Trucks World News: November 2007

Nov 30, 2007

Truck Stops * Canada - Ontario names shortlist to overhaul truckstop network

Ontario's 23 service centers are well on their way to getting facelifts. Maybe some cosmetic enlargements too.

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -29 Nov 2007: -- While those design details are still being worked out, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Ontario recently unveiled the short list of four companies who are vying to design, build, finance, maintain and operate the new facilities across Highways 400 and 401... The short-listed bidders include:
-- Areas (Anonimous Society) S.A., which brings together Áreas S.A., Carillion Canada Inc., and RBC Capital Markets.
-- Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Trinity Development Group.
-- Host Kilmer Services Centres Inc., which includes Host International of Canada Ltd., Kilmer Van Nostrand Co., Clough, Harbour & Associates LLP, Cubellis Inc, and Forum Leasehold Partners.
-- Morguard Service Centres SPV, which is made up of Morguard Investments Limited and National Bank Financial.

(Picture: Owner-ops are looking forward to Ontario's new service centers being more 'trucker friendly')

Labels: truck stops

DRIVERS' HEALTH * USA - Low Back Pain

Take Care of Your Core

USA -Trucker's World, by L. H. Gray -28 Nov 2007: -- Have you ever helped someone move? How about dug holes to plant a row of shrubs? Or spent hours shoveling heavy, wet snow? If so, you know what it’s like to have an ache in the back... This is usually the result of a nerve root near the spine that becomes irritated. Symptoms range from a dull ache, to shooting pain, to muscles so tight they cannot be fully straightened. When a nerve that travels from the spine to the spinal chord gets pinched or irritated, the muscles tense up, and the result is low back pain. Overuse, injury or degeneration may be the cause of the irritation...

* Feds to study truckers’ mortality rate
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -29 Nov 2007: -- Two federal agencies say they’ll soon launch a major study aimed at figuring out why truckers have a death rate 11 times higher than the general work force... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, often referred to as NIOSH, have sought input from OOIDA and other groups on how best to study the issue...

Labels: truckers health

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Texas voters say yes to some major road projects

Texas,USA -The Trucker News Services -30 Nov 2007: -- ... Among the state and local road projects approved by voters were:
• Proposition 12 on the state ballot authorizes the issuance of up to $5 billion in state general obligation bonds by the Texas Transportation Commission for highway improvement projects.
• Dallas County voters endorsed an important transportation, flood control and parks project, including a $1.3 billion toll road to relieve downtown Dallas traffic.
• Harris County (Houston) voters backed Proposition 1 providing $190 million for road building and repairs.
... Toot your horn next time you drive through Texas... What voters approved may not fix all the problems in Texas, but at least it’s a start... (Courtesy Texas Department of Transportation: Map shows proposed corridor the Interstate 69 through eastern Texas)

Labels: infrastructures

STATISTICS * NAFTA - Trade in September up 5.5% from last year

Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker News Services -29 Nov 2007: -- Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 5.5 percent higher in September 2007 than in September 2006, reaching $66.8 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation...

Labels: transport statistics

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA & Canada

* Canada - Transportation security programs need to refocus on risk management, CTA tells Senate Committee

Ottawa,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -29 Nov 2007: -- In an appearance yesterday at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, representatives of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) cautioned that land transportation security programs, particularly at the Canada-US border, continue to result in duplication, overlap and ever-increasing costs... (Picture: CTA says Canadian and US Customs need to refocus inspections to where they'll truly needed.)

* USA - Bendix encouraged by CTA's call to make stability systems standard
Elyria,OH,USA -The Trucker News Services -29 Nov 2007: -- As the company continues its efforts to deliver technologies that improve highway safety, officials at Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC say they are encouraged by the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s (CTA) recent announcement that it has asked all major North American heavy truck OEMs to make stability technology standard on all new commercial power vehicles...

* USA - Forward Air Buys Black Hawk
Milan,Ill,USA -Air Cargo World On Line -29 Nov 2007: -- Forward Air signed an agreement to buy certain assets of Black Hawk Freight Services, said the provider of ground transportation services to the air cargo industry on Monday... Black Hawk, a privately owned provider of transportation services based in Milan, Ill., had 2006 revenue of approximately $30 million. Forward Air revenue in 2006 was $352.8 million.

