship Endowment

Gananoque,ON,CAN -AHN, by Marta Cyperling -June 23, 2007: -- The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) announced they are establishing a scholarship endowment of $40,000 for children of Ontario truck drivers who are killed or seriously injured on the job... The announcement comes on the same day that truck driver David Virgoe, father of three was laid to rest. The 48-year-old was driving along highway 400 outside of Toronto when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting several cars. He died instantly after his truck crashed into a ditch. Police believe two young men that were allegedly street racing were the cause of the crash...

Labels: drivers' endowment

Truck driving * Canada - School under investigation

A British Columbia driving school is under investigation for allegedly helping truckers veer around the law to get their licences faster.

Vancouver,BC,USA -The Globe and Mail, by ARMINA LIGAYA -June 23, 2007: -- South West Driving Academy Ltd. allegedly offered forged trucking licence documents to its students, and helped them age the papers to look authentic, said Doug McClelland of the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia... About 160 immigrants from India have allegedly obtained truck driver's licences using fake papers that state they have the mandatory three years of experience, according to the warrant application... "There's a lot of pressure right now for people to get into the industry quickly," Mr. McClelland said. "Unfortunately people go look for short cuts, or there are unscrupulous people who try to sell short cuts"...

Labels: drivers' schools

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* South Africa - Super Group to manufacture Chinese long-haul trucks in
Garden View,South Africa -Engineering News, by Nelendhre Moodley -22 Jun 07: -- JSE-listed supply chain and automotive firm Super Group will on Monday sign an exclusive agreement with Chinese company Shaanxi to manufacture and produce Shaanxi long haul trucks in South Africa... The deal had taken two years to come to fruition, the company said... A 25-person delegation from China, including the Shaanxi chairperson and the governor of the Shaanxi province would be arriving in South Africa for the signing, the company said...

Labels: truckmakers news

* USA - Griffith regulates trucks, ups speed limit

GRIFFITH,IN.USA -NWI Times (Munster,IN), by CHARLES F. HABER -June 22, 2007: -- The Town Council has adopted an ordinance against "jake braking," where truck drivers use the engine's compression to slow the vehicle instead of using the brakes... The ordinance makes it illegal for a truck to brake in that method except in an emergency... The council also increased the speed limit by 5 mph along two portions of Broad Street...

Labels: regulations

Appeals Court * USA - "Company not required to pay tax on trucks"

A trucking company with headquarters in Alabama should not have been required to pay more than $900,000 in state use tax for trucks that were originally delivered to a terminal in Ohio

MONTGOMERY,Ala,USA -AP/ AL.com (Birmingham,AL), by BOB JOHNSON -22 June 2007: — ... The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled that Boyd Brothers Trucking, with headquarters in Clayton, should not have to pay use tax on the trucks when only a small amount of their usage was in Alabama... The attorney for the trucking company, former state Revenue Commissioner Jim Sizemore, said the ruling will effect the state's ability to tax other trucking companies whose vehicles occasionally travel through or make deliveries in Alabama...

Labels: Court rules

Energy bill's * USA - Winners and Losers

Ethanol wins, Detroil loses, Big Oil dodges the bullet

Washington,DC,USA -MarketWatch, by William L. Watts -Jun 22, 2007: -- Like most pieces of sweeping legislation, the energy bill passed late Thursday by the Senate offers a variety of winners, losers and those that fall somewhere in between... If any industry clearly comes out ahead, it's the ethanol business, analysts say. The Senate bill massively boosts the mandate for ethanol use from 7.5 billion gallons in 2012 to 36 billion gallons by 2022... Ethanol producers have seen their stock prices flag in recent months amid concerns about a near-term supply glut and the impact of rising commodity prices... Detroit setback: Detroit's Big 3 automakers were unable to stave off a major change to corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards... Under current CAFE standards each automaker's fleet must average 27.5 miles a gallon for cars and 22.5 miles a gallon for light trucks for model-year 2008... Big oil dodges bullet: In another dramatic turn, Republican senators blocked an amendment that would have provided $32.1 billion in tax incentives over 10 years to alternative energy producers, offsetting much of the impact by rescinding tax breaks and boosting other revenues collected from big oil and gas firms... Moreover, the tally "confirmed strong majority support for extracting funding from petroleum companies to fund clean and green energy," wrote energy policy analysts Kevin Book and Patrick Hughes of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co.... A smaller package -- in the $10 billion to $15 billion range -- would likely prove more palatable, they said, which indicates a smaller package of alternative-energy subsidies is likely to come out of any House-Senate negotiations on a final energy package later this year...

Labels: energy bill USA

TRUCKMAKERS' STOCKS NEWS * USA

* Navistar shares rally on laudatory report - Caterpillar mentioned as potential buyer of heavy truck maker
Chicago,Ill,USA -The Chicago Tribune, by James P. Miller -June 22, 2007: -- Shares of Navistar International Inc. traded modestly higher today -- despite the broad selloff that has dragged down most stocks -- after UBS analyst David Bleustein raised his rating on shares of the Warrenville truck and engine manufacturer to "buy" from "neutral"... In an intriguing report to investors that became public today, Bleustein raised his price target for Navistar shares from $63 to an eye-popping $81... The stock has boomed because some investors think Navistar may be a buyout candidate, although the company has been the subject of periodic acquisition rumors -- none of which ever proved true -- for at least a dozen years...

Labels: market shares

BIODIESEL * USA - Two Million Mile Haul surpasses 500,000 miles

An endurance test for diesel engines using B20 reached a milestone in April

Grand Forks,ND,USA -Biodiesel Magazine -23 June 2007: -- ... The Two Million Mile Haul logged its 500,000th mile while gathering performance data in order to compare the biodiesel blend with petroleum diesel... According to Iowa Central Community College, one of several partners in the study, there haven’t been any significant differences in mileage or cold flow problems so far between the trucks using B20 and the control vehicles... The test involves 10 long-haul trucks using B20 and 10 trucks using No. 2 diesel. The trucks are owned and operated by Decker Truck Line Inc....

Labels: biodiesel

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* USA - Kenworth extends truck rebate program
Kirkland,Wash,USA -Today's Trucking -22 June 2007: -- The Kenworth Customer Loyalty Program, which offers a $2,000 rebate on qualifying truck purchases, has been extended through September 2007... The program is for customers who trade an existing Kenworth truck and purchase a new 2008 Class 8 model Kenworth T660, T800, W900 or T2000. Customers can choose to use the $2,000 as a cash down payment toward the purchase of their new Kenworth truck or keep the rebate...

* India - Volvo set to ramp up production
Bangalore,India -The Business Standard -June 23, 2007: -- Volvo India, the subsidiary of the ¤27 billion Volvo Group, will increase its production by 66 per cent during 2008... The company plans to manufacture 1,500 vehicles (1,200 trucks and 300 buses) in 2007... Volvo sold 650 trucks and 300 buses in India last year and is aiming at 15 per cent growth this year...

Labels: truckmakers news

SAFETY * USA - Walking While Drunk Can Prove to be Fatal

Drunken drivers do not appear to be principal cause of pedestrians deaths

Chicago,Ill,USA -The Chicago Tribune/AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety -June 10, 2007: -- 32% of the 4,881 pedestrians killed in 2005 were legally drunk, meaning they had blood-alcohol concentrations of .08 or higher; slightly higher than the 31% of drivers killed in 2005 who were legally drunk... Only 11% of drivers involved in pedestrian fatalities had BACs of .08 or higher, down from 15% in 2001... Injuries leading cause of death among Americans younger than 44... Ralph Hingson, director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "Generally, when there is a pedestrian death, there has been an error on the part of both the pedestrian and the driver"... Intoxication among pedestrians killed consistent w/ other alcohol-related patterns... 45% of pedestrian deaths occur between 8 pm - 4 am... Pedestrians should exercise more caution at night; visibility reduced... "Everybody should arrange for a safe way home. The key is to be smart and do that before you start drinking", said Misty Moyes, spokeswoman, Mothers Against Drunk Driving...

