trucks world news: November 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

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

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

Robotic Lubrication * USA - Common in Europe. Resisted in U.S.

Automatic lubrication systems (ALS) let fleets avoid manual greasing

USA -Light & Medium Truck -November 2007: -- ALS makers say their products increase vehicle life, reduce maintenance... Squirt grease, lubricants from central reservoir into chassis points, moving parts. Include brakes, steering assemblies, rear axles, other components at timed intervals... Some systems add oil to engine crankcase... Greasing technology is standard on many new trucks in Europe... US fleet operators more skeptical of robotic greasing runs. American fleet managers reluctant to relinquish human judgment involved in manual greasing... USPS is 1 major American buyer that orders all new vehicles w/ ALS...

Labels: trucks maintenance

Truck Fleet Safety * USA - Wireless Monitoring Enhances it

GPS-based systems becoming more advanced

USA -Fleet Owner -23 Nov 2007: -- Getting closer to fully functional "brain" making important decisions for fleets... Control Transportation's (ECT) FOLO System wirelessly monitors truck performance. Enables fleet managers to react before problem causes damage. Offers real-time look wirelessly, securely at all aspects of truck's operation... Tracks safety, maintenance, focuses on driver fatigue using built-in camera. System can stop truck completely if driver is clearly fatigued...

Labels: safety cheks

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA & Canada

* USA - Road Test: 2007 International MXT, Ready To Pull a House Down

USA -TruckTrend Magazine, by Howard J Elmer -24 Nov 2007: -- The new MXT is an ego-boosting, earth-shaking show-stopper. It's born from the same ideals as a large truck designed for military use--it offers carrying flexibility, durability in extreme conditions, and incredible strength. However, a truck like this, tricked out for civilian use, has just one purpose--letting its owner show off. That's exactly what the new MXT does... (Photography by Julia LaPalme, Evan Wallenberg)

* USA - New truck deliveries continue freefall in N.A.
Greensboro,NC,USA -Truck News -27 Nov 2007: -- Volvo Trucks continues to feel the combined effects of an economic slowdown and last year’s pre-buy, with its North American deliveries from January to October dipping 61% compared to last year... Globally, the truck maker has realized a 2% increase in deliveries so far this year. That’s due in part to a staggering 221% increase in Asia... North American deliveries of Mack trucks are down 59%...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Canada

* TransForce adds to stable, acquires Thibodeau Group
Montreal,Que,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -26 Oct 2007: -- TransForce Income Fund has announced it has acquired LTL and TL carrier, the Thibodeau Group of Companies... Thibodeau operates primarily in Quebec, Ontario and the US... The carrier was founded in 1945 by the father of its current president, Pierre Thibodeau. The company operates 1,530 tractors and trailers out of 14 terminals...

* US group purchases Consolidated Fastfrate

Woodbridge,Ont,CAN -Truck News -20 Oct 2007: -- US private equity firm Fenway Partners has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Consolidated Fastfrate, Canada Drayage and Koch Transport... Consolidated Fastfrate is one of Canada’s largest privately-owned transportation and logistics providers with more than 1,500 employees. The company transports more than two billion pounds of freight each year. The company provides LTL and truckload services in Canada and the Northeast and Midwest US...

* Totalline expands operations with new B.C. facility

Vaughan,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -20 Nov 2007: -- Totalline Transport is expanding its operation in Western Canada with the move to a larger and custom-designed facility in Richmond, B.C... With 135,000 sq.ft., 24 shipping doors and two indoor bays, the state-of-the-art facility offers customers more warehousing space and features the latest in security measures responding to an increasing demand in Western Canada...

* USA - MSM Canadian Transport among 100 fastest growing private companies in L.A.

Santa Fe Springs,Cal,USA -The Los Angeles Business Journal/Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -19 Nov 2007: -- MSM Canadian Transport has been named one of the 100 fastest growing private companies in Los Angeles for the second consecutive year, according to today's edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal... The survey ranks companies according to revenue growth from 2004 to 2006... MSM Canadian Transport placed 76th, based on a 53.17% revenue increase during the three-year period... Located in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., MSM Canadian Transport provides daily scheduled less-than-truckload service to Canada from the Los Angeles area...

Labels: trucking industry Canada

INFRASTRUCTURE * Canada - Near 'Collapse': study say

Canada’s aging infrastructure is near collapse according to a report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)

Ottawa,Ont,CAN -The Toronto Star/Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -20 Nov 2007: -- ... A new report from federation president Gord Steeves says the country has used up 79% of the service life of its roads, bridges, water-and-sewage systems and other vital infrastructure and it will cost $123 billion to stave off disaster... The report said that “signs of collapse” are all around, including boil-water advisories and cracks in the pavement which become potholes... Steeves said municipalities can't afford to fix the problem on their own, but that action must be taken quickly to prevent “catastrophic failures”...

* Feds seek private partner to help construct new Windsor crossing
Windsor,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -27 Nov 2007: -- The federal government has confirmed that it is seeking a private partner to help it construct a new border crossing in Windsor... Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon addressed the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, where he said the government wants to work with a private company to increase border crossing capacity in Windsor...

Labels: infrastructures

AND HERE AND NOW ... THE ROAD SHOW !!!

Thanks to Brian Weatherley's Biglorryblog (UK) & to Rod S for the pictures... ¡¡¡

London,UK -Biglorryblog -23 Nov 2007: -- Fancy going down this in a fully-laden 44-tonner...? Mmm, I thought not and neither do I unless it's got a retarder, a decent engine brake, downhill speed control...oh yes, and an ejector seat...

Meanwhile, see what this road looks like in the day ... You know it doesn't get any better does it. ..? ... Can anyone tell me where this freaky freeway is?

Labels: road pictures

TRUCK DRIVER HERO * USA - Trucker saves woman in South Carolina crash

Truck driver Mike Hooper said he was just a man “at the right place at the right time”

Cullman,AL,USA -The Cullman Times, by Brittany Woodby -November 21, 2007: -- Others see him as a hero... !!! Hooper, a Cullman native, really was at the right place last Monday when a small vehicle crashed head-on with a full-size pickup truck on a South Carolina highway... Hooper was behind the wheel of his 18-wheeler when he saw the car burst into flames with its female driver inside... “I really didn’t have time to think about what was going on,” he said. “All I could think about was getting that girl out of that car”... Hooper left his truck and ran to the vehicle, which was fully engulfed in fire... While Hooper tried to break the car’s windows with his bare hands, another man joined him in his effort and together they used a metal pipe to break the glass. They pulled the woman from the car to safety... (Photo: Holly Pond resident Mike Hooper pulled a Florida woman from this burning vehicle after he witnessed the crash in South Carolina)

Labels: truckers heros

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - Trucker's road trip honors veterans

Pittsburgh,PA,USA -The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, by Jennifer Reeger -22 Nov 2007: -- Instead of spending Thanksgiving at home in New Alexandria, Jeff Tenerovich is on the road in a Mack truck... Tenerovich said he couldn't pass up a unique opportunity to accompany the 2007 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree from Vermont to Washington, especially since he gets to stop and visit veterans in hospitals and nursing homes along the way... Tenerovich is driving one of 15 trucks in the caravan. While 14 of them, including the one transporting the 60-foot balsam fir, are antiques, Tenerovich is driving a 2008 Mack truck... (Photo submitted by Jeff Tenerovich/The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Jeff Tenerovich's 2008 Mack truck from Vermont to Washington while accompanying the 2007 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree. It is the company's military tribute truck, featuring a mural of American military personnel from conflicts throughout U.S. history)

Labels: truckers' stories

CLEAN AIR PURPOSES * UK - Thousands not yet compliant with London LEZ

London,UK -Road Transport -23 November 2007: -- Transport for London (TfL) believes operators will comply with the London Low Emission Zone which comes into force in February, despite a recent survey that found 80,000 vehicles are still non-compliant... Manufacturers have raised concerns that builders merchants and glaziers which are not hauliers but still run CVs will slip through the net, but TfL says it is "very pleased" with the level of awareness of the scheme, which is designed to improve the Capital's air quality... TfL's own survey of vehicles entering the zone between 4 August and 14 September found 79,400 registered owners of non-compliant vehicles, which includes all CVs over 3.5 tonnes, as well as PCVs... (Photo from www.biggreenjewish.org: London's Air pollution ...)

Labels: clean air

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - New Mercedes-Benz heavy trucks due in 2010

Franckfurt,Germany -Automotive World (UK), by Alan Bunting/emercedesbenz.com -22 November, 2007: -- An all-new Mercedes-Benz truck range, code named SFTP, is due to be unveiled at the IAA show in Hanover in September 2010. Replacing today's Actros and Axor ranges, it will also mark the first appearance in Europe... THE CONCEPT: Identical parts for multiple applications reduce unit costs... For the first time, Fuso and Mercedes-Benz have jointly developed a vehicle platform for a new product family of trucks — “SFTP,” which is to include a number of identical parts suitable for cross-brand applications. Higher production volumes mean lower unit costs. That’s why the aim is to use economies of scale to achieve very high efficiency in the production of components like the instrument cluster that Osamu, Beth and Kurt must adapt to the requirements of their respective brands... (Image: The “round table” calls for all partners jointly developing a shared component to reach a consensus when formulating the part’s specification)

* Belgium - Volvo might be in for long wait with Dongfeng JV

Brussels,Belgium -Reuters -Nov 22, 2007: -- Swedish industrial group Volvo AB could have to wait years before it can begin manufacturing heavy trucks in China together with potential joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd... When asked when the joint venture could be finalized, Volvo Deputy Chief Executive Jorma Halonen said it could take anywhere between 2 to 15 years... "It physically takes time because there are so many authorities involved," he explained...