Labels: trucking industry USA and Canada

PROGNOSIS * USA - ATA Forecast: trucking will continue to dominate freight movement

Arlington,Va,USA -The Trucker News Services -29 Nov 2007: -- Trucking will increase its share of the nation’s freight pool and continue to dominate domestic freight movement into the next decade, the American Trucking Associations reports in its newly released U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast to… 2018... Despite the rough economic times for the freight transportation industry in late 2006 and 2007, the Forecast, which reports on the present and future of the entire U.S. freight transportation industry, predicts growth for all modes, but an even greater role for trucking in moving the nation’s economy...

Labels: prognosis

Trucking Fleet Management Systems * USA - New White Paper From Cadec Global Details Business Value

Manchester,NH,USA -Market Wire -Nov 29, 2007: -- Cadec Global, a leading provider of advanced fleet management solutions, haspublished a new white paper on the foundational elements and business impact gained from the latest generation of trucking fleet management systems. Titled "Business Value Through Fleet Management Optimization," the paper uses a fictionalwholesale food distribution company to explore the operational and business challengesfacing fleetoperators, and then describes how fleet management can impact a firm'soverall supply chain... Among the issues explored in the paper are:
-- Operational and business challenges typically facing fleet operators;
-- Key features of today's advanced fleet management solutions, including the ability to seamlessly integrate with existing supply chain and transportation management systems...

Labels: trucking management

Efficient Trucking * USA - How SC Johnson Saved $1.6 Million With

Fort Collins,CO,USA -The Environmental Leader -November 29, 2007: -- SC Johnson recently completed a transportation-logistics project that eliminated 1,882 tons of greenhouse gases over a 12 month period, used 2,098 fewer trucks, cut fuel usage by 168,000 gallons and saved approximately $1.6 million... The Truckload Utilization Project combined multiple customer orders - and multiple products – to load the fullest, best configured trucks possible... The different weights and sizes of various products have a profound effect on how a truck should be packed for maximum efficiency. For example, a truckload full of Ziploc brand products is far below a truck’s most efficient load weight and a smaller number of pallets of Windex glass cleaner will hit the maximum weight target while leaving empty space in the trailer... To avoid this, SC Johnson began strategically packing multiple products on the same load. In making this a standard process involving multiple departments, the company says it can ensure the most efficient weight capacity is reached, thereby shipping the same amount of product using fewer trucks...

Labels: efficient trucking

Nov 29, 2007

Fuel Economy * UK - £190m cost savings for fuel efficient hauliers

Operators' efforts to increase fuel efficiency have seen them make a total of £190m in cost savings, says the latest survey from Freight Best Practice (FBP)

London,UK -Road Transport -29 November 2007: -- Users of the Department for Transport-sponsored prog-ramme report average savings of £41,000 per company and £1,900 per vehicle, compared with £12,000 per company for non-users. Users of FBP attributed £83m of their savings to the scheme... Of more than 1,500 fleet operators surveyed, 54% have taken actions to improve fuel efficiency the most popular action being improving equipment and systems and developing driver skills. But just 32% converted to alternative fuels or used fuel management programmes. And while fuel efficiency measures are commendable, FBP urges more operators to get in on the act of measuring fuel consumption...

Labels: fuel economy

STUDY * UK - Road hauliers pay their way - and then some

The road freight industry in the UK is already operating on very tight margins, but as congestion and green issues come to the forefront of the political and social agenda, should the industry be paying more to cover the costs?

London,UK -Road Transport -29 November 2007: -- This was the question asked by Heriot Watt University in its report: Internalising the external costs of road freight transport in the UK. While the title of the report might seem rather complicated, the basic idea is that haulage operators currently pay for their internal costs, such as fuel, VED and vehicle maintenance, but the wider costs associated with congestion, infrastructure and the environment are paid for by tax payers... The report asks how much of this external cost could and should be covered by road haulage operators, therefore internalising them... The report states that if congestion is taken out of the equation the taxes currently paid by UK road haulage operators exceed the value of all the external costs for all LGVs apart from artics over 33t and they cover 99% of those costs. In 2006 the average truck in the UK paid 12% more in duties and taxes than its allocated infrastructural and environmental costs (excluding congestion costs)... (Picture from Biglorryblog: Lancaster the M6 actually)