Labels: safety

Congestion software * UK - Gets Big Apple test

A specialized software system developed to help ease traffic congestion in London is now getting a trial run in New York City

London,UK -FleetOwner (USA), by Sean Kilcarr -Jun 18, 2007: -- ... MajescoMastek, an IT developer based in Mumbai, India, worked with U.K. software maker Capita Group to create a secure system that captures vehicle license plate information using video cameras--- instead of stopping drivers at tollbooths or barriers-- as part of a traffic congestion pricing program... Drivers then paid different roadway usage fees depending on the time of day, with the options of paying charges in person, electronically via the Internet, or even via text messaging with cell phones, said Subu Vasudevan, senior solution architect for MajescoMastek... New York City is looking at implementing a pilot system, proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R ) not only to handle current traffic volumes within the city, but also to anticipate future changes when building the system...

Labels: congestion pricing debate

Biofuel * UK - Sustainability Questioned

A new report from consulting firm Arthur D. Little is throwing a cold pail of water on the long-term viability of biofuels...

London,UK -FleetOwner (USA) -Jun 20, 2007: -- Roger Hill, head of Arthur D. Little’s global energy practice stressed, “... but long-term survival of the various biofuel options is far from clear, as virtually all are dependent on government support and/or high oil prices”... Despite current government support, Hill said there are uncertainties regarding the long-term sustainability of biofuel technologies and applications, mainly as they are cost competitive only in times of high oil prices... These ambiguities, Hill said, make investors more skeptical about the potential for making long-term profits by investing in biofuels. He stressed that to make the right investment choices potential investors, suppliers and policy makers must have in-depth, independent data covering all aspects of the bio-fuels debate...

Labels: biofuels

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Mitsubishi Fuso Canter to get Fiat engine
Germany -Road Transport (UK) -22 June 2007: -- DaimlerChrysler and Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) have agreed a major supply deal, which will see the Fuso Canter fitted with an FPT engine from 2009... FPT will supply around 80,000 F1C engines a year to Mitsubishi Fuso, with volumes increasing over time. The engine is a common-rail unit, rated at 177hp at 3,500 rpm and with 400Nm of torque at 1,400 rpm. The two companies are investigating further business opportunities in other markets, including South-East Asi

* Germany - MAN Seeks Tripling of Russian Business, May Build CIS Facility
Germany -Road Transport (UK) -19 June 2007: -- MAN expects to see its Russian business triple this year, with this report predicting sales of 4,000 trucks during 2007, up from the 1,570 vehicles sold during 2006. The company may also open an assembly plant in Russia - 'sooner or later'... MAN forecasts industry-wide truck sales within the Commonwealth of Independent States, an association of former Soviet republics including Russia, will grow 80 percent to 180,000 vehicles annually in 2010 from 100,000 in 2005... We remain a bit uncertain of this forecast; it does seem very optimistic, and much of the growth seen at present is just that - growth...

* Sweden - More from Volvo's Capital Markets Day
Stockholm,Sweden -Road Transport (UK) -19 June 2007: -- Deputy chief executive Jorma Halonen said the realisation of the synergies from the Nissan Diesel acquisition are going 'slightly ahead of plan' and will surpass the expected annual €200 million after five years... Halonen said he believes Nissan Diesel can 'double' its export volumes. In 2006, Nissan Diesel exported around 23,000 trucks, around 3,000-6,000 more trucks than the domestic sales...

Labels: truckmakers news

RESEARCH * UK - Transport 2000 recommends freight road pricing

UK -Road Transport -22 June 2007: -- A Freight Traffic road pricing scheme could improve the efficiency of road freight, almost double rail freight and increase coastal shipping, according to environmental transport body Transport 2000... Research carried out by MDS Transmodal on behalf of Transport 2000 assumed the lowest charges would be on motorways to encourage trucks to use these rather than local roads... It found that some international freight would switch from South-East ports to those in Yorkshire and the North-East rail freight would more than double and the environmental costs of road freight would stabilise. However, the research also showed that the scheme might increase carbon emissions because some trucks would choose longer routes using cheaper roads...

Labels: transport intelligence

LAWS * USA - New Texas one, expands truck enforcement

TX,USA -Life on the Road, by Porter M. Corn III -June 21, 2007: -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, has signed a bill into law intended to allow more police in the state to enforce truck rules... The new law, allows police in cities with populations of 50,000 or more to enforce the safety standards. It also allows police in cities with populations of 25,000 or more and located in counties with populations of at least 500,000 to enforce the standards... In addition, it extends enforcement of truck rules to municipalities with populations of at least 34,000. The only requirement is that they are located in a county that borders two or more states... The changes to state law will allow more than 40 cities to become eligible to enforce truck rules...

Labels: laws and bills USA

REFLECTIONS * USA - Why Some Keep Trucking

Even with these troubling times, I wonder why many continue to stay in the business of trucking, why not become company drivers and forget the hassles of being an independent contractor?

USA - Life on the Road -21 June 2007: -- I’ll tell you why, Owner-Operators on the roads today are the reason why many family owned business are a success and will continue to be successful; they are a team of players that know the bottom line must be met to overcome obstacles. Those who thought owning their own rigs was “fun” are slowly being weeded out, the real business men and women are the survivors of trucking... Driving a rig is what most only know - it’s been their life... A driver once told me, “being leased to the right outfit means success”. Although he says he’s not getting rich and is just sliding by, “I like having the independence of being an owner operator. I don’t have to be jumping jobs as a company driver to get better pay. I am able to control my life and my outlook in this industry. It’s like a love hate relationship but it’s something I know how to do and what to do”... Many enjoy the freedom of the road, to get out and move around... We’ve been in trucking 25 some years and have learned that many do a lot of their own work on the truck that they possibly can to save costs like shocks, batteries, pretty much anything but electronics... Although we are going through some rough times in this industry, the professional owner operator is continuing to survive. As in any avenue in life, learning experience is how to be successful... (Picture: BilLorryBlog-UK)

Labels: comments

INFRASTRUCTURES * South Africa - Minister to target freight operators and their clients

The damage to roads caused by heavy-vehicle overloading is estimated to cost the South African economy between R600-million and R800-million (U$S 84M) a year...

Garden View,Eastern Cape,South Africa -Engineering News (press release), by Irma Venter -22 Jun 07: -- ... Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said at the launch of the Donkerhoek Traffic Control Centre earlier this month... To combat this, the Department of Transport (DoT) – in partnership with provincial road-traffic authorities – is implementing a R20-million National Overload Control Strategy ... Radebe said the strategy’s main focus is to improve weighbridge infrastructure, which involves the development and upgrading of overload-control infrastructure in strategic locations across the country’s road network...

Labels: infrastructures

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - New Roads Plan Gets $3 Billion Infusion

With the first major transportation funding legislation in a generation about to take effect, Virginia's six-year master plan for roads, rails and transit got a $3.1 billion boost

Richmond,Va,USA -wtopnews/AP, by BOB LEWIS -June 21, 2007: -- The Commonwealth Transportation Board's $11 billion outlay for projects spanning 2008 through 2013 is fattened by about $500 million a year generated by the three-part transportation bill... More than three-fourths of the total, $8.7 billion, goes into highway projects, including 206 interstate and primary highway projects by 2014 compared to only 48 the CTB approved one year ago... Among the new projects: ...