Labels: truckmakers' news

CLEAN AIR * USA & Canada - West coast ports plan to mirror truck emission rules

A trio of northwestern shipping ports are planning to follow through with similar truck emission rules recently passed at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach

Seattle,Wash,USA -The Seattle Post Intelligencer/Today's Trucking -22 Nov 2007: -- ... The Seattle seaport, along with the ports of Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C., has drafted a program similar to one in the Golden State in which trucks built before 1989 could be banned from entering the port as of October 2008... Trucks are just one part of a larger strategy that asks port business reduce air emissions produced by container ships, cargo handling equipment and railroads... (Picture: In January, the VPA will follow suit and ban trucks older than 1989)

Labels: clean air

DRIVER SHORTAGE * Canada - BCTA, gov't, and union join forces to tackle

Surrey,BC,CAN -Today's Trucking -22 Nov 2007: -- The B.C. Trucking Association, in company with Service Canada and Teamsters Canada, has launched the right track BC Trucking Industry Human Resources Strategic Plan... As part of the first strategy, BCTA is actively involved in consultation on establishing improved driver training standards for the province... A recent study, entitled "How is the Skilled Labour Shortage Affecting Vancouver Employers?" by Vertical Bridge Corporate Consulting Inc. indicates that although a cross-section of Vancouver-area employers expects to lose between zero and 30 percent of their employees to attrition over the next five years (5% is the most common estimate), only just over 55 percent indicate that they have a strategy for filling those positions... Two strategies focused on by the BC Trucking Human Resources Planning Committee are improving the image of trucking as a positive, life-long career choice and the recruitment of under-represented populations who are not normally drawn to trucking, including women, youth, aboriginals and career switchers...

Labels: drivers shortage

Trucking Companies * New Zealand - Advised to "weed out" reluctant clients

New Zealand -Radio New Zealand -23 Nov 2007: -- Trucking companies are being told to drop businesses that won't accept higher transport charges... The Road Transport Forum says the firms should "weed out" any clients who try to fight rates being raised in line with higher roading costs... Chief executive, Tony Friedlander, says increases in fuel and labour costs are threatening truckers' livelihoods... He says carriers should warn clients they will need to find another operator if they won't accept higher charges... (Picture from www.hankstruckpictures.com: The Freightliner Argosy has become a firm favourite with New Zealand truckers)

Labels: trucking industry NZ

TRUCKING COSTS * Canada - Anti-terror costs take toll on transporters

Truckers bear brunt of post-9/11 increases

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Globe and Mail, by STEVEN CHASE -November 22, 2007: -- Anti-terror security measures put in place by the U.S. and Canadian governments since 9/11 have burdened Canada's transportation industry with up to half a billion dollars in extra costs, a Transport Canada report says... And Canada's cross-border trucking sector has borne the brunt of these costs, it says... Transport Canada estimates the combined direct and indirect operating cost impact of post-9/11 security measures is $315-million to $549-million for Canadian transport sectors... Eighty-six per cent of the extra annual costs stem from the impact of U.S. government security measures. Only 14 per cent stem from Canadian government initiatives, it said... (Picture: www.lionelbeck.net: Anti-terror costs take toll on transporters - Bluewater Bridge Border Crossing)

Labels: trucking costs

ROAD PRICING * UK - South West considers it

The West of England is the latest UK region to consider a road pricing scheme.

London,UK -Road Transport -21 November 2007: -- Four authorities - Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - submitted their 'Our Future Transport' document to the Department for Transport in October in a bid for a slice of the government's £1.4bn Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)... The authorities propose a daily charge of £4, but stress that further consultation will take place before finalising this. The West of England aims to submit its full application in early 2008, subject to a consultation process and the approval of all the councils involved. It is expected that a decision from the govern-ment on whether to provide funding would then come in the summer...

Labels: road pricing schemes

Reply * USA - Truckers want safer roads too

Regarding Dave Zweifel's column "Trucking lobby's toll is plain to all"... by Lane Kidd, president, Arkansas Trucking Association Inc.

Madison,WI,USA -The Capital Times -21 Nov 2007: -- ... He is correct in observing there are more semitrucks on our highways than 20, even 10, years ago. Our highways are congested. Those of us who work in the industry do not like crowded highways any more than he does... Anyway, he (D.Z.) may have inadvertently stumbled upon the solution. While he chides the industry for "longer and heavier" trucks, eventually the public must decide -- do we want more trucks on our highways or more stuff in each truck?... Those longer and heavier trucks he despises could actually be the answer if approached correctly. We could adopt rules that allow more stuff in each truck as long as we require those companies that haul more products to install additional axles under their trailers to lessen damage to the roads... We could go further to ensure safety -- measures like mandating electronic on-board recorders in all trucks, creating safeguards to ensure equipment inspections, requiring higher taxes but spending them on the highways we drive, and tightening regulations to keep drivers free of drug and alcohol abuse. Taken as a package, we could make our highways less congested and safer for everyone... Zweifel might be surprised to learn that virtually every trucking company owner wants the same things he does -- safer highways -- and ways to make it happen...

Labels: road safety debate

Overloaded Trucks * Worldwide - ...what overloaded trucks?

London,UK -Biglorryblog & Pictures by Simon Smith -21 Nov 2007: -- Clearly a case of, if you can get it on the back...it goes on the back... Actually I'm not sure if the above truck is actually loaded with all that forage...or whether it's just in the process of driving through a haystack...

And for the ultimate people carrier... God bless bonneted Mercs...

Labels: overloaded trucks

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * EUROPE - A Kögel Big-MAXX to take away

One in eight trucks could be taken off Europe's roads if Kögel's Big-MAXX semi-trailer is accepted by EU member states

Germany -Road Transport -21 November 2007: -- ... Germany is two years into a six-year trial, which sees 300 of these longer trailers in operation with 50 hauliers. "There is absolutely no reason why this concept can't be rolled out across Europe, including the UK," says a Kögel spokesman... The Big-MAXX is simply a regular semi-trailer, but 130cm longer than the norm. The rear overhang is 100cm greater than usual, while the wheelbase has been extended by 30cm. This increases the overall length of the truck from 16.5m to 17.8m. In terms of capacity, it results in an extra 8% to 10%, increasing the number of Euro-pallets carried from 33 to 36... (More info, see below: 18 Nov 07: "TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK: Could Kogel's super-size trailers come to UK?")

* Holland - Thomas van Mourik brings together Baylis and Culina
Market Drayton,Shropshire,UK -Transport Intelligence/Management by Andrew Brown/Road Transport -November 20, 2007: -- Thomas van Mourik is one of the most interesting, dynamic and successful people in the industry. He built up Culina Logistics distributing chilled food for its owner, Muller, the German food giant... Now Theo Müller has purchased Baylis through his Luxembourg investment trust. So from January the Müller and Baylis will be one company with a £125 million turnover, and 250 trucks and 550 trailers... More importantly the new operation will bring together the chilled operation from Culina with the ambient offering from Baylis... Or as Thomas puts it “Our aim is to be the UK’s leading food and drink logistics specialist"... The Dutchman is clearly highly rated by Muller, one of the richest people in Europe. Thomas is a tough, determined, clever and highly successful operator. This is a bold move, as one would expect from Muller and van Mourik...

Labels: trucking industry Europe

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - Veteran driver says trucking, like most jobs, has its good and bad points

Malvern,Ark,USA -The Trucker, by JERRY BREEDEN -21 Nov 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”... 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”... Ramey also likes the fact that his wife, Cricket, rides along with him most of the time. “We like spending as much time as possible together,” he said. “She’s my best friend”... (Photo, "SMILIN’ STAN: Veteran trucker Stan Ramey flashes a big smile during an interview from the cab of his rig")

Labels: truckers stories

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA - DOT refutes petitioners' standing in Mexico trucking case

DOT has responded to petitions to halt its cross-border program

San Francisco,CAL,USA -The Trucker -20 Nov 2007: -- No harm, no foul — so say government attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration. The DOT on Monday filed its response to petitions seeking to halt the NAFTA cross-border trucking demonstration program with Mexico... The government argues that neither the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association nor the Sierra Club, lead petitioners in the consolidated actions, demonstrates “the injury in fact” or “the particularized harm” necessary for Article III standing. The Constitution rule for federal court intervention prohibits the judiciary from acting in an advisory capacity... “The two declarations submitted by Sierra Club offer nothing more than the speculative conclusion that granting a limited number of Mexico-domiciled trucks broader access to U.S. highways will cause an increased likelihood of road accidents (a factual assertion contradicted by regulatory enforcement statistics collected by FMCSA),” the response states. “And OOIDA has presented neither declarations nor any other evidence" ... The filing, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit here, goes on to argue FMCSA has met congressional mandates for the program, and that none of the commercial vehicle operational issues raised in the petition “poses any impediment” to continuing it...

* USA - Truckers say DOT living in denial, still - Response to petition not surprising to OOIDA
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, by Norita Taylor -Nov. 21, 2007: -- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) expressed little surprise about how the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has responded to the legal challenge to stop the cross-border trucking program with Mexico... The DOT claims OOIDA’s petition has no standing... “It’s pretty much what we expected,” said OOIDA Regulatory Affairs Director Rick Craig. “Despite significant issues raised by Congress, ourselves and other credible organizations, DOT continues to assert a ‘We are the government so we are right’ mentality”...