Labels: trucking costs

INFRASTRUCTURES * Canada/USA - study shortsea shipping opportunities

Washington,DC,USA -Today's Trucking (Canada) -27 Nov 2007: -- The governments of Canada and America have released a joint study that examines the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system as a vital transportation resource for both countries... The study guides both nations to maintain the marine artery, support trade and protect local ecosystems, added U.S. Transport Secretary Mary E. Peters... The seaway system has the capacity to carry twice the volume of its current traffic, stakeholders say, and could be better used in combination with rail and trucking operations to provide a more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly way to transport goods... (Photo: The underutilized St. Lawrence Seaway could be one of world's most strategic waterways)

Labels: border infrastructures

* Canada - BC to fund green fleet program; Trucking group lobbying for more

Victoria,BC,Canada -Todays' Trucking -28 Nov 2007: -- The B.C. government is kicking in $500,000 into the Green Fleets B.C. partnership to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality, Environment Minister Barry Penner said this week... The program will offer fleet managers information on selecting the most fuel-efficient, cleanest vehicles of their class, adopting progressive engine technologies, including hybrids, and finding low-emission fuels... (Photo: BCTA says its proposed green retrofit program for older trucks could cuts GHGs by 30 percent)

Labels: 'green' trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Long lead times for upgraded Volvo FH and FH16

Stockholm,Sweden -Road Transport (UK), by Chris Tindall -28 November 2007: -- Operators wanting to buy Volvo's new FH and FH16 should place their orders now to receive them by autumn 2008. The truck manufacturer claims "immense demand" leading to "abnormally long delivery times" means customers need to sign up for the new vehicles at least 10 months in advance... Volvo will not discuss prices at the moment, but Claes Nilsson, president of Volvo Trucks' Europe Division, says: "We want to give our customers the opportunity to place advance orders for the product range that will become available as of next autumn"...

* Ashok Leyland ties up with TVS to sell pre-owned trucks
Mumbai,Maharashtra,India -Myiris.com/Business Standard -29 Nov 2007: -- Second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland forged a partnership with the TVS group to launch its pre-owned trucks in Tamil Nadu... Chennai-based Ashok Leyland sells pre-owned trucks under the brand name "Altrux". The company has similar outlets in Rajasthan and Kerala...The strategy involves an exchange plan, under which initially only old Ashok Leyland vehicles would be exchanged. The company aims to sell 250 such vehicles this year...

* Nissan Atleon on sale in two years
London,UK -Road Transport, by Will Shiers -29 November 2007: -- The Nissan Atleon 7.5-tonner will be on sale in the UK within two years, and will be distributed through selected Volvo Truck dealers. By the time the Spanish-built Atleon arrives, Volvo Truck dealers will already be familiar with the Nissan CV range - between five and 15 of them will start selling Nissan Interstar and Cabstar vans in January 2008...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS & SERVICES * USA

* NAVTEQ Expands NAVTEQ Transport for the Trucking and Logistics IndustriesDataset features 4 new European countries, new North American attributes and a global spec

Chicago,ILL,USA -PRNewswire/FirstCall -November 28, 2007: -- NAVTEQ , a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced an expanded version of NAVTEQ Transport with new coverage in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium and Luxembourg, new data types and a harmonized global specification to enhance the functionality of truck routing and logistics planning applications across North America and Western Europe. NAVTEQ Transport enables applications to plan truck-specific routes using the leading NAVTEQ map to improve efficiency and lower operating costs... (Photo from: www.erenumerique.fr
)

* Winsonic McCrary enters into Asset Purchase Agreement with Colonel McCrary Trucking
Atlante,GA,USA -PRNewswire/FirstCall -November 28, 2007: -- Winsonic Digital Media Group, Ltd. announced that on November 20, 2007, Winsonic McCrary, LLC, a newly-created Georgia limited liability company and wholly- owned subsidiary of Winsonic Diversity, LLC, entered into an asset purchase agreement with Colonel McCrary Trucking, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company, and all of the members of Colonel McCrary... Historically, Colonel McCrary's business model involved relatively fair margins unique to the trucking industry... (Photo from: colonelmccrarytrucking.biz)

* "Transforming Risk into a Performance Driver for Trucking Companies” Atos Origin Releases Groundbreaking Study
Atlanta,GA,USA -WebWire (press release) –November 28, 2007: -- Atos Origin, one of the world’s leading international IT services companies, has capitalized on its in-depth analyses of the trucking industry to publish a major study with support from the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development. The book identifies deployment of IT solutions by small and medium-size trucking companies as a means to help them address their business, financial and environmental challenges... As part of the French government’s Predit 3* program, Atos Origin was selected to conduct research on the safety, security and traceability of overland freight transportation, working in conjunction with insurance company Groupama Transport. Given the clear benefits for the trucking industry of the study’s insights and real-world solutions, the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development decided to fund its publication by Economica...