Labels: infrastructures

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA -

Want cross-border trucking? How about a cross-border trucker's union?... A border fence with a hole big enough for Mexican trucks

San Francisco, CAL,USA -Salon, by Andrew Leonard -June 20, 2007: -- On Tuesday, a House Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing on "Cross-Border Trucking Threats." At one point, Stephen Russell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Celadon Group Inc., one of the dozen largest trucking companies in the United States, compared the situation in North America to that of Europe... "If you put yourself in Europe and were a pasta maker in Venice and had an order to ship pasta in a truckload to Amsterdam, it wouldn't go in an Italian truck to the French border, a French truck to the Belgian border, Belgian truck to the Dutch border, Dutch truck to Amsterdam. It would be taken by an Italian truck or a Dutch truck going through..." Integrating Mexico into a North American equivalent of the EU poses much greater challenges than EU integration. The economic disparities are greater, the border is bigger, the cultural animosities more intense. And it doesn't help at all that the chief advocates of making it easier to cross the border are those who want to exploit the cost savings possible by shipping goods in Mexican trucks. True security will only come when Mexican truckers are paid as well as American or Canadian truckers... (Public Photo Gallery by static bob)

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Del Sievert Trucking, Inc. Joins 1-800-TOPSOIL
Oak Park,MICH,USA -PR Leap (press release - Chula Vista,CAL) -June 21, 2007: -- Del Sievert Trucking, Inc. has recently acquired the rights to the phone number 1-800-TOPSOIL in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Waukesha, and Kenosha Counties... There are currently over fifty 1800TOPSOIL.com members nationwide, and that number is only growing. It definitely makes life easier when the only thing to memorize for all your landscaping needs is one simple phone number. 1-800-TOPSOIL makes it happen... (Picture: hnlgoldman's Public Photo Gallery)

* Penske opens Sacramento, Calif., facility
Sacramento,CA,USA -eTrucker, by CCJ -21 June 2007: -- Penske Truck Leasing has opened a $9 million, 18,000-square-foot facility in Sacramento, Calif... The complex, which offers commercial and consumer truck rental services, full-service truck leasing and contract maintenance, handles about 60 leasing customers and nearly 750 vehicles...

* Knight opens Dallas brokerage center
USA -Fleet Owner -Jun 21, 2007: -- Truckload carrier Knight Transportation is opening a new brokerage service center in Dallas, to be operated by its Knight Brokerage LLC subsidiary... The Dallas center represents the seventh brokerage service facility opened by the Phoenix-based carrier since it formed Knight Brokerage in mid-2005...

* Smithway buy inked
USA -Fleet Owner -Jun 20, 2007: -- Shareholders of Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. have agreed to a buyout of the Fort Dodge, IA-based truckload carrier by Nashville-based rival Western Express for $54 million-- or about $10.63 per share. Western Express is also assuming Smithway’s $90 million worth of debt... The deal should be wrapped up by July, said Wayne Wise, Western’s chairman, president & CEO, and is structured as a merger so Smithway will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Western...

Labels: trucking industry USA

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative * USA - Issues Proposed Rule On

Step in Right Direction, but Uncertainties Remain, According to CTA

Ottawa,ON,Canada -Canadian Trucking Alliance (press release) -June 21, 2007: -- The US Departments of State and Homeland Security have issued their long-anticipated proposed rule for land and sea travel to the United States under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)... While the announcement contains some positive news – notably the acceptance of a truck driver FAST card as a passport alternative - it does not remove several key uncertainties surrounding WHTI, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance... At the same time, the plans announced run up against recent actions in the US Congress... Last week, CTA joined a number of US and Canadian business groups under the umbrella of Americans for Better Borders in urging the House of Representatives to “ensure proper implementation of the WHTI that guarantees security without sacrificing the economy.” The House of Representatives subsequently voted overwhelmingly in favour of an extension of the land and sea provisions until at least June 2009 in order to ensure that adequate plans, staffing and technology are in place before land border implementation moves forward. According to CTA Chief Executive Officer David Bradley, “While the announcement takes us a bit closer to understanding when and how WHTI will impact the border, it looks like it will be a while yet before we have all of the answers”... (red_beard_racer's Public Photo Gallery)

Labels: border news

MARKET NEWS * Canada - Trucking industry feeling the heat

The strong Canadian dollar is putting the pinch on the trucking industry.

Winnepeg,Manitoba,Canada -CJOB, by Brenton Driedger -June 21 2007: -- Bob Dolyniuk is the general manager of the Manitoba Trucking Association, and he says they've faced a number of difficulties in the past few years on southbound traffic such as B-S-E, the softwood lumber issue, and the recent auto industry downturn... Dolyniuk tells, the strength of the Canadian dollar is making it worse, and he expects to see a correction if this trend keeps up... Dolyniuk believes there will always be enough companies on the road to maintain the economy, even though there might be a fallout... (Photo: red_beard_racer's Public Gallery)

Labels: market news

JOBS * USA - Truckers decry port's employee drivers plan

Harbor: Operators say independence would be lost in bid to green fleets

Rancho Dominguez,CAL,USA -Long Beach Press-Telegram (Long Beach,CA), by Kristopher Hanson -19 June 2007: -- ... Both men, along with several peers, on Tuesday denounced a port-sponsored environmental and labor plan requiring harbor motor carriers to hire employee drivers, saying the proposal undermines the economic freedom they now enjoy... Currently, most port truckers are "owner-operators" who haul goods on their own schedule for a set flat rate... The new system being proposed by Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach could displace many of these drivers or require they be hired as hourly workers with benefits... (Photo by Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram: A truck driver works on a load at Transport Express in Rancho Dominguez)

Labels: truckers' jobs

Trucking Association * Australia - Demerit system won't boost road safety

The Northern Territory Trucking Association says a demerit points system is not the answer to making the roads safer

Australia -ABC Regional Online -June 20, 2007: -- The Territory system will include penalties for drivers who fail to stop at level crossings... The Association's Executive Officer Peter Goed says while there's no excuse for not stopping at a level crossing, imposing demerit points for Territory truck drivers is not the solution... Mr Goed says a balance needs to be found between penalising people for breaking the law and educating drivers about good behaviour... He says a demerit points systems in other jurisdictions have failed to improve road safety...

Labels: road safety debate

Big trucks * USA - Raise big bucks for new playground

Kids climbed, crawled and played on all kinds of big trucks Saturday and did it for a good cause.

Londonderry,NH,USA -The Derry News (Derry, NH), by Eric Parry-June 19, 2007: -- The second annual "Touch a Truck" day was sponsored by Project P.L.A.Y to help raise money to build a new playground at Nelson Field. The event drew a crowd of more than 300... The group hopes to reach its fundraising by next spring. The new playground will replace a 20-year-old playground behind the Central Fire station... (Picture by Allegra Boverman - Bailey Yager, 1-1/2, of Manchester, looks very small next to the huge tires of a PLS or Paletized Loading System Army vehicle that was on hand for the Touch-a-Truck playground fundraiser held at Londonderry High School on Saturday)

Labels: trucks and kids

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Daimler mulls new trucks plant in eastern Europe
Frankfurt,Germany -Nation Multimedia (Bangkok,Thailand)/Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung -21 June 2007: -- German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler is considering building a new heavy trucks plant in eastern Europe to meet exploding demand in the region, the head of Mercedes Trucks... While the heavy trucks market in the US is showing some signs of weakness, it the European market is exploding... To meet demand in the region, rival truck maker MAN is planning to build a new factory in Poland with annual capacity of 15,000 trucks...