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCKERS' POLL * USA - Parking becoming more and more difficult

Truckers agree on at least one thing: Parking places are getting scarce as hen's teeth

Anniston,AL,USA -The Trucker -20 Nov 2007: -- Gather a group of 12 truckers, ask a simple question and you’ll likely get at least eight different answers, maybe even 12. Unless that question is about parking, and then you’ll get an overwhelming majority with the same answer... Such was the case in the latest poll on www.thetrucker.com... When asked the question, “Truck parking is a growing problem. How much more difficult is it for you to find a parking place each night than one year ago,” 63.2 percent said it was “extremely more difficult” and 27.6 percent said it was “a little more difficult”... Only 1.3 percent said it was “not as difficult” and 7.9 percent said it was “about the same”...

Labels: trucks' parking shortage

INFRASTRUCTURES * Canada - Ontario bridges crumbling

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Canadian Press /Today's Trucking -20 Oct 2007: -- Ontario needs to spend about $2 billion to repair more than a handful of the province's aging bridges, according to a study commissioned by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario... The study examined the state of Ontario's 12,000 municipal bridges. It found that no provincial agency is responsible for ensuring the bridges are inspected regularly, let alone properly maintained... The study concludes that many of the bridges are 50 years-old and reaching the end of their useful lifespan... Transportation Ministry spokesman Bob Nichols told CP that the ministry has a copy of the report and is still reviewing the recommendations...

Labels: infrastructures

TRUCKING ACCIDENTS * USA - Livestock Trucking: Insights Into Accidents

When it comes to trucking accidents, the majority of accidents happen in the fall, specifically in October and November

Overland Park,KS,USA -CattleNetwork.com -20 Nov 2007: -- The fall is the busy season for cattle transportation, so the increase in transportation accidents is no surprise. However, the factors that contribute to these accidents may be... Jennifer Woods, a livestock consultant in Blackie, collected data from livestock transport accidents in North America from the last 13 years in a study for AFAC (Alberta Farm Animal Care) with the help of funding from Alberta Agriculture and Food... The data shows that of the 415 commercial livestock truck accidents: ...

Companies need to ensure drivers are properly trained and aware of the risks of transporting livestock. One of these learning tools is the Canadian Livestock Transporter (CLT) program... The CLT is a great example of industry partnership to improve the quality of livestock handling in Alberta and Canada... (Photo: Livestock truck & trailers transports for cattle)

Labels: trucking accidents

TRUCKS' MARKETS * USA - Slowdown weighs on Daimler Trucks

Frankfurt,Germany -Reuter, by Joanna Partridge -Nov 19, 2007: -- An economic slowdown is weighing on U.S. demand for heavy trucks, even though big customers have no trouble financing purchases despite the credit crunch, the head of Daimler AG's industry-leading trucks business said on Monday... But Andreas Renschler told the Reuters Autos Summit in Frankfurt that he was sticking to his forecast of a U.S. market rebound by the second quarter of 2008... New emissions regulations that pulled forward U.S. truck demand into 2006 have also helped push the U.S. heavy truck market down by 40 percent this year. But new U.S. clean-air rules that take effect in 2010 will also give the market a boost in 2009... Daimler recently pushed back the expected timetable for a U.S. market recovery and now sees it happening early in the second quarter...

* The bulls have left the building: Freight analyst
New York,NY,USA -Truckstop Canada News (CAN) -20 Nov 2007: -- There are fewer optimists left who believe class 8 sales will pick up significantly anytime soon, notes the transportation research arm of Wall Street market analysts Bear Stearns... In a conference call titled "Turn Signals: What's the Outlook for Commercial Vehicle Demand in 08-09?" experts suggest the current downturn is attributed to the ongoing freight recession... Looking forward, the mood in the industry remains overly cautious... There's a series of other regulations beyond emission rules that's expected to drive up the price of a new truck... However, the firm says there are some other dynamics here... Meanwhile, normal trade cycles will likely put upward pressure on replacement demand for the next 3 years... The only thing that seems certain about 2010, says Bear Stearns, is that prices are going up...

Labels: trucks markets

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * UK - Nynas remain all Volvo

Cheshire,UK -Easier Motoring -19 November 2007: -- Cheshire-based, Nynas UK AB has added their 42nd Volvo tractor unit to a fleet now made up entirely of Volvo FM12 tractor units... Since 2000, the company, which provide speciality products such as naphthenic specialty oils, polymer emulsion and bitumen to quarries and road surfacing companies across the UK, have only ever purchased Volvo...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

TRUCKMAKERS * WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Volvo Trucks look to world record truck to attract new recruits

Stockholm,Sweden -Easier Motoring (UK) -19 November 2007: -- Volvo Trucks is growing at an enormous rate in Europe, which is leading to a serious shortage of technicians and drivers in some areas. To help deal with this, the company has pulled out all the stops during the past year to raise the visibility of the company to attract more young people into these particular professions... One such campaign involves Boije Ovebrink, the former truck racing driver, who recently set a new world record for the fastest ‘Standing kilometre for heavy trucks’ in his red Volvo NH... With an output of 1,600 bhp, an impressive 5,000 Nm of torque and largely built using genuine Volvo parts, the truck really is in a class of its own. Now, this record-breaking truck will be used to help Volvo and the transport industry attract new truck mechanics and drivers in Scandinavia...

* UK - Volvo in prime position to snatch EGR orders
London,UK -Road Transport -21 November 2007: -- Volvo's UK arm may be on the edge of an EGR offensive within the Euro 4 market, despite its previously strong advocacy of SCR... Company predictions indicate a 30% take-up rate in the UK's thriving eight-wheel sector, where the recently released D13B EGR engine offers a 100kg weight saving over its own SCR equivalents, and power ratings of 360hp, 400hp or 440hp under the FM cab. The 13-litre EGR motor is also included in the FH model line-up, with a top rating of 500hp suiting it to all but the heaviest haulage applications...

* USA - Peterbilt showcases Class 8 hybrid electric vehicle

USA -Truck Trader on Line -November 19, 2007: -- Peterbilt Motors Company recently showcased its Class 8 hybrid electric vehicle – the Model 386 – in conjunction with the SmartWay of Going Green Seminar at the Ontario Trucking Association Convention... The Model 386 Heavy-Duty Hybrid, a joint-development vehicle with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Eaton, utilizes a hybrid electric system for long-haul applications for both on-road and idle reduction fuel efficiency gains. On the road, the expected fuel savings is 5-7% through improved launching, accelerating and hill climbing capabilities... When the idle reduction mode is active, engine operation is limited to battery charging, an automatically controlled process that takes approximately five minutes per hour to fully charge the system. During rest periods, a 90% reduction in idling has been achieved while providing high-power A/C, 120VAC, and 12VDC to accommodate the sleeper hotel loads...

* China - Dongfeng trucks head overseas

China -China Internet Information Center -20 Nov 2007: -- Dongfeng Tianlong, its latest heavy-duty truck model, is a new milestone for Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Company... Dongfeng Tianlong has made repeated tests to guarantee product quality and received a positive response from the market... Apart from Iran and Russia, which are its major overseas markets, Dongfeng is planning to develop six other foreign markets and improve its overall overseas market management system... (Photo: Dongfeng's truck)

* China - Produced 930,100 light trucks in Jan-Oct, up 19.75 percent
Shanghai,China -Gasgoo.com -November 19, 2007: -- In the first ten months this year, China produced 930,100 light duty trucks, up 19.75 percent year on year and sold 921,800 vehicles, up 18.78 percent from a year earlier, according to the Information Center of China's National Association of Passengers Vehicle Manufacturers...

he Jan-October sales of China's top three light truck producers:

(Rank Light-truck maker: Y-o-Y change - Oct sales Y-o-Y change)
1 Beiqi Foton: 268,600 25,800 14.37%
2 Dongfeng: 101,000 8,900 17.95% -
3 Jianghuai: 91,000 8,500 - 17.63%

* USA - Hino's W. Va. truck assembly plant opens
Williamstown,W.VA,USA -BusinessWeek -20 Nov 2007: -- West Virginia's first vehicle assembly plant is up and running... The first vehicle off Hino Motors Manufacturing USA. Inc.'s Williamstown plant was a white truck that already had competing purchase offers from the town of Williamstown... Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota Group, announced in June it would take over the former Walker Systems plant... Workers have already produced 25 light- and medium-duty trucks as part of their training. Those vehicles will be sold, as will the first official vehicles to roll off the assembly line on Monday...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

* Australia - Ban on truck brake noise

Australia -The Courier Mail, by Mark Hinchliffe -November 19, 2007: -- Truck muffler businesses should boom in the wake of a clampdown on engine brake noise that has been approved unanimously by the Australian Transport Council... National Transport Commission safety spokesman Tim Eaton said engine braking noise on heavy vehicles fitted with worn, defective or inferior mufflers had been a community concern for some time... Engine brakes are engaged on the release of the accelerator to help slow the vehicle down and are used to reduce wear and tear on the vehicle's brakes...

Labels: trucks ban

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Canada & *USA - On the Move

The rising cost of diesel fuel has made moving product by truck an increasingly challenging and expensive process, and the domestic trucking industry has more challenges ahead

AZ,USA -Recycling Today -19 Nov 2007: -- ... Said Mark Martin of Swift Transportation, who spoke on the Transportation Panel at the Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Fall Conference held recently in Arizona... In the past two months alone, the increase in the price of diesel fuel has lead to a 0.10 cent per mile increase in operating costs, Martin said. “It’s destroying budgets”... High fuel costs are also likely to drive consolidation in the trucking industry as well as lead to an increase in companies that are forced to file bankruptcy, he added... Another factor to consider is rising freight costs, Martin said...