* CS Brings Trucking Loans To Market
New York,NY,USA -Credit Investment News/Institutional Investor (subscription) -29 Nov 2007: -- Syndication of $225 million in financing allowing Quality Distribution, Inc. to refinance existing debt and back its $60 million acquisition of Boasso America Corp. launched last Monday. Credit Suisse is the sole lead arranger. Apollo Management is a majority stakeholder of QDI... QDI announced it would acquire Chalmette, La.-based ISO tank container and depot service provider...

Labels: products and services

Crash Warning Systems * USA - NIST Measures Performance on Autos

Wahington,.DC,USA -NIST Tech Beat, by Dan Romanchik -November 28, 2007: -- Engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed and tested a laser-based ranging system to assess the performance of automobile collision warning systems. Researchers in industry and at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will be able to use the NIST technology to accelerate the development and commercialization of safety systems that alert drivers to multiple, and sometimes virtually simultaneous potential crash hazards—both from forward or side collisions as well as from running off the road. DOT believes that such warning systems could reduce substantially the number and severity of injuries to motorists and save lives... Preliminary tests of prototype collision detection systems with the NIST technology have revealed both potential benefits of the systems and areas that need improvement... According to DOT, of the 3.6 million rear-end, road departure and lane change crashes that occur each year in the United States, 27,500 result in one or more fatalities—about three-quarters of the nation’s yearly auto-related deaths. DOT estimates that widespread deployment of advanced integrated driver assistance systems may reduce such collisions by 48 percent... (Photo from: www.truckaccidentinjurylawyers.com)

Labels: crash warning systems

PROTEST * USA - Local Trucking Company Joins Coalition Against Diesel Prices

Damariscotta,ME,USA -The Lincoln County News, by Kim Fletcher -28 Nov 2007: -- Yankee Pride trucking company owner Larry Sidelinger of Nobleboro has joined a statewide grassroots coalition of truckers to lobby for lower fuel prices... "If we don't do something," he said, "we're not going to be here much longer. We're being buried by the high cost of fuel. What's happening is a sin"... On Nov. 17 in Lincoln, Sidelinger and more than 400 truckers from the Professional Loggers Council, and the independent owners and operators, joined together to form the Coalition to Lower Fuel Prices in Maine. Locally, he's mobilizing truckers to attend a regional open public meeting planned for Sat., Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. at the American Legion's Wells Hussey Post in Damariscotta. The ultimate goal is to pressure Governor Baldacci and the Legislature to investigate ways to help truckers stay on the roads by easing tax burdens on fuel and equipment...

Labels: fuel troubles

Fuel economy * USA ... Deal is near !!!

Congress today may OK bill to make fleetwide average 35 mpg by 2020

Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News (Detroit,MI), by David Shepardson -November 29, 2007: -- House and Senate negotiators had all but reached agreement late Wednesday on a compromise deal to hike fuel economy requirements to a fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020... A final deal may be announced as early as today that would raise passenger car fuel efficiency standards for the first time since 1983 and hike overall efficiency by 40 percent over the current 25 mpg average... House and Senate negotiators have been trying to hammer out a compromise they hope can be supported by both houses of Congress, the White House and automakers... They include keeping separate fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and extending the credit automakers get for making flex-fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline or E85 ethanol. The credit had become a key sticking point in the negotiations... A lobbyist for one of Detroit's automakers said the deal is not perfect but will allow the companies to remain competitive...

Labels: fuel economy

Hours Of Service * USA - Washington truckers win fight for overtime pay

A Washington Supreme Court ruling that found Washington-based truck drivers working more than 40 hours a week are entitled to overtime pay

Vancouver,WA,USA -The Columbian, by Jonathan Nelson -27 Nov 2007: -- ... was upheld Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.. The decision opens the possibility that other drivers could file similar suits and force trucking companies to re-examine driver compensation...