* USA - Mack introduces multi-function navigational radio

Lehigh Valley,Pa,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Adam Ledlow -21 June 2007: -- Mack has introduced its new Navion R5000 navigational radio, a system that integrates up to six separate functions, including safety-related devices, vehicle information and entertainment... The R5000 fits into a standard in-dash radio slot and has a seven-inch colour LCD screen to display information. The display is designed to allow drivers to view vehicle performance and safety information on one display in order to reduce driver distraction... (Photos: The new Navion R5000 navigational radio for the Mack Pinnacle and Mack Granite integrates radio, CD, digital audio playback, remote camera systems, onboard navigation, vehicle monitoring through a J1939 data link, trip computer and tire pressure monitoring)

* USA - Truck-Lite’s mirror system complements Freightliner offering

Falconer, N.Y.,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Steven Macleod -21 June 2007: -- Truck-Lite has partnered with Freightliner Trucks to deliver an ideal mirror system for Freightliner’s new upscale truck, the Cascadia... With nearly three years of research and development, Truck-Lite’s door and fender mirror system lend themselves to a classy, yet aerodynamic appeal to work with the trucks overall needs...

Labels: truckmakers news

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA

* Hoffa Blasts Bush Plans to Open Mexican Border to Unsafe Trucks
Washington,DC,USA -Earth Times/International Brotherhood of Teamsters- 20 Jun 2007: -- Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa lambasted the Bush administration today for planning to defy Congress and the American people by rushing ahead with its reckless cross- border pilot program... Hoffa spoke at a news conference on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and truck safety advocates... They issued a study showing how the Bush administration is dodging truck safety requirements in its zeal to open the border to unsafe Mexican trucks...

* Bush's Mexico-domiciled trucks plan flunks safety rules
Washington,DC,USA -Public Citizen/Auto Safety & Consumer Protection -20 June 2007: -- The Bush administration is continuing to ignore the law and failing to protect the public as it barrels ahead with a pilot project allowing trucks from Mexico to travel throughout the United States, even though the public disapproves of the plan, according to new data released today by safety advocates... The report released today, however, identified every provision of law that FMCSA has failed to comply with, including:

* failure to provide sufficient opportunity for public notice and comments;
* failure to provide the public with information about the pilot project;
* failure to comply with the requirements of §350 of the FY2002 DOT Appropriations Act on the safety of cross-border trucking;
* failure to comply with requirements of the pilot program law to test innovative approaches and alternative regulations under 49 USC §31315(c);
* failure of FMCSA to keep its promise to check every truck every time for compliance; and
* failure to establish criteria that are subject to monitoring during the pilot program.

* Panel probes effort to monitor Mexican trucks at border
Wahington,DC,USA -National Journal/GovExec.com, by Anika Gupta -June 20, 2007: -- Witnesses testifying before a House subcommittee Tuesday debated whether the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are cooperating effectively to address the risks of a pilot program that would allow Mexican-owned trucks to cross into the United States... In particular, panel members expressed concern over whether TSA and CBP share information about trucks once they are over the border. The questions arose when the Transportation Department proposed a pilot program that would allow up to 1,000 Mexican-owned trucks to cross over the U.S.-Mexico border and drive on America's interstate highways... U.S. government agencies keep extensive files on American truck drivers, including databases of all those licensed to transport hazardous materials... Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, called for the creation of similar databases to track Mexican drivers, prior to implementation of the pilot program...

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* New site pins down rental trucks
Cherry Hill, N.J.,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Steven Macleod -20 June 2007: -- NationaLease has a new Web site, which enables businesses to rent trucks through the company's vast network of members... The search process is simple and fast, according to the rental provider... Search results will reveal NationaLease member companies within a certain radius (five, 10, 50, or 100 miles), display their company name, address, and phone number, as well as display a map with the option to get driving directions to the rental location...

Labels: trucking industry USA

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Barr-Nunn opens Southeast regional fleet to owner-operators
USA -eTrucker, by Kristie Busam -20 June 2007: -- Barr-Nunn Transportation’s southeast regional fleet is open to owner-operators. There are many owner-operators that want to be home weekends who operate in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The hiring areas for the Southeast regional fleet includes the following cities: Jacksonville. Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa, Fla.; Albany, Atlanta, Savannah and Tifton, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Memphis, Tenn...

Labels: trucking industry

* USA - OTC announces 2008 event schedule

USA -eTrucker, by Kristie Busam -20 June 2007: -- DOTAuthority.com has announced today their 2008 Orlando Truckers’ Conference event schedule... The second annual OTC will be held at the Osceola Heritage Park Convention building in Kissimmee, Fla.... The OTC is a conference and exhibition designed to bring together vendors and industry professionals with purchasing power and educate truckers and trucking professionals by offering the tools and insight needed to further their careers...

Labels: events

SubCulture * Trucks' Spray Paint ... a statement for our times

* USA - 'Tagged' Ford Transit in bleak urban surroundings...

Tampa,FL,USA -BigLorryBlog (UK) -19 June 2007: -- And the moral of the story? Don't leave the Commercial Motor Ford Transit long-term test van in a street near a council estate adjacent to Tooting Broadway overnight... Because? Well this is what happens. Some twit will spray paint (sorry 'tag' to use the home-boy, hangin' wid de kidz patois) it for your troubles...

* Germany - Still, it could have been worse:

Berlin,Germany -BigLorryBlog -19 June 2007: -- But... Just look what a bunch of German hooligans did to this old Mercedes 'Bremen' box van in Berlin, which BLB happened to notice during a recent vacation there...

Labels: trucks spray pinted

Saving us from ourselves * Vatican - 10 Commandments for drivers

Since driving has become such a major part of contemporary life, the Vatican has decided a 10 Commandments for drivers

Vatican (Rome,Italy) -The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX,USA), by Tim Spell -June 19, 2007: -- They are in order:
1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.
Seems like the Vatican is a bit late to the game, but the advice seems pretty solid.

Labels: Commandments for drivers

Trouble for Taco Trucks * USA

Sacramento,CA,USA -News10.net, by Dan Adams -19 June 2007: -- Following complaints from merchants and nearby residents, three San Joaquin County cities next month will consider tightening restrictions on mobile food vendors... Lodi, Lathrop, and Escalon are drafting local ordinances that would provide stronger enforcement, particularly against so called "taco trucks" which park on empty lots, parking lots, and city streets...

Labels: taco trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

Volvo Trucks and Mentor Graphics complete Autosar project
USA -Automotive Business Review -19 June 2007: -- Mentor Graphics Corporation has announced the successful results of an Autosar demonstrator project recently completed with Volvo Trucks... Autosar is the standards organization working to create an open standard for automotive engineering architecture... The goal of the project was to increase the knowledge about Autosar within the Volvo group as well as evaluate commercial viability of the Autosar concept itself...

Labels: truckmakers news

Trucks’ speed * USA - Limit lowered on roads

Tractor-trailers slowed to 30 miles per hour
Cleburne,TX,USA -The Cleburne Times-Review, by Misty Shultz -June 19, 2007: -- Johnson County commissioners voted Monday to lower the speed limit for some commercial vehicles to 30 miles-per-hour on all county roads... The lower limit applies to vehicles with gross weight ratings of more than 26,000 pounds... Vehicles weighing 26,000 pounds or less will continue to abide by a 40 mph speed limit in unincorporated areas of the county...