* NY private equity buys Consolidated Fastfrate
New York,NY,USA -Truck Stop Canada (CAN) -20 Nov 2007: -- The majority interest of LTL intermodal carrier Consolidated Fastfrate and its affiliates Canada Drayage Inc. and Koch Transport have been acquired by Fenway Partners, a N.Y private equity firm... Fastfrate is one of Canada's largest for-hire transportation and logistics companies and the country's third largest intermodal carrier...

* Canada - Irving dynasty on the verge of splitting companies
Saint John,NB,CAN -Globe & Mail/Today's Trucking -21 Nov 2007: -- New Brunswick's powerful Irving family, which owns dozens of companies in Canada -- including a handful of trucking fleets -- may be mulling a breakup of all their assets... The newspaper, quoting sources close to the three principle owners -- brothers J.K., Arthur and Jack -- reports that the family is on the verge of splitting up its $6 billion business empire because of a "succession impasse" among family members... For starters, the oil-energy business, managed by Arthur and his sons, would break away from the forestry division, run by J.K. and his children... The Irvings' business interests include Irving oil, forestry companies, retail, newspapers, and trucking carriers. Transport firms under the corporate family umbrella include Midland Transport, Sunbury Transport, RST Industries, and JDI Logistics. NB Southern Railway and some marine shipping companies are also owned by the Irving Group...

* USA - PTS to sell most of its assets to Allied Systems Holdings for $67M
Buffalo, NY,USA -CCJ -21 Nov 2007: -- Performance Transportation Services -- a domestic carrier of new automobiles, sport-utility vehicles and light trucks in North America -- announced Tuesday, Nov. 20, that it has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent with Allied Systems Holdings Inc., pursuant to which it would sell substantially all of its assets to Allied for $67 million in cash, plus the assumption of certain liabilities, as well as the issuance of warrants to certain of PTS creditors...

Labels: trucking industry analysis USA

SPEED LIMITERS * Canada - Transport minister learns it doesn’t pay to speed in Quebec

Journalists in Quebec are having a field day one week after Transportation Minister Julie Boulet introduced legislation that includes stiffer penalties for speeding and a mandate for speed limiters on heavy trucks

QUE,CAN - The Journal Montreal(Montreal,QUE,CAN)/Land Line Magazine (USA), by David Tanner -November 20, 2007: -- ... The Journal reported their staff observed three infractions by Boulet’s limo driver – traveling 107 kilometers per hour (66 mph) in a 70 km/h (44 mph) zone; passing a vehicle on the right at speeds of 120 km/h (75 mph); and, traveling 130 km/h (81 mph) in a 100 km/h (62 mph) zone... Boulet’s critics say it’s hypocritical for her to introduce legislation concerning highway safety while she neglects current speed laws and the very enforcement of those laws... “The whole episode highlights the misguided notion that government-mandated speed-limiters on heavy trucks will contribute in any way to safety on our highways,” said Joanne Ritchie, executive director of the Owner-Operators Business Association of Canada... OBAC and the U.S.-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association oppose mandatory speed limiters on heavy trucks, which is one of six proposals in legislation Boulet filed Nov. 14 in the Quebec National Assembly...

Labels: speed limiters

MILEAGE TAX * USA - Official says: "‘viable" option to replace fuel tax

The author of report in Oregon says a tax system based on miles driven could one day replace per-gallon fuel taxes at the pump

OR,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -November 20, 2007: -- ... James Whitty, manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding, said officials in all 50 states and Washington, DC, have their eyes on the report, which was nearing completion on Tuesday, Nov. 20... Whitty gave Land Line a preview of what the report will say...
The report is based on a pilot program conducted by the Oregon DOT from April 2006 to March 2007 to test a mileage-based tax system... Whitty explained why a mileage-based tax system would be a viable alternative to a gas tax nationwide... “We anticipate that motorists will move to more fuel efficient vehicles in direct proportion to increases in fuel prices. We’re starting to see it now,” he said. “As that continues, it will reach a point where gas taxes no longer can fund the needs of the road system. The conclusion is we have to move to a different funding system”... Whitty said the system, if lawmakers at the state or federal level implement it, would collect mileage data electronically. The devices would be installed at the manufacturing level...

Labels: tax policys

TECHNOLOGY * USA - ATA introduces Information Technology & Logistics Council

The American Trucking Associations announced this week that it has named its first officers of its newly-formed Information Technology & Logistics Council

Arlington,VA,USA -Logistics Management, by Jeff Berman -November 20, 2007: -- ... J. Braxton Hicks, senior vice president of corporate planning and development for Southeastern Freight Lines, Lexington, S.C.-based less-than-truckload carrier, will serve as the ITLC's first chair. And Vicki Schluter, vice president of information solutions for YRC Worldwide, will serve as vice chair... The ILTC, according to an ATA statement, is dedicated to supporting the interests of the trucking industry's information technology and logistics professionals, and it is committed to educating members, developing industry best practices and technology guidelines and providing legislative and regulatory advocacy programs... And in a more practical manner, Andrea Fischer, ITLC information manager, explained how some shippers are increasingly demanding that their carriers submit electronic invoices along with other basic back office functions that carriers deal with every day and have typically centered on paper-based processes for things like invoicing, as well as counting on telephone-based communications to track a truck's location. More shippers are demanding from their carriers that this information be more accessible through electronic methods, Fischer added... In terms of the types of best practices the ITLC will focus on, Snyder and Fischer cited the various languages that are used uniformly across the trucking industry such as EDI (electronic data interchange) as one example...

Labels: technonews

TOLL ROADS DEBATE * USA - Arizona legislator pushes for privatized toll roads

A leading Arizona state lawmaker says tapping into privatization to build toll roads appears to be the best option to come up with money for new highways

AZ,USA -The Associated Press/Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 19, 2007: -- ... While the thought of tolling highways is unpopular among many in Arizona, House Transportation Chairman Andy Biggs said it is more palatable to lawmakers than increasing fuel or sales taxes... He only wants to have tolls on new, privately-financed roads. He is opposed to tolling existing roads... Any pay-as-you-go road should have free alternate routes, Biggs said...

Labels: privatization toll roads

TRUCKING TV SHOW * USA - Trick my Truck

USA -Collecting my Thoughts.blogspot.com, by Norma Bruce -November 18, 2007: -- I've been enjoying watching truck makeovers on CMT this week-end. Nice personal interest stories with the Chrome Shop Mafia working their miracles. I don't know if the writers' strike will affect them or not--the banter seems pretty standard from show to show. Trick my Trucker, a weight loss and make-over show (series) for the drivers was even more fun. Seeing overweight smokers with hair and beard styles stuck in the 70s get into good nutrition, exercise get a shave and a haircut was awesome. Took 25 years off their appearance... (Picture: Eugene Jackson's Lifeline, a semi that rescues stranded big rigs got spiffed up)

Labels: trucking shows

TransAlive * USA - Fort Worth-based ministry helps truckers nationwide in Jesus’ name

Who comes to their aid if they become seriously ill or injured while in transit? Who cares for a family in the tragic event of the driver’s death while away from home?...

Wyoming,USA -Southern Baptist Texan/Noth American Missions Board, by Kay Adkins -20 Nov 2007: -- ... Bob Hataway is a chaplain for the North American Mission Board, and a member of First Baptist Church in Fort Worth with a lifelong passion for the trucking industry. Since he started TransAlive in 1984, he has been the hub for ministry to about 200 distressed truckers per year... His call to this ministry began one day in 1975 when he stopped at the scene of a traffic accident on Interstate 35 in Hillsboro. He went to the hospital to check on the Indianapolis truck driver injured in that accident. Hataway and his wife, Carol, ministered to the driver and his wife for more than eight weeks, helping them cope with the trauma and manage the life change they would undergo because of the accident... Hataway began to be burdened by the plight of truckers, who, by the nature of their work, are isolated from their support system... (Photo: Bob Hataway -center-, a North American Mission Board chaplain and his wife, Carol, talk with a trucker outside their coach used to transport stranded or injured truck drivers from across the country back home)

Labels: trucking's church

TRUCK DRIVER HERO * Namibia - Saves 3 From Burning Car

Windhoek,Namibia -All Africa (Washington,DC,USA)/ The Namibian, by Luqman Cloete -19 November 2007: -- A Truck driver rescued two children and a woman after a car crash that killed the children's mother, aunt and nephew near Keetmanshoop on Saturday... The trucker dragged the three from the wreck just before it burst into flames. He had been driving behind their bakkie, which overturned after a tyre burst... The accident happened in the early hours about 66 kilometres north of Keetmanshoop on the B1 road...

Labels: driver hero

MEXICANS' TRUCKS' DEBATE * USA - Irrational fears doom cross-border trucking

Irrational opponents, by definition, can't be appeased. But credit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with trying

San Antonio,TX,USA -The San Antonio Express-News -17 Nov 2007: -- When the Department of Transportation finally initiated a test program for a long-delayed trucking provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement in September, opponents rolled out every timeworn, irrational objection they could muster... Never mind that the test program required comprehensive safety and environmental audits and quarterly follow-ups by U.S. inspectors, driver background checks and certification of insurance from U.S.-licensed firms... And never mind that the U.S. border with Canada has long been open to two-way, long-haul trucking. The intrepid International Brotherhood of Teamsters is afraid of what even this limited test might demonstrate on the southern border. So it made sure its friends in Congress pulled the funding plug on the program... The latest move is to install global positioning system tracking devices on the handful of Mexican trucks participating in the test... So, don't count on such a rational approach to pacify the objections of the Teamsters and their allies. It will, at least, demonstrate how unreasonable their opposition is to a sensible test program...