Labels: HOS debate

Greenhouse * Australia - Measures 'crippling' truckers

The trucking industry says it is being crippled by competing and inconsistent greenhouse gas abatement policies

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald -November 27, 2007: -- Australian Trucking Association chief executive Stuart St Clair said the introduction of a national emissions trading scheme must result in the elimination of the costly patchwork of half-measures... The association wants federal, state and territory measures to be rationalised... Mr St Clair said legal firm DLA Phillips Fox had warned in a recent bulletin that higher road use charges, intended to increase the cost of carbon emissions, could soon be the norm... Net greenhouse gas emissions from trucks totalled 14.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2005... That represented only 2.5 per cent of the national total and only 18 per cent of emissions from the transport sector, Mr St Clair said...

Labels: greenhouse measures

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* Peterbilt, Chevrolet score high in J.D. Power rankings

USA -Fleet Owner -Nov 28, 2007: -- For the second consecutive year, J.D. Power and Associates’ 2007 Medium-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study ranks Peterbilt highest in conventional cab medium-duty customer satisfaction while Chevrolet tops medium-duty truck dealer service satisfaction... Four factors determined the overall satisfaction ranking for the conventional truck award... They are (in order of importance) vehicle performance, quality, warranty, and cost of ownership. Peterbilt scored highest, followed by Kenworth, GMC Truck, Hino, Freightliner, and Chevrolet...

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

Nov 28, 2007

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * UK -

* Haulier Bernard Howard attacks Gordon Brown

Kings Cliffe,UK -Road Transport -27 Nov 2007: -- Road haulier Bernard Howard warned the Prime Minister to expect a fresh wave of protests over fuel prices during a face-to-face confrontation... Mr Howard, who is a partner in Howard Farms, Stamford, and a director of haulage firm PC Howard at Kings Cliffe, yesterday accused the Government of a "fiasco" over its handling of the farming and haulage industries... (Picture: Bernard Howard lets Gordon Brown know what he thinks of Government policy) - A video from the Daily Telegraph which has a full report

* F Swain finalises acquisition

Maccle-sfield,Cheshire,UK -Road Transport, by Roger Brown -28 November 2007: -- F Swain & Sons says it is on the verge of snapping up a rival haulier... Andy Powell, F Swain finance director, says the firm is in "advanced talks" with a company with a turnover of £4m to £5m, but "can't say much more at this stage"... Pre-tax profit for the year to March 2007 for the firm went up to £113,019 in 2007 from £104,749 the previous year...

* Meachers proposes Southampton consolidation centre

Southampton,UK -Road Transport, by David Harris -28 November 2007: -- Southampton could house a consolidation centre for LGVs delivering goods to city centre shops if a scheme suggested by local haulier Meachers Transport gets the go-ahead... Meachers commercial manager Gary Whittle has already approached Southampton City Council with the proposal, which would involve locating the consolidation centre at Meachers' headquarters in Mauretania Road...

* Reid under scrutiny

Ballymena,Co. Antrim,UK -Road Transport, by Sarah Dennis -28 November 2007: -- Serious allegations have been made against Reid Transport following its collapse last week... Police are investigating allegations of child labour at the firm, as a 16-year-old boy gave a candid account to the BBC of how he worked late into the night at Reid before school when he was 14. The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirms it is investigating a "business in the Cloughmills area"...

* ARR Craib slams lead times

Aberdeen,UK -Road Transport, by Will Shiers -27 November 2007: -- The long wait for new trucks is making purchasing decisions increasingly difficult for ARR Craib... The haulier says it is in the process of ordering eight new Euro 5 Daf XF105s, but is waiting to hear when they will be delivered... The managing director George Craib, is hopeful that his long relationship with Daf, and the fact that he is purchasing Super Space cabs, might act as an incentive for the manufacturer to let him jump the queue and make the chassis available earlier than usual...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

COMMENTS * UK - On longer, heavier super trucks

* The Times on Monday has sparked off a huge amount of press coverage and reaction to longer heavier trucks and most of it is bad, even though The Times supported the idea.
* The Daily Mail was particularly harsh, which is surprising as they normally support industry. But it’s comment was “They are the supertankers of the highway. Huge lorries called LHVs - longer, heavier vehicles - could soon be thundering along Britain's roads if the haulage industry gets its way. But do we want them?”
* The Sun is believed to have opposed them but changed its mind after a journalist drove one. Sun writer Ken Gibson wrote: “But I reckon the super truck is well worth a spin. If I can drive one with relative ease, professional truckers would have no problem and the public have nothing to fear.” And there is a video of the Denby vehicle on the web site as well.
* The Guardian is predictable opposed saying “Let's have no truck with themThe government is considering trials of a new 'super-lorry'. But nothing could be more disastrous.”