Labels: trucks speeds

CAFE Kills, and Then... * USA - Some Six Reasons to Be Skeptical of Fuel Economy Standards

From: The Center for Individual Freedom

Washington,DC,USA -nationalcenter.org -June 19, 2007: -- "As always, this government folly will result in even higher gas and automobile prices, as well as decreased auto safety, for consumers... The more fundamental problem with the regulations, however, is that they simply don't work... The CAFE system was imposed in 1975 as a response to the oil embargo, but America today imports an even greater portion of foreign oil than it did then... On the other hand, these mandates will put American automakers at even greater competitive disadvantage, because Japanese and other foreign competitors will be better able to adapt to the new standards... As it is, the American Big Three are hemorrhaging losses, shuttering manufacturing plants and laying off thousands of American employees. What a deal -- more losses by the Big Three, more layoffs and higher gas and car prices... Unfortunately, ailing automakers and gas suppliers simply present too soft a boogeyman, and feel-good environmental platitudes too easy a justification. With the White House apparently surrendering, it is now up to American consumers and voters to resist this counterproductive policy before we suffer additional damage."

Labels: fuel economy

BILLS & LAWS * USA - Alabama OKs bill exempting farm trucks from federal regs

Gov. Bob Riley signed a bill into law in Alabama to exempt farm trucks from some federal safety regulations

AL,USA -Land Line Magazine/The Birmingham News -June 19, 2007: -- The new law, exempts mostly farm vehicles up to 13 tons that operate solely within the state from some federal motor carrier safety regulations, including the number of hours drivers may be at the wheel. It also exempts affected drivers from physical exams... The state adopted the federal registration of intrastate trucks two decades ago. But the tracking system was never implemented because of budget constraints... The new law also provides that the state’s planting and harvesting season be all year...

Labels: trucks exemption

Tax Bill * USA - Port container one, advances in California

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 19, 2007: -- The California Senate approved a bill that would generate more than $525 million annually from shippers at ports in the state. It has been forwarded to the Assembly for further consideration... Sponsored by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, 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...

Labels: taxes policy

Drivers' Turnover * USA - ATA says that one, on rise

Driver turnover among large truckload carriers increased in the first three months of this year

VA,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 19, 2007: -- The American Trucking Association, reports the turnover rate increased 6 percentage points to an actual turnover rate of 127 percent – the highest rate in more than a year... For less-than-truckload carriers, the rate rose 10 points to an actual turnover rate of 14 percent, ATA reported...

Labels: drivers' turnover

TOLL ROAD DEBATE * USA

* Regional council prefers Texas public agency to build toll road - Opponents of privatization have won a noteworthy victory in Texas.

TX,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 19, 2007: -- The Regional Transportation Council in the Dallas area voted 27-10 in favor of awarding a highway project to a public agency – the North Texas Tollway Authority – instead of a private, foreign company... The project involves the construction of a section of the Texas Route 121 toll road...

* Effort to toll I-70 in Missouri fails, again
Miss,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 19, 2007: -- A legislative effort in the Missouri General Assembly to eliminate a couple of barriers prohibiting toll roads and bridges from being built in the state has died... The state’s constitution currently prohibits the use of state funds to build toll roads. Changing the constitution would require a public vote after legislative approval. Even if approved by voters, there would still be obstacles to overcome...

Labels: tolls roads debate

“Hot Fuel” Problem * USA - Amendment would require temperature-compensating fuel pumps

Fuel retailers should be required to eliminate the “hot fuel” problem by installing temperature-compensation equipment on all fuel pumps

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 19, 2007: -- Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, submitted a Senate amendment to a large-scale House bill called the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 – HR6... McCaskill’s amendment would require fuel retailers to install temperature compensation equipment on all pumps so consumers get a consistent amount of fuel energy every time they fill up... Provisions of the McCaskill amendment, known as the Future Accountability in Retail Fuel Act – or FAIR Fuel Act – state:
* New fuel pumps and replacement pumps would have to be equipped with temperature compensation equipment to dispense fuel adhering to a 60-degree standard;
* Retailers would have a maximum of five years after enactment of a final rule to equip all existing pumps with the temperature-compensating equipment;
* State inspectors would check for compliance and notify the secretary of commerce of violations. After 180 days of non-compliance, the retailers would be subject to $5,000 fines per pump, per violation;
* Federal grants of $1,000 per pump or $10,000 per retailer would be available to small retailers. No grants would available for integrated large oil companies; and
* The rulemaking process would be required to begin 90 days after the date of enactment, with a final rule no later than one year after enactment.

Labels: hot fuel

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA - Groups to issue report card on cross-border program

The groups plan to unveil the report card and study at a press conference set for Wednesday, June 20, in Washington, DC

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 19, 2007: -- Organizations representing U.S. truck drivers, safety advocates and motorists will issue a “report card” and a study detailing how the Bush administration is defying Congress with the U.S. DOT’s attempt to open the border to trucks from Mexico... Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, will speak at the press conference...

Labels: mexican's trucks

No trucks * Montenegro - In the rush hours

Podgorica,Montenegro -Visit Montenegro -18 Jun 2007: -- Special traffic regime which is predicted for the up coming summer season will start to be applied from July 1st and it will be in effect until September 1st... Assistant of the secretary Zivko Kecojevic said that now it is certain that the vehicles of public enterprises, whose founder is the Capital city will not be able to drive in rush hours, when the biggest jams are on the roads, and that they will be able to drive exclusively in early morning and late evening hours... The ban of the traffic during the biggest rush hours will be applied also on the vehicles of supply and procurement of shops in the area of the Capital city, and municipalities Golubovci and Tuzi...

Labels: trucks ban

Drivers Wanted * USA - JOBS

Cleveland, OH,USA -Logistics Today, by MR Bojangles -June 18. 2007: -- For those who think the shortage of truck drivers is overstated, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has a new study, based on statistical analysis... Global Insight, the economic consulting firm that conducted the study for ATA, predicts over the next 10 years, economic growth will generate a need for a 2.2% average annual increase in long-haul heavy truck drivers, or 320,000 jobs overall. Another 219,000 must be found to replace drivers 55 and older who will retire in the next decade, putting total expansion and replacement hiring needs at 539,000 or an average of 54,000 new drivers per year for the next decade...

Labels: drivers jobs

MILITANT ANTI-TRUCKER * USA - Made a Trucker Flinch

The older I get, the less I like trucks

NY,USA -

loho10002, by Yori Yanover -19 June 2007: -- I’ve begun to view trucks as the foundation of all that’s wrong with America. They kill people, they ruin roads, they deprive working men and women of millions of work hours by jack-knifing on the highway and getting their asses stuck in tunnels too small for them, they guzzle up the country’s energy resources, they inflict on folks food products from thousands of miles away which they shouldn’t be ingesting, and they make our air chunky with bits of carbon... On occasion I get to exact a tiny bit of revenge. Like this morning, on my way to shul, when this 18 wheeler tried in vain to make the turn into Rivington from Pitt. On such occasions I automatically take out the phone camera and start shooting, in case the truck nicks a parked car, always happy to provide the car owner with the record of the violation. So this time I noticed the truck driver got really upset as soon as I took out the phone and pointed it at him. He was livid, waving at me and demanding to know what I was doing and why...