* USA - 7th firm gets OK to truck across border

El Paso,TX.USA -El Paso Times, by Louie Gilot -18 Nov 2007: -- Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, or GCC, a Mexico cement maker with several plants in the United States, has received a permit to send trucks into the United States under an ongoing pilot program to open the border to Mexico trucks, company officials said last week... GCC is the first company from the state of Chihuahua to receive the permit. So far, seven Mexican companies are enrolled and four U.S. companies are allowed to send trucks into Mexico... GCC officials said that they were interested in shipping specialty cement, but that they still had to secure insurance and take care of other paperwork before they actually send a truck beyond the border...

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Australia

* NTC proposes incentives for vehicle safety accreditation
Melbourne,Australia -ATN -16 November 2007 : -- The National Transport Commission (NTC) has proposed the establishment of a national panel to oversee the development of a new single accreditation framework for heavy vehicle safety – as well as financial incentives for operators to join such programs... Operators accredited in TruckSafe, an industry ‘best practice’ accreditation scheme pioneered by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), have 87 percent fewer crashes than non-accredited operators. Crash rates for government-accredited operators are also 71 percent lower. Yet, only 3 percent of heavy vehicle operators are currently accredited... Accreditation schemes use regular audits to demonstrate safe business practices, which reduces governments’ reliance on traditional roadside enforcement... Regulatory concessions, such as higher axle weights for better load management, are currently only available through the government-administered National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS)...

* Lindsay Aus has posted a significantly higher after-tax profit

Rates, congestion, capacity constraints hold back Lindsay

Brisbane,Qld,Australia -ATN -19 November 2007: -- Line-haul transporter Lindsay Australia has posted a significantly higher after-tax profit of $3.48 million for the year ended June 30, 2007, despite a difficult business environment for road transporters... This compares with a profit of $1.3million in the previous corresponding period, helped by a one-off gain of $755,000... Margins also improved, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $18.4 million representing 10 percent of sales in 2006/07, up from 8.1 percent previously... Revenue was up by 8.1 percent to $184.5 million, with sales in both the transport and rural divisions higher...

Labels: trucking industry news Australia

STATISTICS * USA - NAFTA trade reaches new heights

The value of freight shipments between the US, Canada and Mexico grew at an average rate of nearly 7.1% per year between 2001 and 2006
Washington,DC,USA -Truck News -20 Nov 2007: -- ... More than $866 billion in goods were shipped across the US borders with Mexico and Canada in 2006, a 9.7% increase over the previous record set in 2005... About 475 million tonnes of freight crossed borders between North American nations, the statistics report. US trade with Canada and Mexico increased by more than US$252 billion (41.1%) between 2001 and 2006... Trucks were responsible for hauling 62% of this freight, with rail getting 15% of the pie. Trucking enjoyed the largest modal increase in shipment value from 2005 to 2006 at US$43 billion. Not surprisingly, the Windsor-Detroit border crossing was the busiest, with US$115 billion in road shipments passing through in 2006...

Labels: transport statistics

AWARD * Canada - Manitoulin founder wins Service to the Industry award

Toronto,Ont,CAN -Truck News -19 Nov 2007: -- Doug Smith, founder of Manitoulin Group and a true trucking pioneer was recognized by the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) last week as the latest recipient of the OTA-Trailmobile Service to the Industry Award... Smith received the award at the OTA’s annual convention in Toronto...

Labels: awards

Truck Bottlenecks * New Zealand - Port tries bookings to beat they

Auckland,New Zealands -The New Zealand Herald, by Mathew Dearnaley -November 19, 2007: -- Ports of Auckland is introducing an ambitious booking system for container trucks this morning to prevent traffic bottlenecks clogging the waterfront... Under the system, which is going on trial at the Fergusson container terminal before the port company decides whether to extend it to the Bledisloe terminal and possibly its general wharves, road carriers are expected to book time-slots around which trucks must turn up to deliver or collect cargo... Trucks travelling from within 100km of the waterfront will be allocated one-hour arrival slots, with 15 minutes' leeway on each side, to be extended to 45 minutes for those driving longer distances... (Photo by Paul Estcourt - Trucks at Fergusson Wharf terminal)

Labels: truck bottlenecks

VIDEO: DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA

* The Worst Semi Truck Drivers in the Entire World

USA -Nothing Toxic.com -18 Nov 2007: -- It seems pretty evident that a left turn there isn't really possible, but not to these rebel truckers...

Labels: dangerous drivers

SOLUTIONS * USA/Canada - Time to consider permitting cabotage

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -15 Nov 2007: -- Canadian carriers should be able to deliver from point-to-point within the US and vice-versa, Ray Kuntz, chairman of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said this morning in kicking off the Ontario Trucking Association’s annual convention... Kuntz emphasized he was not speaking on behalf of the ATA when he made the remark. However, he said permitting cabotage is the next logical step in improving efficiencies for carriers on both sides of the border...

Labels: border news

TRUCKS' LEASING * USA - Idealease of North America turns 25

In 1982 the former International Harvester Company transitioned its full service lease franchise to 11 International Truck dealers who launched Idealease of North America

Warrenville,Ill,USA -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow-16 Nov 2007: -- By the end of 1983, 125 US and Canadian International Truck dealers had opened Idealease affiliate locations. Twenty-five years later, the number of Idealease affiliates has more than tripled; 420 International dealers now own or operate Idealease companies in the US, Canada and Mexico... Expansion efforts continue in 2007 with Idealease affiliate locations opening in Colombia, South America and Honduras in Central America. International Truck and Engine Corporation recently recognized the 25th anniversary of its longtime customer and truck-leasing partner, highlighting its continued leadership and success over the past quarter century...

Labels: trucks' leasing

Truck Shipping Costs * USA - Urban Congestion Boosts They

TX,USA -Light & Medium Truck -November 2007: -- Texas Transportation Institute recently released newest Urban Mobility Report... Report's findings based on congestion figures from 437 urban areas. Urban traffic bottlenecks cost Americans $78.2B in wasted fuel, time during 2005. Up more than $5B from previous year. Cost to trucking industry much higher... Researchers estimated cost of delays at $14.60/hour person travel, $77.10/hour truck time. Truck time measures time, fuel consumed, not added cost to every consumer good hauled by truck...

Solutions:

* Up efficiency of transportation network by clearing accidents quickly
* Meter traffic, add capacity to critical corridors, relieve choke points
* Implement flexible work hours, telecommuting
* More high-speed toll lanes on existing roads to fund added capacity projects

Labels: trucking costs

DRIVING * USA - Unhealthiest Part of Day for Most Drivers

Harmful Particulates a Danger for Daily Drivers

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -WardsAuto.com, by Herb Shuldiner -Nov 8, 2007: -- Daily commuting accounts for approximately half of the average motorist’s exposure to harmful diesel particulate emissions, a new study says... Ultra-fine particulates, which are more toxic than larger particles, are of the greatest concern because they can penetrate cell walls and disperse throughout the body, the study says... The research team, of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, studied drivers in Los Angeles between February and April 2003 and found about half of their exposure to pollutants was during their drives to and from work... In the 1.5 hours average drivers spend in their cars every day, they are exposed to 33%-45% of the harmful air pollution they breathe in, the study says, noting the greatest concentration of emissions comes from heavy trucks... Hard acceleration, on both surface streets and in freeway driving, produced the greatest exposure to diesel pollution... “The extent that (diesel trucks) dominated the highest concentration conditions on freeways was unexpected,” Fruin says. “Shortening your commute and spending less time in the car will significantly reduce your total body burden of harmful pollutants.”...

Labels: drivers' health

FUEL TROUBLES * USA

*

* Fuel costs push truckers toward brink

Lincoln,ME,USA -Bangor Daily News (Bangor,ME), by Nick Sambides Jr -November 19, 2007: -- Record diesel prices that reached $3.65 per gallon Saturday are pushing logging truckers into a state of emergency that could imperil Maine’s entire forestry products industry... State officials expressed fear Saturday that runaway fuel prices could force independent truckers — the forest product industry’s connective tissue, as they haul fiber to mills from the woods — to abruptly shut down, sparking a larger crisis within the industry and the state... Gov. John Baldacci and other officials are investigating ways to help truckers stay on the roads over the winter, including temporary suspension of gas taxes and some hauling regulations and bulk fuel buying, said John M. Kerry, director of the state’s Office of Energy Independence and Security... Landowners, loggers, logging company and mill owners, and independent truckers who attended said fuel prices are forcing them into shutdown mode... Independent logging truck operators might be the first to fall because they are smaller, but that means only that the rest of the industry has a little more time. With mostly diesel-powered equipment, all face the same crushing economic burden... Relief options state officials are considering or pursuing include: ... (Photo by Gabor Degre/Bangor Daily News: Albert Raymond of Kingman gets the papers on a load of wood from crane operator Rick Irish after he loaded the truck with hardwood in Mulunkus Township Thursday morning. Raymond said that fuel prices are rising so high that owner operators like himself are getting close to losing money if they keep their truck running)

* Not Your Father's Oil Crisis - World heading for 3rd oil crisis in generation
New York,NY,USA -The New York Times -November 9, 2007: -- Crises of 1970s, 1980s caused by supply interruptions. Today's oil shock created by demand from developing countries... Demand from China, India predicted to double in next 20 years. Expected to equal today's imports of US, Japan by 2030... Oil prices up 56% in 2007, up 365% in last 10 years. Economists, oil business veterans say prices can't go up forever... Global demand forecast to rise to 115M bbl/day by 2030, taxing world's current supply... "These prices are too high and will end up hurting everybody, producers and consumers alike", said Fatih Birol, chief economist, International Energy Agency... Search for new sources underway, face long lead times, high costs. Often hampered by geopolitics, natural disasters...