* The Daily Telegraph is netural but does us the word juggernaut

Labels: heavier super trucks debate

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS & ACCESORIES

* USA - Thermo King launches new SLX fridges

Minneapolis,USA - The Road Transport (UK) -28 November 2007: -- Thermo King claims its new SLX range of fridges will be 20% more fuel-efficient than the most economical models currently available - its own SL range... The new models, which go into production in the second quarter of 2008, are also claimed to be more reliable and require less maintenance than their predecessors...

Labels: trucks' products and accesories

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - VW celebrates 10,000,000th Transporter sold

Germany -Road Transport (UK) -28 November 2007: -- VW has sold its ten-millionth Transporter, coinciding with the van's 60th birthday... In the UK, the company will use this figure in an advertising campaign, declaring "ten million Transporter drivers can't be wrong"...

* Sweden - Volvo to upgrade FH trucks next summer

London,UK -Logistics Manager/Biglorryblog -26 November 2007: -- Volvo Trucks plans to launch a new generation of heavy trucks in Europe in summer 2008 with upgrades to its long-haul models – the FH and FH16... Production start is scheduled for Autumn 2008; however customers can place orders for the new trucks as early as this December...

“We have created a driver’s environment that offers more space and light along with far better storage capability,” said Christer Pehrsson, business area manager for long-haul operations at Volvo Trucks. Volvo is promising more space in the driving compartment with improved storage facilities. The level of comfort in the cab will be significantly higher, particularly as regards the scope for relaxation, it says... Improving visibility under all conditions is of priority in Volvo’s safety work and, as a result, Volvo offers rain sensors for the windscreen wipers.

The sensors monitor when, and how much, rain is falling and the windscreen wipers are automatically adjusted to suit. Cornering lights, which provide better visibility when turning, are another solution being introduced...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

BORDER TROUBLES * Turkey - Never-ending line of trucks reaches 17 km at Kapıkule

The seemingly never-ending line of trucks at the Kapıkule border gate, the world’s second-largest customs gate, has reached 17 kilometers as some 600 truck drivers wait for their turn to pass through the gate

Istanbul,Turkey -Today's Zaman -25 Nov 2007: -- The line of trucks waiting at the Kapıkule border gate, the world’s second-largest customs gate in terms of both vehicle traffic and the number of people passing through, has reached 17 kilometers following a closure of the gate to all traffic after the Tunca River overflowed and caused mass flooding near the Bulgarian border pass of Kapitan Andreove... Authorities at the Kapıkule border gate noted that the three-day gate closure has caused trucks to line up in front of the Kapıkule gate and some 600 truck drivers are now waiting in line for their turn to pass through, saying: “As many truck drivers do not have transit bills to pass through Bulgaria and cannot use the Hamzabeyli border gate, they have to line up in front of the Kapıkule border gate. They have been waiting in lines for almost one week to pass through the gate to carry export goods to Balkan and European countries”... (Photo: The queue of trucks waiting at the Kapıkule border gate, the world’s second largest customs gate, has reached 17 kilometers)

Labels: border troubles

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * WORLDWIDE

* Netherlands - Parcel firm TNT exports road approach to Asia

Duiven,Netherlands -Reuters, by Niclas Mika -Nov 25, 2007: -- Seeking to avoid the sky-high costs of flying, Dutch parcel firm TNT transports as many packages as it can by road in Europe, an approach it is busy exporting to Asia... Key to the strategy is a complex road network, built up over 35 years, with the main hub in the Dutch town of Duiven, about an hour's drive from Amsterdam and close to the German border... Across Europe, TNT has about 750 trucks on international routes every day, connecting a total of 101 hubs and international depots in 34 countries, said Ben Klaassen, managing director of TNT's European road networks...