Labels: anti-trucker

TRUCKSTOPS * USA - Unlike other regions, the Midlands have plenty of spots to rest 18-wheelers

The trouble is there's a shortage of parking spaces for the big rigs in some parts of the country

Omaha,NE,USA -The Omaha World-Herald (subscription), byu CHET MULLIN -June 18, 2007: -- After 11 hours on the road, a truck driver has to stop. It's the law. The trouble is there's a shortage of parking spaces for the big rigs in some parts of the country... It's not so bad in Nebraska and Iowa, but in the northeast corridor, around Chicago and near other big cities, there is a shortage of parking... The American Trucking Association predicts there will be 3.7 million trucks on the nation's highways by 2016, up from 2.76 million in 2006... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates that in 2005, the most recent year for which figures were available, there was a daily truck-parking demand for 56,000 public spaces, but only 28,000 were available... (Photo by JAMES R. BURNETT/THE WORLD-HERALD: When Nebraska rebuilt this Interstate 80 rest stop west of Gretna, it tripled the number of parking spaces for semitrailer trucks)

Labels: truckstops

HERO * Canada - Deceased truck driver hailed as hero in 400 crash

A tanker truck driver killed in an accident on Hwy. 400 yesterday is being lauded as a hero for directing his tanker off the highway and preventing it from crossing into oncoming traffic

Bradford,Ont,Canada -Truck News/Sun Media -19 June 2007: -- The accident was triggered by two or three vehicles that were allegedly being driven dangerously... Two drivers have been charged with five offences each, including criminal negligence causing death and street racing... "Two and possibly three automobiles travelling at high speeds in close proximity to each other making lane changes" were the cause, told Sgt. Cam Woolley,.. "The rig skidded into the left guide rail and then back across the highway and into the ditch"...

Labels: dangerous motorists

To Show Passport * USA - WHTI not delayed -- yet

Washington,DC,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -19 June 2007: -- Contrary to some published reports, a U.S. House of Representatives vote to delay the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) until June 2009 is not the final word on the matter, and the controversial passport rule could still go ahead as planned... WHTI requires anyone entering the U.S. to show a valid passport...

Labels: passports

BILLS * USA

* Several trucking bills put on hold in Illinois
Ill.USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -June 18, 2007: -- A bill in the Illinois House that intended to allow some large trucks access on local roads in the state has stalled, the bill would change restrictions on how far trucks may travel off main routes to deliver their loads, fuel up or get rest... Current state law allows certain trucks to travel up to 5 highway miles off any state-designated highway to load or unload. In addition, those same trucks can travel off any state-designated highway and travel no more than 5 miles on “any state, county, township or municipal highway” to get fuel, food, repairs or rest... Another bill relegated to the Rules Committee until next year would repeal a $400 fee targeting Illinois-based truckers, the measure would eliminate the annual commercial distribution fee charged on each truck... A vote by the full Senate has been delayed until December for a bill intended to lower diesel emissions in the state. The bill would put in place a 2.5 percent surcharge onto the sale or lease of trucks that don’t have 2007 engines... Another emissions bill has been put to rest for the year. 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...

Labels: laws and bills USA

TOLLS ROADS DEBATE * USA -

* Toll road bill sent to Tennessee governor

Tenn,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA), by Keith Goble -June 18, 2007: -- With the state struggling to pay for needed transportation work, the Tennessee Legislature approved a bill that 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 two pilot toll projects: one bridge and one road. For the bridge project, officials are considering a six-mile stretch of road and bridge northeast of Nashville... Removed from the bill was a provision that would have allowed private groups to build and operate the toll routes. Another provision left off the bill would have allowed existing lanes to become toll lanes...

* Indiana and Illinois reach agreement on toll discounts
Ind & Ill,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) -June 18, 2007: -- Officials in Indiana and have Illinois resolved a dispute over toll discounts on the Indiana Toll Road... The squabble ended when the Indiana Toll Road Oversight Board approved a resolution to extend the 40-percent discount to Illinois residents who have I-Pass transponders until 2016. Illinois Tollway officials issued a statement accepting the offer...

Labels: tolls roads debate

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

* USA - Smithway sale to Western Express approved
Fort Dodge, IA,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 15, 2007: -- The stockholders of Smithway Motor Xpress have approved the company’s sale to Western Express for about $90 million... Both companies are truckload operations and run both vans and flatbeds, but Smithway has focused primarily on flatbeds... The sale is expected to increase Western Express’s fleet from 1,600 tractors to more than 2,600...

* Canada - Private carrier group celebrates safest fleets, top drivers
Niagara-on-the-Lake,Ont,USA -Today's Trucking (Canada) -18 June 2007: -- A handful of special private fleets and truck drivers were honored by the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada at the group's annual conference last week... PMTC and Zurich Canada named TDL Group Corp. of Guelph, Ont. the top 2007 private carrier for safety performance in the Large Fleet category. For the Small Fleet division, Pro Trucking Systems of Burlington, Ont. was recognized; while Maple Leaf Consumer Foods of Kitchener, Ont. was named Most Improved Fleet...

* Canada - New Saskatchewan pre-trip rules to take affect soon
Regina,SAS,CAN -Today's Trucking -15 June 2007: -- In a few weeks, all commercial vehicles operating in Saskatchewan over 5,000 kg and any trailers in transit must be inspected by the driver or a qualified person every 24 hours... Also starting July 1, the carrier must supply a list of inspection items of the regulations to the person doing the inspection. Items that must be checked during each inspection, as well as details of what constitutes major or minor defects, can be found at the provincial Highways and Transportation website (link below)...

Labels: trucking industry USA

* USA - Michigan bills would end tax exemptions for rolling stock

A Democrat-led initiative in Lansing would once again eliminate the sales tax exemption for purchases of rolling stock by interstate trucking operations

MI,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) -June 18, 2007: -- An initiative in the Michigan House intends to give the state another avenue to collect taxes on the trucking industry... In 1985, the state began providing interstate motor carriers domiciled in Michigan with a refund of sales and use taxes paid on rolling stock used in interstate commerce. The practice lasted until 1992 when a court decision rescinded the exemption status... The exemptions were reinstated four years later because of concerns that Michigan-based trucking operations were at a competitive disadvantage with businesses domiciled in neighboring states that do not tax rolling stock...

Labels: taxes policy

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Cities mandate switch to biodiesel for garbage trucks

US Garbage Trucks Spruce up With Biodiesel

New York,NY,USA -Reuters/Facts About Ethanol, by Rebekah Kebede -June 18, 2007: -- “Together, the six cities’ [NY, Seattle, Portland, Berkeley, San Francisco, and Grand Rapids] use of biodiesel cuts regular diesel use by more than 2.3 million gallons per year. The United States uses about 50 times that amount of diesel in a day”... Many of the garbage trucks that roar through some of the biggest US cities are cleaning up their act by burning biodiesel which can reduce toxic tailpipe emissions... Garbage truck fleets in a growing number of cities, are switching to the alternative fuel which experts say can cut soot and greenhouse gas emissions at no extra cost... The trend comes amid a nationwide push to displace fossil fuels with home-grown renewable energy like biodiesel and ethanol, which the White House hopes will eventually reduce US dependence on foreign oil shipments...

Labels: green news

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Russia - KAMAZ to arrange trucks assembly in Egypt and China
Moscow,Russia -Kommersant/RIA Novosti -June 18, 2007: -- KAMAZ Information Policy Director Vladimir Samoilov, specified no definite dates of these projects. “Everything depends on our foreign partners,” he said... Of interest is that Samoilov didn’t cross out the chances of implementing such projects in Latin America. Venezuela and Columbia aggressively sell KAMAZ trucks and Chile has set to selling them as well... He reminded that the truck assembly was arranged in Pakistan in 2006, and the plant has been launched in Iran this year... KAMAZ made 42,000 trucks in 2006; 12,000 of that number were exported. This year’s target exceeds 50,000 trucks...