Labels: fuel costs

Hybrids * USA - Growing in Fleet Niche Markets

USA -Fleet Owner -November 7, 2007: -- New "Commercial Vehicle Hybrids" study released by consulting firm ABI Research. Fuel supply, emissions concerns drive consumer, commercial interest in hybrids, despite uncertainty over cost-effectiveness of hybrid technology... Hybrid use growing among consumers, commercial fleets... More commercial vehicle hybrids available using parallel, series electric systems. Also some using parallel, series hydraulic products... Systems aim at specific market niches, offer measurable benefits, known costs... Lifecycle costs difficult to predict w/ short historical data available. Costs expected to come down as technology matures, sales volumes grow... Won't happen until purchasing managers have more confidence in hybrid operational characteristics... Results specific to duty cycle; hybrid drive can be less appropriate than traditional diesel...

Labels: hybrids

SAFETY * Europe - TIR trucks, buses to have anti-crack systems

Tour buses, trucks will be manufactured with additional security systems after 2010, UN member states have agreed in Geneva, the European Commission informs

Brussels,Belgium -Focus News/24 Chasa (Sofia,Bulgaria) -18 November 2007: -- ... The vehicles will have an electronic security system (ESC) planted, which will allow drivers to keep control of the vehicle in critical situations caused by road cracks or loss of control. The system reduces the power of the engine or triggers the brakes of one or some of the wheels by recovering the vehicle’s stability... It will help save 500 human lives annually and avoid 2,500 heavy crashes... The EU plans to make the ESC planting mandatory in all newly-manufactured motor vehicles in a few stages... The first stage will concern TIRs and tour buses... "These systems have a great potential for the saving of a human life, especially in heavy motor vehicles, where crash consequences might be dreadful", EU Commissioner for Industry Gunter Verheugen commented...

Labels: safety measures

CARD's FRAUD * UK - Hauliers express fuel card concerns

London,UK -Road Transport -16 November 2007: -- BP and Shell fuel cards have come under scrutiny this week after one haulier discovered he was being charged 97p (ex-VAT) per litre for diesel and another found that his card was being used fraudulently... Jeff Cahill, transport operator at Reading, Berkshire-based BDT, says he discovered how much he was being charged by Direct Fuels for fuel purchased on his BP card after his accountant fell ill... "At 97p plus VAT per litre, it means I'm paying about 113p per lit - which is way above the average pump price"...

Labels: frauds

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

* Could Kogel's super-size trailers come to UK?

London,UK -Road Transport -16 November 2007: -- One in eight trucks could be taken off Europe’s roads if Kögel’s Big-MAXX semi-trailer is accepted by the member states... Germany is two years into a six-year trial, which sees 300 of these longer trailers in operation with 50 hauliers. Last week the Czech Republic announced that it would allow an unlimited number of permits for its domestic hauliers to operate them. And Kögel is optimistic that other countries are about to follow suit...

* First Volvo FE Euro 5 gritters go to Lincolnshire C. C.

Lincolnshire,UK -Easier -13 November 2007: -- The UK‘s first four, new generation Volvo FE Euro 5 6x4 gritters have gone into service with Lincolnshire County Council, which have seven years experience of operating Volvo gritters within its winter maintenance service...

* More Renault Magnums for Brough Haulage

Nottingham,UK -Easier -17 November 2007: -- Nottingham based Brough Haulage has taken delivery of three new Euro 4 Renault Magnum 460.25s through Renault Trucks distributor, RH Commercial Vehicles. The trucks will be used with tri-axle low loader trailers for the specialist transport of access scissor lifts and plant for customers such as Hewdens, Hi-Reach, Nationwide, Loxam and Access Rentals...

* Turners of Soham take their 100th DAF FTP tractor

Soham,Cambridgeshire,UK -Easier -17 November 2007: -- In a major renewal of its bulk tanker fleet, Turners Limited has put its 100th DAF FTP model into service and given it the unique registration T100 FTP... A further 75 FTPs are on order for delivery over the next 12 months... Franklin Turner, a director of the 77-year-old family firm, says that the FTP is particularly well suited to bulk tanker work because of the light weight of its lifting axle, which uses 17.5 inch wheels... Founded in 1930, Turners Limited is today one of the largest independently-owned transport and distribution businesses in the country. It specialises in bulk tanker and temperature-controlled work and runs over 800 trucks out of nine locations in the UK and a depot in Rotterdam...

* Belgium - Hauliers' views sought on EU road charging
Brussels,Belgium -Road Transport (UK) -16 November 2007: -- Hauliers have until 31 December to tell the European Commission (EC) what they think about a pan-European Union (EU) road charging system, and if so, what charges should be levied... The public consultation is part of the EC's preparation for major proposals it must make next year on road charging to cover the external costs created by all transport methods... These include pollution, CO2 emissions, congestion, infrastructure wear and tear, and accidents...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

"GREEN" PROGNOSIS * Sweden - Truck transportation to become climate neutral

Stockholm,Sweden -Easier (UK) -16 November 2007: -- Volvo Trucks is taking part in a project for CO2-neutral transport together with the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV), a network organisation at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Preem Petroleum AB (the largest oil company in Sweden), Schenker (one of the world's leading providers of integrated logistics services) and Vägverket (the Swedish Road Administration)... Increased transport on the roads has so far always led to added emissions of carbon dioxide and greater climate impact. Yet now this trend needs to be cut short...

The major points were :
* Each party’s efforts to increase fuel efficient driving will be intensified. Starting in 2008, Vägverket will increase the demands for fuel efficient driving on all those aiming to take their driving licence.
* By partly replacing crude oil with biomass at the refining stage and by increasing blends of RME and diesel, the amount of renewable fuels will increase.
*The conditions required for increasing the length of load carriers beyond today’s 25.25 metres, as a means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, will be investigated.
*The participating parties are also preparing a joint project where the various improvements will be tested in practice.

Labels: 'green' prognosis

Transportation News * USA - Intermodal volumes are strong despite market conditions

Calverton,Md,USA -Logistic Management -17 Nov 2007: -- Despite the current economic slowdown, which has taken its toll on the freight transportation industry due to things like decreasing import volumes and domestic freight demand, total intermodal growth for the third quarter of this year was the second-best quarter ever recorded, according to Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics, a quarterly report published by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA)... IANA reported that the total quarterly volume 3,618,617 loadings trail only last years third quarter, which came in at 3,699,544 units—or 2.2 percent better. And it added that growth in the third quarter outperformed the second quarter of this year by 3.5 percent. Domestic containers for the third quarter were 10.0 percent ahead of last year at 919,085, and international intermodal volume was 2,172,645, which was 3.7 percent off of the third quarter in 2006...

Labels: transportation news

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Mercedes-Benz SCR systems to combat high NOx from biodiesel
Frankfurt,Germany -Automotive World (UK), by Alan Bunting -16 November, 2007: -- Mercedes-Benz has given approval for the use of 'first generation' FAME biodiesel fuel in blends up to 100% in its OM457, 500- and 900-series truck and bus engines...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Border crossers welcome opening of expressway

San Diego,CAL,USA -The San Diego Union Tribune, by Anna Cearley -November 16, 2007: -- Some regular border crossers eager to make quicker trips to and from east Chula Vista and Otay Mesa expect the new South Bay Expressway will make life easier, even though they will have to pay for the convenience... Bernardo Andrade, an operations manager for a cross-border trucking company with offices in Otay Mesa, is one example. Andrade lives in Mexico, but frequently stays with friends and family in San Diego County. He says he'll use the toll road, which opens Monday, perhaps as often as twice a week for personal trips. He expects it will reduce the travel time by about 25 minutes each way... Andrade said it isn't as clear to him whether the road will add up to savings for his company's truckers, who move cargo into the United States. He said the company, Multimodal Esquer, will be testing the route...

Labels: infrastructures

Trucking Disruption * China - Prompts PetroChina to produce more diesel

Beijing,China -Xinhua News Agency/China Daily/Associated Press/The Trucker -16 Nov 2007: -- China's biggest oil company, PetroChina Ltd., is increasing its refining capacity by 12 percent to combat fuel shortages that have disrupted trucking and caused long lines at filling stations, state media reported Friday... The company will raise refining volume to 2.4 million barrels a day, up from last year's daily level of 2.15 million barrels... They cited comments by PetroChina vice president Liu Hongbin on Thursday...

Labels: fuel shortage

OIL FUTURES * USA - Belief supplies aren't that plentiful causes hike in

Oil futures rose Friday on investors' belief that supplies aren't as plentiful as a government report at first suggested

New York,NY,USA -Associated Press /The Trucker -16 Nov 2007: -- ... Meanwhile, gas prices fell slightly for the first time in weeks, raising doubts about a view that pump prices are destined to rise by another 10 cents to 15 cents in coming weeks to catch up with skyrocketing crude prices... Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.67 to settle at $95.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But January crude, which now becomes the front-month contract, closed $1.26 below that, settling up $1.77 at $93.84 a barrel... (Photo: The price of oil was $95.10 at the close of the day Friday )

Labels: fuel troubles

STRIKES * WORLDWIDE

* COMMENT: Strikes hit rail freight in France and Germany
London,UK -Road Transport -16 Nov 2007: -- You may think that the opening of the new high speed rail line from St Pancras to continental Europe opens up a new age of the train... But actually this week has shown rails serious weaknesses, particularly for freight operators... As the new high speed trains from St Pancras arrived in Paris, normal lines in both France and Germany were paralysed by two different rail strikes... According to reports from Germany, major manufactures, suppliers and mail order companies are unable to move goods because so a high proportion of goods travel by train. Audi has had to reduce shifts in Belgium as a result. BMW is reported to have moved cars by road instead of rail. This highlights the vulnerability of rail to strikes and should be a factor when deciding whether to move to rail... Incidentally it is perhaps not the best timing for UK rail freight operator to be purchased by Deutsche Bahn!... It is also worth noting that moving freight by train through the Channel Tunnel has been a disaster. In theory the best way to move heavy goods from Italy, Spain, France or further, should be through the tunnel. But it just does not work, partly because of the lack of cooperation between the various European rail operators... It is far from being the age of the European freight train...

* Germany - Train Strike Halts Passenger, Cargo Service

Berlin,Germany -Bloomberg, by Chad Thomas -Nov. 15, 2007: -- Many German passenger and cargo trains stood still today as drivers continued their three-day strike to press for higher wages and better working conditions... Millions of commuters struggled to get to work after Germany's state-owned railway "heavily'' reduced local train services, while manufacturers faced delays and production shutdowns as Deutsche Bahn AG canceled "more than 40 percent'' of cargo traffic... (Photographer: Jochen Eckel/ Bloomberg News - Travellers walk past an empty platform at the main railway station in Berlin, on Nov. 15, 2007)

* South Korea - Unionized truckers decided to withhold their plan to stage a strike early in the morning
Seoul,South Korea -Hani.co -16 Nov 2007: -- Unionized railway workers and truckers Friday decided to withhold their plan to stage a strike early in the morning over wage hike and job security, dispelling concerns over a possible paralysis of the logistics system... Following the decision to put the strike on hold, thousands of unionized rail workers and truck drivers, who had gathered at a Korea Railroad warehouse in central Seoul, returned to work Friday morning... The unionists had planned to launch a general strike at 4 a.m., but withdrew the threat despite unsuccessful negotiations with Korea Railroad and the government...

* Italia - Truck drivers plans week-long strike in December
Rome,Italy -Cargonews Asia (Hong Kong,China) -16 November 2007: -- The association representing around one-third of Italy's truck drivers yesterday vowed to stage a week-long strike in December if the government does not meet a set of demands... Confartigianato Transport represents the owners of around 50,000 long-haul freight trucks, about a third of the total circulating on Italian roads... The strike from December 10 through December 14 has been called due to the high cost of diesel fuel, unfair competition from foreign truck drivers, and the government's failure to deliver promised help to the sector, said Francesco Del Boca, president of the group...

Labels: strikes

HOS DEBATE * USA - Senate subcommittee to hold hearing focusing on

HOS saga continuing with reported Senate meeting regarding Hours of Service

Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker -16 Nov 2007: -- The ever changing Hours of Service saga took another turn Friday when it was learned that the Senate Commerce Committee’s Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee would hold a hearing focusing on HOS Dec. 6... The American Trucking Associations confirmed that it had been asked to provide testimony at the hearing... It is also expected that John Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, will be called to testify, sources said... In October, the court granted a stay until Dec. 27 of its ruling, allowing the 11 hours of driving time and the 34-hour restart rule to remain in place until that time...

Labels: HOS debate

Truck Parking Initiative * USA - FHWA solicits applications for

Government incentives a pilot program for long-term parking

Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker -16 Nov 2007: -- Truck parking has become increasingly difficult to find for drivers who must spend at least eight hours at a time off-duty and in the sleeper berth... A Federal Register notice solicits applications for a truck parking initiative for which funding is available under section 1305 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)... SAFETEA-LU directed the secretary to establish a pilot program to address the shortage of long-term parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System... States, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and local governments are eligible for the funding available for fiscal years (FY) 2006-2009... Applications must be received by the FHWA Division Office no later than Feb. 14, 2008... (Photo: Truckers are finding it increasingly difficult to find parking overnight. A SAFETEA-LU pilot program may help in the future)

Labels: trucks parking's shortage

FUEL TROUBLES DEBATE * USA

* Fuel prices, lower tonnage cause FedEx to lower earnings forecast

Nashville,TEN,USA -Associated Press/The Trucker -16 Nov 2007: -- FedEx Corp. reduced its quarterly and yearly earnings expectations Friday and analysts suggested that forecasts could be pared for future periods if fuel prices don't stabilize... The Memphis-based shipper blamed soaring fuel costs and a troubled U.S. freight market for the reduced estimate that led the company's shares to plunge nearly 5 percent and set a 52-week low on Friday... (Photo: FedEx says it may have to lower expectations even further)

* Maine's Logging Industry Feels Pinch Of For Highest Ones

The high price of diesel fuel is taking a toll on truckers who haul logs from the woods to the mills across Maine

Kingman,Maine,USA -AP/wcsh6.com (Portland,OR), by Patricia Pelosi -15 Nov 2007: -- ... A new group, the Coalition to Lower Fuel Prices in Maine, plans to hold a meeting with legislators in Lincoln on Saturday in hopes of working out something to help the trucking industry cope with rising fuel costs... Tom Cushman of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine says the high cost of fuel is causing all facets of the state wood products industries to suffer... Cushman, who owns Maine Custom Woodlands in New Gloucester, said every nickel rise in the price of fuel ends up costing hundreds or thousands of dollars...

* Fuel Prices Could Force Some Truckers Out Of Business
St. Louis,MO,USA -KSDK, by Jeff Smal -15 Nov 2007: -- Some truck drivers say they could soon be out of business due to a problem we are all facing: dramatically increasing fuel prices, including gasoline and diesel... One truck driver said about three years ago it used to cost him about $165 to fill up... Now independent contractor Jim Sylvia said he's averaging more like $400 and is considering selling his truck and calling it quits... The 48-year trucking industry veteran says he's now forced to pick jobs based on whether he can actually make money... Slyvia said the prices at the pump could have far-reaching effects, especially if he and other truck drivers are forced to stop delivering everything from milk to clothes...

Labels: fuel costs

Fuel Standards * USA - Federal court rejects Bush’s ones for light trucks

A federal appeals court in California has rejected the Bush administration’s fuel-economy standards for pickup trucks, minivans and SUVs
CAL,USA -Associated Press /Land Line Magazine -November 16, 2007: -- The ruling stated that the standards aren’t tough enough because regulators failed to take into account the impact of tailpipe emissions that contribute to climate change... Four environmental groups and 13 cities and states, including California, had sought the ruling.
Under the administration’s standards the average fuel economy of pickups, minivans and SUVs would only have to improve by one mile per gallon by 2010...

Labels: fuel standards

Drivers' Licenses * USA - Oregon governor committed to permitting illegal immigrants to drive

OR,USA -Associated Press /Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 16, 2007: -- Oregon Governor said he still is in favor of making it more difficult for people to get licenses to drive in the state and elsewhere... Currently, applicants for an Oregon driver’s license can obtain the document without presenting proof of identity, such as a birth certificate or Social Security card... The governor said the proposal would bring the state into compliance with new federal ID requirements that states adopt a national standard that includes linking their driver’s licensing records to national databases... The license for those who provide proof of “legal presence” would be valid at airports, banks and other locations that require identification. Individuals who cannot provide proof of their legal presence could use the other license only for driving. It would be stamped “not for identification”...

Labels: drivers' CDL

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA -

* House OKs bill to nix cross-border program funding. But President Bush has already threatened to kill the legislation
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Coral Beach -November 16, 2007: -- An appropriations bill, already approved by the House, is now in the hands of the U.S. Senate and it could kill federal funding for the cross-border trucking program with Mexico. But President Bush has already threatened to kill the legislation... No action is anticipated until Congress returns from its Thanksgiving recess on Dec. 4... Bush has said that the bill is irresponsible and includes excessive spending and that he will veto it if it reaches his desk in its current form... On the other side of the Capitol Building in the Senate, members had a veto-proof margin on Oct. 16 when they approved their chamber’s version of the bill, but it is unknown whether the revised version from the conference committee will have the same level of support, but OOIDA leaders remain optimistic...

Labels: mexican's trucks

Driving Rules * USA - New Jersey law toughens distracted drivers

NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 16, 2007: -- In an effort to make New Jersey roadways safer, Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill into law giving law enforcement greater authority to ticket drivers for being distracted... The new law, allows police to pull over drivers for typing, reading or sending text messages while at the wheel. The bill also allows primary enforcement of the state’s ban on using any cell phone that is not a “hands-free” device... Violators of the cell phone restriction in the Garden State would face $100 fines. “Texting” while driving would also result in $100 fines... Efforts to curb the practice of using electronic wireless devices, such as a BlackBerry device, while driving have picked up steam following the release of a Nationwide Mutual Insurance survey that found one in five drivers texting while driving. Nearly three-quarters of drivers use cell phones...

Labels: driving safety

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* South Africa - Coming soon, the 'eternal passage of time'

Garden View,South Africa -Engineering News (press release), by Irma Venter -16 Nov 07: -- South Africa is big news to Nissan Diesel... The numbers support the assertion by the Japanese executive... Nissan Diesel produces about 40 000 trucks a year. Of these, about 20 000 are exported, with 4 000 units – or a healthy 20% – going to South Africa in kit form... These units are assembled by Nissan Diesel South Africa at its Rosslyn plant... In fact, says NDSA vice-president: operations Rory Schulz, 2007 sales in South Africa should reach 4 800 units, significantly up from last year’s 3 700 vehicles... (Picture by Irma - COMING SOON: The Quon range will be launched in March next year. Here it is seen at this year's Tokyo Motor Show )

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

Atlanta Ignores Ban * USA - Washes Trucks During Drought

Atlanta,GA,USA -WSBTV.co, by Jodi Fleischer -November 16, 2007: -- Despite a ban on washing vehicles because of the drought, WSB-TV Channel 2 has learned that city of Atlanta truck drivers have been directed to continue washing their trucks at the end of every shift... Channel 2’s camera captured hundreds of gallons of water going right down the drain and it's happening over and over, every single day... Even though Mayor Shirley Franklin said that a dirty car should be a badge of honor, WSB-TV Channel 2 reporter Jodi Fleischer watched for several days as those truck drivers rolled up to this hydrant, hooked up their hoses and begin spraying... (Photo: Atlanta City Drivers Wash Trucks During Drought)

Labels: trucks ban

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA -

* House OKs Highway Upgrade, Ban Funds for Truck Program
Washington,DC,USA -wwd.com, by Kristi Ellis -November 15, 2007: -- The House passed a $105.6 billion measure Wednesday, by a vote of 270 to 147, to provide money for the nation's highways, but ban funding for a Bush administration pilot program allowing long-haul Mexican trucks to operate across the U.S...

Labels: mexican's trucks

Trucking Industry * USA - Sen. Feinstein Calls For Reform

Her Letter A Direct Result Of CBS 2 Investigation

Los Angeles,CA,USA -AP/CBS 2, by Pat Harvey -Nov 15, 2007: -- In a letter to John H. Hill, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Senator Feinstein Thursday highlighted the risk of long-distance truck driver fatigue and requested information about current efforts to address this growing problem... Senator Dianne Feinstein asked the Department of Transportation to revisit the idea of having onboard computers on big rigs in an effort to improve freeway safety...

Labels: trucking industry USA

* USA - UPS Brown Goes Green with ZAP Trucks

San Diego,CAL.USA -Gadgets Page, by Laura Moncur -November 15, 2007: -- UPS has leased a fleet of 42 electric ZAP trucks to deliver small packages in Northern California. Instead of loading up their huge brown delivery trucks, and running them up and down every street in Petaluma, they are separating the smaller packages and using electric cars to do a lot of the zipping around town... “This is the missing link for small package deliveries in congested areas,” said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider...

Labels: 'green' trucks

TOLLS' DEBATE * USA

* New Hampshire lawmakers push for private toll bridge
NH,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 15, 2007: -- Some state lawmakers in New Hampshire are hopeful of seeing a privately operated toll bridge erected in the state to help ease traffic congestion in the southern part of the state... Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, is the lead sponsor of an effort touted by several House and Senate members that would allow a private group to contract to build a bridge across the Merrimack River in Nashua. The cost of the bridge has been estimated between $75 million and $100 million, the Union Leader newspaper reported... Currently, the state has two bridges over the Merrimack River between Nashua and Manchester. A third bridge now under construction will connect the F.E. Everett Turnpike to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport...

* Two public meetings left in Pennsylvania regarding I-80 tolls
PENN,USA -Land Line Magazine -November 15, 2007: -- Two public meetings remain in the current round of meetings aimed at informing the public about the tolling of Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania... The meetings are scheduled to be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at each location, conducted in an open-house format. The public can view informational materials and discuss the proposal one-on-one with project staff. Formal presentations by transportation officials are scheduled at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at each meeting... Remaining dates and locations are as follows:
* Monday, Nov. 19, Notre Dame High School, 60 Spagenburg Ave., East Stroudsburg, PA
* Monday, Nov. 19, Grove City College, 100 Campus Drive, Grove City, PA

* Trucking Companies on tolls
Buffalo,NY,USA -WKBW-TV, by Julie Fine -Nov 15, 2007: -- There are about 35 trucks in Serafini's fleet, and some of them go through 6 tolls a day, delivering road construction materials. Drivers will pay 10 percent more in January, and now 5 percent increases are proposed for both 2009 and 2010... The drivers are feeling the heat too... The New York Thruway Authority says the number of people on the roads are down. They projected a 2.5 increase for 2007, and say it is less than one percent. That is one reason they point too for a need for higher tolls, plus the cost of keeping the roads safe. But Congressman Brian Higgins, concerned about how the Authority spends its money, requested an audit earlier in the week, and has since spoke to the state Comptroller... Attorney Michael Powers, who sued the New York Thruway Authority to get rid of the 190 tolls, is now sending a letter asking for their report describing the need for higher tolls. Those who use them frequently continue to hope the hike does not happen...

Labels: tolls roads debate

LAWS * Canada - Mandatory speed limiter proposal filed in Quebec

QUE,Canada -Land Line Magazine (USA) -November 15, 2007: -- Julie Boulet, minister of transportation in the Canadian province of Quebec, introduced a six-point highway bill Wednesday, Nov. 14, that includes a push for mandatory speed limiters on heavy trucks... Boulet’s proposed amendment to the Highway Safety Code calls for speed limiters to be set at 105 kilometers per hour, or 65 mph, on all heavy trucks operating in the province, regardless of where they are base plated... The legislation also includes proposals for red-light cameras and photo radar, stricter penalties for speeding, stricter penalties for drunken driving, a ban on cell phone handsets, and graduated drivers’ licenses for new drivers... Critics of the bill, including owner-operator associations in Canada and the U.S., say it lacks resources for enforcement, particularly the enforcement of existing laws...

Labels: laws canada

ACE * USA - Nationwide truck manifest automation online

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -November 14, 2007: -- Truckers who frequently take border crossings back into the United States can save time by filing cargo information electronically – and if that’s not motivation enough, eventually the program will be mandatory at all border crossings... The federal government recently completed installation of Automated Commercial Environment or ACE electronic truck processing at the port of entry in Piegan, MN... A news release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection last week states that 99 land border ports are now capable of processing e-manifests...

Labels: Ace e manifest

* USA - Will there be a ‘California’ engine?

To buy a truck certified to idle in California or have the manufacturer activate a five-minute limit on idling

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine,by Charlie Morasch -November 15, 2007: -- Truckers weighing their options on buying new trucks or engines are facing a decision they’ve never before been forced to make... California is requiring that engines manufactured for model year 2008 and later have a shutoff function activated unless they meet a new standard of emitting no more than 30 grams of nitrogen oxides per hour while idling. Engines already have the capability to have the shutoff function activated, but California’s rule makes their activation mandatory for any truck that enters the state. State law also prohibits the shutoff functions from being manipulated at any time by the driver... Most or all truck manufacturers appear as though they’ll each have an engine certified to meet California’s clean idle standard, said Joe Suchecki, director of public affairs for Chicago-based Engine Manufacturer’s Association... Drivers would rather be able to idle their engines than have a mandatory engine shutoff system, Suchecki said... “Every manufacturer is going to try and have a low-NOx engine available simply because that’s thought to be the option most customers would prefer,” Suchecki said... Next year’s requirement for 2008 year truck engines has had as monumental an effect on new trucks as engine makers, Suchecki said. Engine makers have scrambled to meet environmental edicts approved first by California and mirrored by other states<

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30.11.07

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

DRIVERS' HEALTH * USA - Low Back Pain

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

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

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA & Canada

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

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

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

29.11.07

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

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

INFRASTRUCTURES * Canada/USA - study shortsea shipping opportunities

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

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS & SERVICES * USA

Crash Warning Systems * USA - NIST Measures Performance on Autos

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

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

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

Greenhouse * Australia - Measures 'crippling' truckers

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

28.11.07

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * UK -

COMMENTS * UK - On longer, heavier super trucks

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS & ACCESORIES

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

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

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * WORLDWIDE

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

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

Overloaded Trucks * India - Are death-on-wheels

RECALLS * Canada - Daimler vans, Volvo trucks recalled

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

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA -

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

* USA - Colorado transportation panel proposes tax and fee increases

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

Robotic Lubrication * USA - Common in Europe. Resisted in U.S.

Truck Fleet Safety * USA - Wireless Monitoring Enhances it

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA & Canada

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Canada

INFRASTRUCTURE * Canada - Near 'Collapse': study say

27.11.07

AND HERE AND NOW ... THE ROAD SHOW !!!

TRUCK DRIVER HERO * USA - Trucker saves woman in South Carolina crash

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - Trucker's road trip honors veterans

CLEAN AIR PURPOSES * UK - Thousands not yet compliant with London LEZ

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

CLEAN AIR * USA & Canada - West coast ports plan to mirror truck emission rules

DRIVER SHORTAGE * Canada - BCTA, gov't, and union join forces to tackle

Trucking Companies * New Zealand - Advised to "weed out" reluctant clients

TRUCKING COSTS * Canada - Anti-terror costs take toll on transporters

22.11.07

ROAD PRICING * UK - South West considers it

Reply * USA - Truckers want safer roads too

21.11.07

Overloaded Trucks * Worldwide - ...what overloaded trucks?

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * EUROPE - A Kögel Big-MAXX to take away

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - Veteran driver says trucking, like most jobs, has its good and bad points

MEXICANS' TRUCKS DEBATE * USA - DOT refutes petitioners' standing in Mexico trucking case

TRUCKERS' POLL * USA - Parking becoming more and more difficult

INFRASTRUCTURES * Canada - Ontario bridges crumbling

TRUCKING ACCIDENTS * USA - Livestock Trucking: Insights Into Accidents

TRUCKS' MARKETS * USA - Slowdown weighs on Daimler Trucks

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * UK - Nynas remain all Volvo

TRUCKMAKERS * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Ban on truck brake noise

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Canada & *USA - On the Move

SPEED LIMITERS * Canada - Transport minister learns it doesn’t pay to speed in Quebec

MILEAGE TAX * USA - Official says: "‘viable" option to replace fuel tax

TECHNOLOGY * USA - ATA introduces Information Technology & Logistics Council

TOLL ROADS DEBATE * USA - Arizona legislator pushes for privatized toll roads

20.11.07

TRUCKING TV SHOW * USA - Trick my Truck