* Australia - CHEP Express saves time

Sydney,Australia -supply chain review -25 Nov 2007: -- Piloted at Rosehill Service Centre in Sydney in early 2007, the CHEP Express appointment booking program aimed to improve productivity and cut downtime by significantly reducing truck waiting times... The pilot demonstrated that savings of 15 minutes per truck could be achieved using the booking system... Through CHEP Express, customers elect a preferred three-hour window, and a guaranteed appointment time is offered within the preferred period... CHEP Express allows truck arrivals to be spread out at regular intervals throughout the day, minimising the impact of waiting and servicing periods... (Picture: CHEP truck at Rosehill Service Centre)

Labels: trucking industry news

Stolen trucks * USA - Used to ram buildings, vehicles in a swath around the county

Vandals caused “tens of thousands of dollars” damage Saturday night and early Sunday when they used stolen trucks to ram into buildings, vehicles and one combine

Enid,OK,USA -The Enid News & Eagle, by Robert Barron -November 25, 2007: -- Undersheriff Jerry Niles said the first report came in at 3 a.m. at 90th and Longhorn, northeast of Pioneer High School... A truck was reported to have been driven through an outbuilding. Deputies recovered a truck reported stolen from Rite-Way Construction at the site. The truck was severely damaged... Enid Police Department also recovered a Rite-Way Construction Co. truck reported stolen from a residential driveway in Waukomis. The truck had been burned...

Labels: stolen trucks

TRUCK SALES * Australia - Truck sales motor to record high in October

Truck sales hit record levels across all categories in October, fuelled by a combination of the sustained economic boom and the pull-forward effect of new emissions standards that come into play from January 1, 2008

Australia -ATN -28 November 2007: -- ... Heavy duty truck sales hit a new high of 1,319 in the month, up from 1,213 in September and a low of 672 back in January... PACCAR (Kenworth/ DAF) maintained market leadership in the month with 24 percent share, while the combined marketshare of stablemates Volvo and Mack slipped 2 percentage points to 18 percent, with Volvo lifting its share from 9.8 to 10.3 percent and Mack’s share dipping from 10.3 to 8.3 percent...

Labels: trucks sales

Overloaded Trucks * India - Are death-on-wheels

One in every three trucks in the country is overloaded and they are to blame for 50 per cent of road accidents

New Delhi,India -The Hindustan Times, by Cooshalle Samuel -November 26, 2007: -- ... Surveys by the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training have found... Around three-fourths of the annual Rs 550 billion loss from road accidents was attributed to the unorganised truck transport industry. The foundation said over 92,500 people were killed each year in road accidents in the country coming under the wheels of the overloaded vehicles... Most trucks were found overloaded by 25-50 per cent... But small-time operators and middlemen who run the majority of the country’s trucks consider overloading a necessary evil. Part of the problem is the industry’s skewed ownership pattern that makes accountability difficult... (Picture from BigLorryBlog on November 5, 2007)

Labels: overloaded trucks

RECALLS * Canada - Daimler vans, Volvo trucks recalled

Toronto,Ontario,Canada -Driving.ca/CanWest News Service -November 23, 2007: -- Two pairs of sister trucks are being recalled by Volvo and Daimler in order to repair the fifth-wheel assembly in one pair and overheating interior lights in the other... One recall involves the 2004-06 Dodge Sprinter and the 2001 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Both are commercial delivery vans... Transport Canada says the rear interior lights for both trucks are installed in the air conditioning ducts and that the lights can overheat causing the lens to distort and lead to a short circuit, which can start a fire... Volvo's sisters are the 2007-08 Volvo VHD, VNL, VNM and VT models and the 2006-2008 Mack CHN, CL, CT, CTP and CV models... Volvo acquired the Mack line of trucks about 10 years ago... Those vehicles, says the recall division at Transport Canada, need some work on their fifth-wheel assemblies to prevent towed trailers from breaking away from the tractor...

Labels: trucks' recalls

STRIKE * Panama/Costa Rica - Truckers Block Panamanian Border in Costa Rica

Costa Rica -Costa Rica News, Travel and Reviews, by Paul Smith -24 Nov 2007: -- The border crossings between Panama and Costa Rica have been blocked in protest by truck drivers associated with the Costa Rican Chamber of Unitarian Truckers who want to see a change in the traffic law and a reduction in diesel fuel prices... The main reason for the protests is because of the Spanish/Costa Rican firm Riteve who are a monopoly on annual vehicle inspections and who have recently announced the price hikes that the truckers believe will have a negative impact on the poorer sectors... The strike began on Tuesday earlier this week after Panamanian colleagues took similar action just the other side of the border for the same reasons. The protest is only preventing other trucks entry to and from Costa Rica with cars and tourist buses being allowed through the blockades...

Labels: border news, strikes

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA -

* DHL Sets 4.9% Net Rate Increase - 2008 Boost Matches Rivals FedEx, UPS

VA,USA -TTNews -27 Nov 2007: -- DHL Express said Tuesday it would raise rates by a net 4.9% for 2008, matching previously announced rate increases by major competitors UPS Inc. and Fed Ex Corp.... The rates will include a 4.9% increase in the net average shipping rate for DHL Domestic Air Express and International Express and an average increase of 4.9% for DHL Ground shipments...

* Family of Trailer Bridge Founder to Sell Company Stake

Family members of Malcom McLean, the founder of intermodal carrier Trailer Bridge Inc., are planning to sell their stake in the company, Trailer Bridge said... Collectively, the McLean family owns about 5.8 million shares of Trailer Bridge, or about 47.8% of the carrier’s outstanding stock, the company said Monday in a statement...

Labels: trucking industry USA

Diesel Truck Emissions * USA - Waste Management pays CARB $1 million for

The California Air Resources Board continues to collect fines related to diesel truck emissions

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -November 26, 2007: -- ... CARB recently collected more than $1 million from Waste Management Inc. for failing to inspect its diesel truck fleet... According to Waste Management Inc.’s Web site, the company claims to have the largest fleet of heavy-duty trucks in the waste movement industry... California’s Periodic Smoke Inspection Program requires annual smoke opacity tests for California-based truck fleets... According to the agency’s Web site, CARB collected $1 million in fines from trucking companies in all of 2006, and had levied more than $1 million during the first six months of this year alone...

Labels: trucking's fines

* USA - Colorado transportation panel proposes tax and fee increases

A special panel in Colorado is calling for five tax and fee increases to help pay for transportation projects throughout the state

COL,USA -The Rocky Mountain News/Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 26, 2007: -- The Blue Ribbon Transportation Commission appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter has decided the state should raise $1.5 billion a year for roads and transit. The group recommended the state boost a combination of fees and the fuel, sales and severance taxes... Commission members are calling for a 13-cent-per-gallon increase in the state’s fuel tax rates and a provision to allow it to increase annually with inflation. Currently, the diesel tax is 20.5 cents-per-gallon and the gas tax is 22 cents-per-gallon... Another option being touted is to increase the sales and use tax by about one-third of a cent and boost the natural resources severance tax on companies that extract minerals from the ground by 1.7 percent. Increasing vehicle registration fees by $100 a year also has been suggested...

Labels: taxes policy

SPEED LIMITERS DEBATE * USA & Canada - Company drivers: Do not improve highway safety

Improving highway safety is the cornerstone argument used by groups pushing the mandatory use of speed limiters on heavy trucks in the U.S. and Canada

Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -November 26, 2007: -- ... The reality of life on the road in a truck with a speed limiter is anything but safer according to a survey of employee or hired drivers – commonly referred to as company drivers – conducted by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s Foundation... The Foundation sent surveys to more than 15,300 OOIDA members who identified themselves as employee or hired drivers. More than 22 percent of the surveys were returned completed, and the results weren’t surprising... The survey included information about more than 2,000 different companies that hire drivers. Of those companies, 60 percent of the drivers who responded drive for a company with speed limiters on their trucks – with more than 90 percent of those company trucks set at speeds of 68 mph and slower... The company drivers were asked to rank their concerns about the use of speed limiters. The No. 1 concern among the respondents was a lack of passing speed... The Foundation notes that the lack of passing speed and increased congestion echo the results of a study done by Steven L. Johnson, Ph.D., at the Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center at the University of Arkansas... The impact of lack of passing speed and congestion would result in what Johnson called “cluster congestion” in his study. He points out that if a truck with a 65 mph limit passes a truck with a 62 mph limit, in a 75 mph speed zone, traffic tends to experience cluster congestion... That was followed by increased congestion and a fear of being rear-ended rounding out the top three concerns...The 2005 Traffic Safety Facts released by NHTSA concluded in fatal crashes the truck is struck in the rear 2.6 times more often than the other vehicle. Rear-ends, where the passenger vehicle strikes the truck in the rear, account for nearly 12 percent of passenger vehicle fatalities, more than five times as many as those where the truck strikes the passenger vehicle... The participants in the survey are serious about their concerns, too. In fact, 60 percent of them said that their concerns about speed limiters are so great that they play a role in their consideration of working for a company... And if all things are equal between a company that uses speed limiters and a company that does not, more than 80 percent of the drivers didn’t want to work for the company that uses speed limiters on its trucks...

Labels: speed limiters

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