* India - Auto firms drive into small truck market
Mumbai,India -Reuters, by Rina Chandran -June 18, 2007: -- Top truck maker Tata Motors Ltd. has launched a passenger variant of its Ace, a popular sub-1 tonne truck, and Mahindra & Mahindra is working on a multi-purpose utility vehicle that can carry people and cargo... Number-two truck maker Ashok Leyland is keen to make a small truck, and motorbike maker Bajaj Auto has said it would develop a small, multi-application vehicle... (See Picture)

Labels: truckmakers news

Vintage trucks * UK - Thrill crowds

Preston,England,UK -The Lancashire Evening Post -18 June 2007: -- Vintage trucks and lorries enthusiasts met at Red Scar Industrial Estate in Preston for their annual rally... Mark Turner from Chorley is pictured with his brother Peter's AEC Mammoth Major wagon from 1952... The wagon, which started life as a RAF Fuel Tanker, was found in a Chorley scrap yard and restored by Mark using his father Jess's livery... (Picture: Mark Turner)

Labels: vintage trucks

TSE Solutions * USA - TTI Unveils Truckstop Electrification Strategy

Researchers with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) this week introduced their deployment strategy for a nationwide series of truckstop electrification corridors designed to help reduce emissions from idling trucks.

USA -Layover -14 June 2007: -- The plan was the outcome of the first phase of a three-year project for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)... The project identified 15 major truck corridors along the interstate highway system and prioritized potential locations for the stationary idle-reduction technology commonly referred to as truckstop electrification (TSE)... The trucking industry already has some experience with two such TSE solutions Shurepower and IdleAire...

Labels: truckstop electrification

* USA - Clogged cities vie for congestion-fighting money

Nine of America’s most congested cities are semifinalists for a federal $1.1 billion to fight traffic jams

USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -17 June 2007: -- The U.S. Department of Transportation will consider Urban Partnership proposals from Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced at a New York City news conference June 7... “In the next few weeks, we will work with New York and the other eight cities to further evaluate their traffic fighting plans to see if they reduce traffic now – not years from now – and have the ideas, the support and the will to do what it takes to reduce congestion”... These nine cities represent one-third of all congestion in the top 85 metro areas of the United States and are home to one-fifth of all the travel in the nation, Peters said...

Labels: anticongestion funds

* USA - Gasoline tax increase will backfire

Eugene,OR,USA -The Register-Guard, by Ron Tyree -June 17, 2007: -- ... the Eugene City Council's decision to increase the fuel tax to 8 cents per gallon, effective July 1, missed the point on several issues... First of all, a fuel tax is an appropriate source of funding to repair and maintain streets. The problem is the attempt to implement it on stations within the city limits of Eugene, but not on stations in nearby cities or in the county, giving those stations a 5-cent to 8-cent per gallon price advantage... This strategy is not fair to local service station and cardlock operators and will not allow the tax revenue or the businesses to be sustainable... Another point that gets missed in this discussion is that the tax is on all fuel, not just gasoline. Diesel and bio-diesel that are purchased in Eugene are also taxed at the increased rate. Trucking companies that purchase their diesel in Eugene will now be at a greater disadvantage when competing for trucking business...

Labels: taxes policy

* Philippines - Marshals for buses hit by series of bombings in southern Philippines

Plainclothes policemen were deployed yesterday on privately-owned passenger buses hit by a series of bomb attacks in the southern

Cotabato City,Philippines -The Guf Times (Doha,Qatar) -17 June, 2007: -- ... Chief Superintendent Felizardo Serapio said police marshals were deployed on all Weena passenger buses plying the provinces of Cotabato and Davao in the strife-torn region of Mindanao to prevent further attacks... The deployment of plainclothes policemen came after nine people were killed Friday when a homemade bomb exploded inside a Weena passenger bus in Bansalan town in Davao del Sur province, 990km south of Manila.The ill-fated bus had just left a public terminal in Bansalan when the explosion occurred.

Labels: safety

Road Rage * USA - Survey Highlights Worst Spots, Reasons for

AutoVantage conducts survey on road rage

USA -CarJunky -June 5, 2007: -- Drivers questioned in 25 major metropolitan areas
Significant Points
1. 5 worst road rage cities were Miami, New York, Boston, LA, Washington DC
2. Driving too fast listed as top reason leading to road rage
3. Next was tailgating followed by cutting over w/o notice
4. Talking on cell phones, multitasking, running red lights also mentioned
5. Suggestions for reducing road rage include increased police presence
6. Also outlawing cell phone use, using more automatic cameras .. (Photo: www.lowridertalk.com)

Labels: road rage

* USA - Old trucks are cool

Ever been going down the highway and out of nowhere a beautifully restored vintage truck shows up?

USA -Life on the Road/Trucking Blog -15 June 2007: -- Maybe it’s a Mack B-Model, a needle-nose little window Peterbilt, an International “Emeryville” or something that’s a little more rare like a Kenworth Bullnose... So you are probably reading this and scratching your head, maybe you didn’t know that these trucks existed, maybe you don’t care... Fact is, these trucks are part of the trucking industry’s history and heritage, these manufacture’s and the models they built helped move our economy and helped shape the current truck you drive down the road today...

Labels: older trucks

Trucks' Art * USA - Big Rig Jig

Oakland,Cal,USA -bigrigjig.com -15 June 2007: -- Will be created in Oakland, California, during the summer months of 2007... This sculpture re-purposes massive big rig trucks to create a work of art... The public is encouraged to climb through the tankers to explore a lush jungle-like interior... By altering these symbolically rich objects, Big Rig Jig is a both a visual metaphor for sustainability and a celebration of humankind’s raw creative and destructive power... (Photo; above: 1)

(Photo 2 above) Day 2 of the build is underway! Last night and today, we torched off all of the trailer components from the tanker so that we could bring it down to ground level. And, our trucks have arrived!

Labels: trucks' art

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* USA - GM plans to build new diesel engine plant for pickup trucks
Tonawanda,New York,USA -AP/PR-inside -15 June 2007: -- General Motors Corp. plans to retool its Tonawanda engine plant to produce a new clean diesel engine for its light duty pickup trucks, the company announced Friday... The automaker will invest $100 million (¤75 million) in the plant near Buffalo to produce a 4.5-liter, V-8 Duramax high-output diesel engine for the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra pickup and Hummer H2, said John Buttermore, GM Powertrain vice president of global manufacturing... Production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009...

Labels: truckmakers news

INFRASTRUCTURE * Swiss - Open world‘s longest land tunnel

Officials Friday inaugurated the world‘s longest overland tunnel, a 21-mile-long rail link under the Alps meant to ease highway traffic jams in the mountainous country

The Loetschberg Base Tunnel,Switzerland -Associated Press, by BRADLEY S. KLAPPER -15 June, 2007: -- With a ceremony that went off like a classic Swiss timepiece, the first train through the tunnel was a freight carrying Swiss Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger, arriving in the town of Frutigen at the tunnel‘s north entrance... The Loetschberg was dug parallel to an even more ambitious project — the 36-mile Gotthard Tunnel, which will be the world‘s longest when it is completed in 2017... By running at low elevation, the tunnel will be able to accommodate trains and cargo loads that cannot negotiate the long climb and switchbacks to existing tunnels higher up the mountain... Passenger trains will start traveling through the tunnel on Dec. 9. From then on, 72 freight trains and 43 passenger trains will pass through the tunnel every day...

(Photo: Mining-Technology - Lötschberg base tunnel, Switzerland - at the Mitholz lateral adit, transport of excavated and ground material is by three Koch pipe conveyors)

Labels: infrastructures

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA

* White House presses Senate to allow Mexican trucks - Stalls bill passed by House that would block program permitting rigs in U.S.

Grants Pass,OR,USA -WorldNetDaily.com -June 14, 2007: -- In an effort to ensure Mexican trucks will begin rolling across the U.S. on schedule, the Bush administration is pressing the Senate to not take any action on a bill passed overwhelmingly by the House that essentially would block the project... The only remaining step required is for the DOT inspector general to confirm that the regulations published by FMCSA meet the safety and security requirements specified by Congress... Allowing an extra month for this requirement to be filled, industry insiders now anticipate the Mexican truck demonstration project will begin Aug. 15, one month later than the July 15 start anticipated as recently as a week ago... Todd Spencer, executive director of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association suggested that in the final months of the Bush administration, every effort will be made to keep promises made to Mexico...

* Coming: Low-Wage Truckers
USA -Earthside -June 14, 2007: -- How many Americans are aware of yet another attempt by the Bushites to degrade the livelihoods of the country's middle and working classes?
But, here it is ... part of the NAFTA, "immigration reform" scam that will undercut union jobs, and will turn the United States into a genuine low-wage nation.
Despite opposition from Teamsters, the Sierra Club, and independent truckers, Bush's Department of Transportation is moving ahead with a "pilot" plan to let Mexican trucking companies more freight anywhere within the United States.
- And just how long will it be then before the corporate trucking companies move their bases of operations south of the border?
- How long will it be before non-union, low-wage drivers replace most of our hard working, decently paid truckers?
The spiral downward for middle America is well underway -- all for the profit of Bush's masters, the mega-transnational corporations.
Who is on your side in the nation's capital?

Labels: mexican's trucks

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD * USA - Health Problems that haunt long distance drivers

Commercial drivers suffer from a number of chronic illnesses at a much higher rate than the general public and are seven times more likely to die on the job than the average worker

NY,USA -Reuters -15 June 2007: -- ... But as they focus on the issue, researchers are finding other health problems that haunt long distance drivers and imperil the safety of the motoring public... Some of the conditions, including heart disease and diabetes, are no surprise given the sedentary nature and stress of the job. But others are more puzzling... "Truck drivers die more frequently from prostate cancer, lung cancer, stomach and bladder cancer," says Toni Alterman, a senior research epidemiologist at National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... The excess mortality from these unexpected diseases has prompted the institute to conduct a more comprehensive study comparing truck drivers' death rates from specific causes to those of the general population. Its findings are years off.

Labels: drivers' health

STUDY * Canada - TC updates trucking landscape

Heavy trucks accounted for 21.5 billion vehicle kilometers in 2005 and 13 percent of those were empty hauls ...

Ottawa,BC,Canada -Today's Trucking -15 June 2007: -- ... compared to six billion kilometers for medium-sized trucks, according to a new Transport Canada study released this week... In its annual report, Transportation in Canada 2006, Transport Canada also found, not too surprisingly, that Canadian for-hire trucking firms carried over 80 per cent of total tonnage shipped intraprovincially... Trucking also accounted for 61 percent of trade with the United States, while rail managed 17 percent, pipeline 13 per cent, air five percent and marine four percent... However, heavy truck activity across the Canada–U.S. border fell about one percent in 2006 to 12.9 million two-way trips...

Labels: studies

Life-Saving Measures * USA - Governor and Highway Safety Leaders Deliver for

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.

Marlborough,Mass,USA -PRNewswire-USNewswire/Earthtimes.org -June 15 , 2007: -- The American Trucking Associations, the Massachusetts Motor Transport Association, Massachusetts State Police, and the Share the Road sponsors, Mack Trucks and Michelin North America, joined the elite group of drivers to discuss highway safety on Massachusetts highways... 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 percent 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: share roads safely

Inspections * USA - Trucks on busy roads targeted for

Faulty brakes. Broken signals. Overweight cargo. Missing signs that chemicals are on board

Fort Worth,TX,USA -The Fort Worth Star Telegram, by ELIZABETH CAMPBELL -June 14, 2007: -- ... Those were just a few of the violations that Texas Department of Public Safety officials found during a recent operation targeting tractor-trailers on a busy stretch of Texas 171 in Johnson County... During a three-day period last week, DPS troopers pulled 48 rigs out of service for violations, after inspecting 116 on Texas 171 between Godley and Cresson. In all, 325 tickets or warnings were written... (Photo by RON T. ENNIS/The STAR-TELEGRAM - Senior Trooper Robert Gaines of the Texas Department of Public Safety inspects a rock hauler on Texas 171)

Labels: co

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30.6.07

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

TECHNONEWS * USA - Cell phones make truck tracking easy

TRUCKS' MARKET NEWS * China

Poll * USA - Wealthier drivers take more chances

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA

LAWS & BILLS * USA

29.6.07

LIQUORS as FUEL * Sweden - Smuggled alcohol used used as fuel in Sweden

International Hauliers * UK - Can become EU accredited

* UK - Management the key to fuel cost savings

Across the pond * UK - On-line safety audits

Commercial License Fraud * USA - "License" To Kill

Trucking Accidents' Study * USA - Negligence by truckers a major cause of large truck crashes

Traffic Safety Coalition * USA - Looks to reduce truck-car crashes

* USA - New truck driver ordinance to be decided

Roadcheck 2007 * Canada - First to report stats

Fatal Accidents * USA - Occur at intersections with flashing lights

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

* Australia - Trucks face higher charges

Something Was Wrong * USA - Taking a message to the streets

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

28.6.07

Air Pollution * USA - Some Truckers Underscore the Problem

Passports * USA - New York and other States prefer computerized driver’s licenses to

BILLS & LAWS * USA

To Tourist Eyes * New Zealand - Trucks not good look

Your morning coffee * USA - May double in price if trucks hide

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS

27.6.07

Truck Tonnage Index * USA - ATA's one, fell 1.3 percent in May

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

New Trucks Fleet * UK - BB go RO-RO with their first new Volvo trucks

Aerodynamics * The Netherlands - Could Make Trucks 10% More Efficient

U-Haul's Trucks * USA - Are Unsafe and Not Maintained !!!

Chinese tires * USA - Questioned over potentially dangerous defect

PRIVATIZATIONS * USA

BILL & LAWS * USA

DRIVERS' STORIES * USA - "I really like the freedom from having someone stare over my shoulder all the time.”

TRUCKS PURCHASING * USA

Arson suspected * Australia - In trucks blaze

DRIVERS' HEALTH * USA - You may have high blood pressure and not even know it.

PRODUCTS & ACCESORIES

TRUCKING INSURANCE * USA - Leading Insurer Co. Improves Coverage for the Industry

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Acquisitions...

25.6.07

SAFETY * USA - Containers get high-tech security

Idle Emissions * USA - TTI and EPA Launch Web Site to Reduce They

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS

MARKETING NEWS * USA - S. California's Emissions Rules Could Boost New Truck Sales

Employee Incentives * USA - Can help fleets meet an array of objectives

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA

Roadcheck 2007 * USA - Maine's inspects commerical trucks for safety violations

* Canada - Ontario Trucking Association Announces Scholarship Endowment

Truck driving * Canada - School under investigation

23.6.07

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* USA - Griffith regulates trucks, ups speed limit

Appeals Court * USA - "Company not required to pay tax on trucks"

Energy bill's * USA - Winners and Losers

TRUCKMAKERS' STOCKS NEWS * USA

BIODIESEL * USA - Two Million Mile Haul surpasses 500,000 miles

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

22.6.07

SAFETY * USA - Walking While Drunk Can Prove to be Fatal

Congestion software * UK - Gets Big Apple test

Biofuel * UK - Sustainability Questioned

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

RESEARCH * UK - Transport 2000 recommends freight road pricing

LAWS * USA - New Texas one, expands truck enforcement

REFLECTIONS * USA - Why Some Keep Trucking

INFRASTRUCTURES * South Africa - Minister to target freight operators and their clients

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - New Roads Plan Gets $3 Billion Infusion

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA -