trucks world news: January 2008

28.1.08

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

* Albion Chemicals replaces fleet with Volvos

London,UK -Motor Transport/Road Transport, by Kevin Swallow -28 January 2008: -- Albion Chemicals has finally converted its fleet to all-Volvo with the recent purchase of 16 Euro-4 FM tractors with Globetrotter cab... Colin Woodward, fleet engineer and facilities manager, cites fuel economy, back-up and drivers preference behind the purchase, converting our fleet to all-Volvo...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

Countdown * UK - For the London Low Emission Zone

London,UK -Commercial Motor/Road Transport, by Dylan Gray -28 January 2008: -- The London Low Emission Zone will come into force in four days' time. From 4 February all vehicles over 12 tonnes entering the zone, which covers almost everywhere within the M25, must reach Euro-3 particulate levels or have aftermarket equipment which brings them up to this standard... Vehicles not complying with this standard face fines of up to £1,500. Transport for London has given operators 28 days' breathing space to comply with the LEZ it will only issue warnings during this period...

Labels: low emission zone

STATISTICS * UK - Truck drivers slow to ask for training

When it comes to asking their employers for extra training truck drivers are among the shyest workers in the UK, according to government figures

London,UK -Commercial Motor/Road Transport, by David Harris -28 January 2008: -- ... A survey by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) found that 62% of transport employees are reluctant to ask about training. However, it also found that 38% of transport workers say if they do receive extra training it makes them more likely to stay with a company... Some transport employers also recognise this benefit, with 40% of those who do train their staff reporting an increase in staff retention...

Labels: statistics

Study * Nigeria - Most expensive road transport route for business

The elimination of corruption at the borders is critical to the success of the economic integration aspirations

lagos,Nigeria -The Business Day, by Godwin NNANNA -27 January, 2008: -- It costs more to move goods across West African countries by road than any other region in the world due to the huge unofficial payments business owners have to make at the borders. This is the conclusion of a recent study by the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH) has revealed... WATH, a regional trade facilitator established by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), says the elimination of corruption at the borders is critical to the success of the economic integration aspirations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)... The unofficial payments, WATH noted, most times cost more than what traders pay to the official sources. West Africa, the agency maintains, has the least efficient trucking in the world due to delays at numerous road check-points and border posts as a result of bribe-taking by uniformed officers such as the police, customs and immigration officials as well as gendarmes...

Labels: study

"GREEN" NEWS * Canada - CTA enviroTruck revs up in B.C.

Vancouver,BC,CAN -Today's Trucking -28 Jan 2008: -- BC is the first jurisdiction to take the Canadian Trucking Alliance's enviroTruck initiative from concept to reality... enviroTruck was designed by CTA to accelerate the penetration of new smog-free heavy truck engines and greenhouse gas fighting/fuel efficiency technologies and devices in the trucking industry... The BC Trucking Association has spent the last few months actively promoting the concept with local governments and other stakeholders. Its effort has paid off, says CTA, as the Fraser Basin Council has announced a new incentive under its Green Fleets BC program to encourage the B.C. trucking sector to adopt emission reduction technologies...

Labels: green news

What freight recession? * USA - Truck tonnage spikes in December

Arlington,Va,USA -Truck News, by James Menzies -27 Jan 2008: -- Truck tonnage in the US surged a whopping 4.1% in December, following a modest rise of 0.9% in November... The December spike was the largest month-to-month gain since December, 2006. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, it's the highest truck tonnage rate since January, 2006, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported...

Labels: statistics

BCTA * Canada - Defends industry against unbalanced media reports

Langley,BC,CAN -Truck News -28 Jan 2008: -- The B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) is taking a stand for the trucking industry against the mainstream media, for an article the association viewed as biased... BCTA president and CEO Paul Landry responded to an article title, "Is the next truck tragedy waiting around the corner?" calling for more accurate and unbiased reporting. The story was published Jan. 20 in the Province, which is one of Vancouver's daily newspapers... The article, written by Province staff reporter Cheryl Chan, used negative statistics on commercial-heavy-vehicle crashes to cite "increasing alarm" regarding truck safety in B.C. according to the BCTA the article failed to look at the industry record as a whole... While citing numbers gathered from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, the article noted that in 2005 among 28,700 injuries and 460 fatalities from vehicle crashes, heavy commercial vehicles (including buses) accounted for 1,550 injuries and 82 fatalities... In a letter to the editor, which was published in the Province on Jan. 22, Landry stated that the article would have presented a more balanced picture of the truck safety record with the inclusion of additional facts, such as: between 1999 and 2005 (the most recent year available), there was a 16.3 percent decrease in the rate of heavy-commercial-vehicle injury and fatal crashes in B.C.; mechanical defects typically account for less than 5 percent of all heavy-commercial-vehicle injury or fatal crashes; and major traffic research studies have concluded that 70 to 80 percent of the time, the truck driver is not at fault in a multi-vehicle fatal collision... The Province also quoted Landry as an advocate of the concept "truck jail"... Landry later clarified that BCTA does support the impoundment of grossly substandard trucks that endanger both their drivers and others and create an unfair competitive advantage for unsafe operators who do not spend money on vehicle maintenance... The impoundment proposal is currently under review by B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon...

Labels: associations

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* South Africa - Mercedes-Benz SA gears up for trucks again

Eastern Cape,South Africa -Dispatch On Line -27 Jan 2008: -- R50m (7043246 U$S ) upgrade plan as company takes back its heavy vehicle division in EL.. Mercedes-Benz SA will be taking back its East London truck-making division which was outsourced to a prominent Eastern Cape black economic empowerment company almost six years ago... As part of the process, the German auto giant will also invest R50 million to upgrade its West Bank facility which is used by the company Ikhwezi Trucktech to assemble commercial vehicles for the South African and African markets... The official takeover will be on March 1... (BY THE TRUCKLOAD: Mercedes-Benz SA has new plans including taking back its EL commercial vehicle assembly plant, outsourced to Ikhwezi Trucktech in 2002)

* USA - Paccar recalls Petes, Kenworths with brake issues
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -January 28, 2008: -- Nearly 2,800 Peterbilts and Kenworths are subject to recall because they might have brake hoses that aren’t up to spec and that could lead to braking failure... Paccar is voluntarily recalling trucks equipped with Eaton Synflex Eclipse extruded-nylon air brake hose tubing. The fewer than 3,000 trucks manufactured by Peterbilt and Kenworth in October and November of 2007 are subject to the recall...

* Sweden - Volvo Trucks to introduce Alcolock at CV show
Stockholm,Sweden -Motor Transport/Road Transport (UK), by Will Shiers -28 January 2008: -- Volvo Trucks is hoping to have a working Alcolock on its stand at this year's CV Show... The unit, which can be factory fitted or retrofitted to a truck, prevents a driver from starting the engine when he is under the influence... It is designed for companies who operate a zero-tolerance to alcohol policy, and is calibrated to 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The UK legal limit is 80mg per 100ml...

* China - Sinotruk announces 140,000 orders for 2008
Beijing,China -Automotive World (UK), by Glenn Brooks -28 January, 2008: -- The country's largest heavy truck maker, China Heavy Truck Corporation (Sinotruk) says it has received purchase orders of 140,000 heavy trucks for 2008, with exports planned to double this year... The company notes in a statement that it is currently rolling out more fuel-efficient models that now comply with Euro 3 tailpipe emission standards and is in the process of converting all models to the standard... As for sales, the state-controlled OEM plans to sell 125,000 heavy trucks this year. According to Gasgoo.com, the firm sold 100,619 such vehicles in 2007, a year-on-year rise of 66%. Sinotruk adds that it expects its registrations for January 2008 to rise 40% year-on-year...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

PROTEST * Poland - Truckers stuck in border jams threaten to block Warsaw

Polish truckers, fed up with massive queues at border crossings due to a protest by customs staff, threatened Saturday to block Warsaw and other cities in the country

Warsaw,Poland -AFP/BEING HAD Weblog project/bhppc.blogspot.com, by Adam Goodman(Pinsk, Belarus) -January 27, 2008: -- ... "If the government and the customs agents do not quickly agree we are ready to block Warsaw, Monday at noon (1100 GMT). Blockades in other cities could follow", the president of the Polish Association for Road Transport Employers, Boleslaw Milewski, told ... A large number of border agents have been missing from their posts for several days, taking holiday or sick-leave in a dispute over pay, and causing major queues at border crossings... So far two drivers have died stuck in queues, one of an apparent heart attack and the other when a fire broke out in his truck cabin... Queues for heavy trucks at the borders with Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad continued to grow on Saturday... In response, truck drivers blocked access to the Dorohusk border station along the Ukrainian border -- where the line was over 800 trucks long -- police spokesperson Renata Laszczka-Rusek told AFP...

Labels: truckers' protest

26.1.08

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * China - Eases tolls for food trucks

Beijing,China -The Boston Globe (Boston,USA) -January 26, 2008: -- China's government has issued a wide-reaching order to speed up food shipments to markets as the bad winter lashing much of the country hampers efforts to rein in persisting inflation... The order, issued late Friday and published in state media Saturday, calls on police, railway bureaus and even gas stations to do all they can to ensure timely delivery of food supplies after snow and ice storms clogged roads, cut electricity and delayed deliveries... Under the measure, food trucks will be exempt from paying road tolls...

Labels: trucking industry news worldwide

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * UK - Commercial Vehicle production was the best for almost a decade

* Britain's car makers report record exports - Renaissance seen as an example to manufacturers

London,UK -The Guardian, by Mark Milner -January 26, 2008: -- Britain exported a record number of cars last year, marking a renaissance in the motor industry, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders... Exports accounted for the bulk of UK car production of just over 1.5m vehicles, with overall output in the last quarter of the year climbing by more than a fifth - the strongest increase for more than two decades... The SMMT also reported that commercial vehicle production was the best for almost a decade, with a total output of 216,000 vehicles, almost 8,000 up on the year... The SMMT said it expected commercial vehicle production this year to be stable, with exports commanding the lion's share of the UK's van and truck output...

Labels: truckmakers news UK

Hard Times * USA - Truck Drivers Suffering

Tyler,TX,USA -KETK 56 News, by Jennifer Kielman -Jan 25, 2008: -- Times are hard for truck drivers. And if it continues, all of us will feel the heat... Across the nation, drivers are quitting every day. The reason--the high price of diesel... Here in East Texas, truckers and anyone connected with the trucking industry are seeing hard times... Driving a truck for a living is tough work. But for some drivers, it's more than a job, it's a passion, it's a way of life. But now-a-days, "You're lucky to survive"... Johnny Speak is a local owner- operator in East Texas. He knows first hand how much it costs to run 6 trucks throughout the area. Johnny Speak says, "Oh Lord. The prices of trucks. The price of fuel. The price of material I buy and see"... It gets expensive... (See Video)

Labels: trucking costs

Giant Truck * Australia - Larger than any seen in Australia - up to 60 metres long

Big attraction planned for Hume Hwy

Tarcutta,New South Wales,Australia -ABC News -Jan 18, 2008: -- The Hume Highway, running between Sydney and Melbourne, could soon sport a truck larger than any seen in Australia - up to 60 metres long... A group proposing a $110 million truck interchange near Tarcutta will meet New South Wales Government officials next week about the development application... Rimfire Development spokesman Ray Clark says it will include a giant truck as a tourist attraction... "It is a trucking interchange. We're designing a truck that's probably two to three times larger than a normal truck - and it's huge"...

Labels: biggest trucks

25.1.08

STATISTICS * USA - Trucking Carried More Than 10 Billion Tons of Freight in ’06, ATA Says

VA,USA -Transport Topics -25 Jan 2008: -- The U.S. trucking industry hauled more goods than ever before in 2006, the American Trucking Associations said Friday... American Trucking Trends 2007-2008 reported that the trucking industry hauled 69% of U.S. freight volume in 2006... That equates to an all-time high of 10.7 billion tons and $645.6 billion in revenue, representing 83.8% of the nation’s freight bill, the trucking group said...

Labels: trucking statistics

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia

* A Postcard from Australia...

... featuring a fabulous Kenworth waggon from News of Fotopic.net! - Photo courtesy of Steve Molloy in Australia !!.. (Thanks to BigLorryBlog -UK)

* Stranded Queensland truck drivers must be paid
Queensland,Australia -ATN -25 January 2008: -- Queensland transport companies must pay long distance truck drivers an allowance when they are stranded by flood waters, warns the Commonwealth Workplace Ombudsman... Under the Transport Workers Long Distance Drivers Award, long distance truck drivers are entitled to an allowance when they are forced to stop by impassable highways including those roads closed in recent flooding...

* ATA defends AusLink road funding amid cutback claims
Melbourne,Australia -ATN -24 January 2008: -- The Australian Government’s funding for the AusLink transport program must not be diverted to other infrastructure, Australian Trucking Association (ATA) Chief Executive Stuart St Clair says... St Clair is responding to suggestions that some of the Government’s AusLink funding could be allocated to other infrastructure areas such as water... "Australia’s critical long distance road links, including the Pacific, Hume, Bruce and Sturt highways, are already undercapitalised"...

Labels: drivers' payments

TRUCKS' P. ORDERS * COMMENTS - Great Works of Fiction Part 3: Long Lead Times.

London,UK -The World Trucks Blog -24 Jan 2008: -- If UBS is correct, and somewhere between 10 and 20 per cent of all European truck orders are double bookings, then what does that say about lead times stretching out over the horizons? ... 63 per cent of European fleets with between 101 and 501 vehicles claim to have double booked new trucks as a hedge against increasing lead times. So what happens when they cancel?... This is a case of micturition ‘twixt scapulae masquerading as precipitation, and it is high time, we opine, for such nonsense to be unmasked as the fiction that it is...

* Europe - The market has peaked, and is now looking at a 7.5 per cent fall during 2008
London,UK -Bloomberg /The World Trucks Blog -23 Jan 2008: -- ... Citing UBS analyst Fredric Stahl, who reckons that the European market has peaked, and is now looking at a 7.5 per cent fall during 2008... At last, someone who shares our cloudy view. And, more pertinently, who regards the nonsense of long lead times as being just that – a nonsense... "We believe that 10 percent to 20 percent of the trucks in the order books are double bookings that will be canceled when the `real order' is delivered,'' Stahl said. Slowing economic growth "leads us to take an outright negative view on order development in 2008.'' ...

Labels: markets comments

Electric Trucks * Uruguay - Deliver Coca-Cola in

Montevideo,Uruguay -GreenBiz.com -Jan. 25, 2008: -- Coca-Cola subsidiary Montevideo Refrescos SRL is using electric trucks to deliver shipments in Montevideo's urban areas. The company has received 30 Xebra electric trucks, created by California-based vehicle manufacturer Zap, that it will use to complete deliveries normally made by larger trucks in Uruguay's capital.. The smaller Xebras, which are designed to navigate congested areas and take up less parking space, will complete the shipments. Xebras drivers will also collect payments, which was not practical for delivery truck drivers to do...

Labels: electric trucks

TRUCKS' MARKETS * Europe

* European Truck Sales Rise 7.3%, Led by Poland, Czech Republic

Brussels, Belgium -Bloomberg, by Chad Thomas -Jan. 25, 2008: -- European heavy-truck sales rose 7.3 percent last year, led by Poland and Czech Republic, as the economies in the eastern part of the continent expanded rapidly... Registrations of trucks heavier than 16 tons advanced to 313,532 in 2007 from 292,144 a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association said in an e- mailed statement today. December deliveries increased 0.6 percent to 20,097 vehicles.

Labels: trucks markets

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Germany - Deutsche Post May Sell DHL to FedEx, Report Says
Germany -Bloomberg/Transport Topics -25 Jan 2008: -- Deutsche Post AG may sell its DHL Americas unit to FedEx Corp., according to a German newspaper... The Financial Times Deutschland said Deutsche Post may sell the U.S. operation to FedEx and seek a merger partner for its Deutsche Postbank unit later this year, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified company officials... Bloomberg quoted an analyst with UBS Securities who said the move “conceptually makes sense” for FedEx...

* High-tech trucking

High-tech dispatch center gives edge to trucking firm

Flint,Mich,USA -The Flint Journal, by Melissa Burdenmburden/Mlive.com -January 24, 2008: -- It's an industry where miles and minutes are king... "It's a game of pennies," said Jeff Berlin, executive vice president and chief financial officer of E.L. Hollingsworth & Co., a Flint-based trucking firm. "It's a game of cents per mile"... And the roughly 30 dispatchers who work around the clock for the trucking company now have a high-tech center. They track and monitor 420 trailers and nearly 300 trucks for the company and its customers, primarily in the automotive industry... The new $70,000 renovation - featuring a tiered design, open room and 6- by 4-foot screens and 50-inch plasma TVs - is a far cry from the cubicles where they used to work... The dispatch center, which was garage space, features screens that show such things as a weather map; views of the company's truck yards in Flint, Burton, Dearborn and Lebanon, Tenn.,; and one that alerts dispatchers of drivers who may be getting close to U.S. Department of Transportation limits for driving hours...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - State closer to purchasing Hino trucks

Williamstown,VA,USA -News & Sentinel, by JOLENE CRAIG -January 24, 2008: -- The state of West Virginia is one step closer to having Hino trucks as part of its fleet of vehicles... Paul Mattox Jr., West Virginia secretary of transportation, and other state officials toured the Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. facility on West Virginia 14 Wednesday afternoon in hopes of purchasing trucks for the West Virginia Division of Highways... The state is purchasing 42 dump trucks as well as other specified medium-duty vehicles this year, Mattox said... (Photo by Jolene Craig: A Hino truck is parked in front of the West Virginia 14 plant. The state of West Virginia is working with Hino to add the locally made trucks to the bidding process for the state's fleet of vehicles)

Labels: trucks purchases prospects

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* UK - M&S buys 60 Mercedes Axor tractive units

London,UK -Road Transport, by Dylan Gray -23 January 2008: -- Supermarket giant Marks & Spencer has taken delivery of 60 Mercedes-Benz Axors fitted with the manufacturer's 12-speed PowerShift automated transmissions. The tractor units will be powered by 360 and 400hp engines they will be fitted with standard sleeper cabs. In a bid to improve fuel economy the Axors will be also be equipped with air management kits from Hatcher Components... The Axors will be operated on M&S's behalf by supply chain specialist Gist...

* Russia - US 'International' Trucks to Be Assembled in Saint-Petersburg

Saint Petersburg,Russia -FIS -January 24, 2008: -- In the city of Pushkin near Saint-Petersburg an official ceremony was held to open the production of american 'International' trucks in Russia... The plant will make up to 24 thousand vehicles of model 9800iI per annum. This will be a purely assembling production... The project is being implemented by Russian company GoodWill Holding, which earlier acted as a distributor of the US holding in Russia...

* Azerbaijan - Ganja car factory ready to supply MAZ trucks assembled in Azerbaijan to Georgia

Baku,Azerbaijan -Azerbaijan Business Center/Fineko/abc.az -23 Jan 2008: -- Ganja Automobile Factory is ready to organize export of heavy-duty trucks assembled in Azerbaijan... The Factory reported that its representative office was opened in Georgia last year to provide truck export... In 2007 the Ganja enterprise manufactured a pilot lot of nine MAZ trucks. The Factory’s capacity allows production of up to 1,000 motor vehicles a year...

* India - Tata Motors to ship up to 50,000upa electric micro pick-ups to US for Chrysler LLCNew Delhi,India -Business Line/Automotive World (UK), by Glenn Brooks -23 January, 2008: -- Tata Motors has signed a contract to develop electric vehicles for Chrysler LLC... The agreement is claimed to be with the Cerberus and Daimler-controlled OEM's Global Electric Motorcars division, with the first vehicle to be a version of Tata's Ace micro pick-up truck...

* Japan - Hino to go modular sooner for foreign-bound trucks
Tokyo,Japan -Nikkei/AsiaPulse via COMTEX -Jan 25, 2008: -- Hino Motors Ltd. will introduce modular design for trucks earlier than planned this year in order to facilitate the rapid expansion of its overseas business... Trucks vary widely in design and specification because they have so many different commercial uses. In Japan, for example, Hino offers some 360 models of basic small trucks alone. To help rationalize production, the firm intends to introduce modular design for parts like engines and cabs in the first half of the 2010s... The common frame will have a number of evenly spaced holes so that modular parts can be flexibly attached as needed. By standardizing parts as much as possible, Hino aims to boost productivity and reduce errors on the factory lines...

* UK - Europcar First to Add LDV Lutons to Fleet

London,UK -TNN -24 Jan 2008: -- Europe’s number one car rental company has taken delivery of 50 LDV MAXUS Lutons in a deal worth over £750,000 at showroom prices... Europcar is the first national rental company in the UK to purchase the newly launched 3.5 tonne long wheel base vans which all feature tail lifts...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

Solutions * Australia - To slow speeding trucks

‘Chain of Responsibility’ laws to target the cause of heavy vehicle speeding have been approved unanimously by the Australian Transport Council

Sydney,NSW,Australia -Transport and Logistics News -22 Jan 2008: -- National Transport Commission (NTC) chief executive Nick Dimopoulos said the focus of the new laws is on the underlying cause of heavy vehicle speeding. Off-road parties in the logistics chain must take “reasonable steps” to ensure their delivery schedules and deadlines do not put pressure on drivers to break road laws... Existing industry best practices – such as setting sensible deadlines, checking records and promoting company policies on speed control – are effective at managing heavy vehicle speed. Studies also show that speed control policies can reduce fuel use by 8 percent and equipment wear and tear by 10 percent... Mr Dimopoulos encouraged all parties in the logistics chain to discuss the impact of Chain of Responsibility laws on their business and identify what steps they can take to manage compliance risks... Penalties include court-imposed corporate fines of up to $50,000, plus three times the estimated commercial benefit gained by breaking the law. Road agencies can also ask the court to impose bans and prohibition orders (such as the fitment of vehicle tracking technology)... The importance of sharing responsibility for speed compliance was identified by a Summit to Combat Speeding Heavy Trucks (jointly hosted by the Australian Trucking Association and the NTC). Speed is reported as a factor in 29% of heavy vehicle fatalities...

Labels: trucks speeds

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA & Canada

* Canada - Vancouver's Westport Innovations to supply LNG fuel system for Kenworth

Kirkland,Wash,USA -Truck News, by Lou Smyrlis -24 Jan 2008: -- Kenworth Truck Company will expand its presence in the growing market for environmentally friendly, liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles by beginning production of Kenworth T800 LNG trucks at its manufacturing facility in Renton, Wash., in 2009... Under an exclusive agreement with Westport Innovations Inc. in Vancouver, B.C., Kenworth will use Westport's LNG fuel system technology adapted for the Cummins ISX 15-liter engine...

* Freightliner hybrid brewery truck

USA -Biglorryblog (UK) -24 Jan 2008: -- Freightliner is now offering this Business Class M2 106 Hybrid drop-frame beverage truck with Eaton’s medium-duty hybrid electric system. Moreover, Freightliner reckons it’s the first manufacturer in America to offer a drop frame hybrid beer wagon... The M2 106 hybrid has a regular diesel engine coupled to an electric motor/generator and batteries which, thanks to a clever transmission and driveline control system can run on either electric or diesel power separately or together... It can deliver up to a 30% saving in fuel consumption and 87% reduction in idling time Mark Lloyd, market development manager for Eaton. And naturally the added benefit of reducing idling time is that the M2 106 produces less noise, allowing for quieter loading and unloading in urban settings...

Labels: truckmakers USA and Canada

HOS * USA - Get another vote of confidence

Washington,DC,USA -Truck News (CAN), by James Menzies -24 Jan 2008: -- The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has rejected a motion by Public Citizen claiming the current US hours-of-service are unsafe... Public Citizen has been fighting to have the 11-hour driving day and 34-hour reset provisions thrown out. However, in its most recent ruling, the Court has sided with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which has defended the two key HOS provisions.

Labels: HOS debate

"Heavy-Duty Dialogue" * USA - NHTSA addresses stopping distances, stability systems

Las Vegas,Nev,USA -Truck News (CAN), by James Menzies -24 Jan 2008: -- Stephen Kratzke, associate administrator for rule making for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that NHTSA won't dictate the type of technology OEMs will have to utilize to reduce stopping distances by 20 or 30%... Kratzke said that decision will be left up to the OEMs and their customers... NHTSA is also working on several other truck safety projects. One involves establishing standards for truck tire performance. The safety group is currently evaluating the current performance of truck tires, which should conclude in the first half of 2008, Kratzke said... Meanwhile, NHTSA is being strongly urged to roll out a program that would require stability systems on heavy-duty trucks... NHTSA is already testing both electronic full stability and roll-only stability systems. He said a rule will likely be announced by the end of 2008 with implementation possible within three to five years... Finally, the energy bill passed by the Bush Administration on Dec. 19 may set the stage for fuel efficiency requirements for heavy-duty vehicles. The bill was aimed mostly at the automotive industry, but Kratzke said it could also lead to fuel efficiency standards being imposed on heavy-duty truck makers... A report on fuel-saving technologies is expected to be released in 2009 and if they were to proceed with a fuel efficiency standard for heavy-duty vehicles, NHTSA would have three years to develop the targets. That means that as early as 2012, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles may have to reach minimum fuel efficiency standards...

* Courts confront climate change
San Francisco,CAL,USA -Independent Institute, by Thomas L. Knapp -January 25, 2008 -- Author: S. Fred Singer: “Late last year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must consider the ‘risks of global warming’ when setting gas-mileage standards for light trucks, minivans and SUVs. Central to the court’s ruling was the claim that NHTSA, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, had ignored the benefits of reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Whatever their legal acumen, Justice Betty Fletcher and her colleagues on the bench demonstrated they have little expertise in climate science. Tighter restrictions on CO2 emissions cannot produce the imagined benefits”...

Labels: trucking bills USA

24.1.08

POLICY * Australia - Diesel tax rebates under attack?

Sydney,NSW,Australia -Transport and Logistics News -23 Jan 2008: -- The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has used its pre-Budget submission to the Australian Government to defend the fuel tax credit system, which saves trucking operators 18.51 cents per litre on their fuel costs... ATA CEO, Stuart St Clair, said that many people in the trucking industry were concerned the Government could abolish the fuel tax credit system or change its environmental criteria to exclude older trucks... The cost increase would flow through to every part of the economy and would put upward pressure on the price of the everyday goods and services used by Australian families... The ATA’s submission urges the Government to maintain the existing fuel tax credit system and its environmental criteria, which allow operators with pre-1996 vehicles to get credits as long as they maintain their trucks properly...

Labels: tax policys

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

* 100th Volvo Truck goes into service with Ed Weetman Haulage

Great Haywood,Stafford,UK -Easier Motoring -23 January 2008: -- Ed Weetman (Haulage and Storage) Ltd. based in Great Haywood, near Stafford has taken delivery of a top of the range Euro 5 Volvo FH-480 4x2 tractor - the 100th Volvo truck to go into service with the fleet...

* Busy times for Browns new DAF
Staffordshire,UK -Easier Motoring -16 January 2008: -- At around 65 collections a day, six days a week, a new DAF eight-wheeler with a Heil rear-end loading body is proving to be a highly productive vehicle for Staffordshire company H Brown & Son (Recycling) Limited... The truck is being used on an intensive trade waste collection service throughout Staffordshire and South Cheshire...

* Trans truck driver begins legal action against employers

London,UK -PinkNews.co.uk -23 January 2008: -- A transsexual who claims she was hounded out of her job as a trucker after she began her transition from her former male gender is seeking thousands of pounds in damages from her former employer... Vikki-Marie Gaynor, 37, from Wallasey in Wirral, is bringing a sexual discrimination claim against Exel Europe, part of delivery giant DHL, and recruitment agency Blue Arrow... An employment tribunal in Liverpool is hearing the case... The ex-soldier claims that initially members of staff at the depot in Kirkby, Merseyside were friendly... However, once she began coming to work dressed as a woman, other drivers started ignoring her, and began a campaign of harassment, including calling her a 'queer,' dumping her belongings and makeup in a toilet...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

PARKING RIG TROUBLES * USA - Trucker ticketed in California while searching for parking spot

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Clarissa Kell-Holland -January 22, 2008: -- OOIDA member Robert Edwards of Ozark, MO, knows firsthand about the dire parking problem facing truckers who travel the nation’s highways... Edwards, a produce hauler, received a ticket last week and was placed out-of-service for being out of hours while he was looking for a place to park his rig... “I was near the end of my day, finishing my final stop for the day,” Edwards said. “There were signs clearly saying no overnight parking on city streets, so I kept going”... Instead, Edwards said he decided to “chance it” and drive until he found “suitable parking” for the next 10 hours... He said he briefly parked his rig on a ramp where he saw that other truckers had parked previously, but decided to move on after a few minutes to find another spot to park because he just didn’t feel safe there... Edwards said that’s when he made a critical mistake. He forgot there was a scale between him and the truck stop. At the scale, his logbook was inspected and he was placed out-of-service... “The rules are there to protect and to set a standard; I understand that,” he said. “It was my fault that I pushed my hours, but I feel it’s the nation’s responsibility to provide truckers with good parking”...

* Nebraska changes rest area rules to accommodate truckers’ HOS regs
NEB,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Clarissa Kell-Holland -January 23, 2008: -- Most states offer some truck parking at their public rest areas; however, it’s the limit on the number of hours truckers can park there that often causes a quandary for drivers... Recently, Nebraska officials recognized the dilemma drivers face when federal law requires them to rest for 10 hours, but parking rules say they must move on after eight hours. The state officials changed the parking maximum from eight hours to 10 hours to match the federal HOS rules... Nebraska Traffic Engineer Dan Waddle told the change was made so that truckers wouldn’t have to move during their 10-hour rest period... Nebraska currently has 24 rest areas and 265 truck parking spots. Waddle said he realizes the state’s rest areas’ truck parking spaces are filled “to capacity” every night...

Labels: trucks' parking problems

Weight Limits * USA - Change, Should Help Some Maine Truckers

Governor Baldacci signed new emergency legislation Tuesday afternoon that will help some truckers cope with high fuel prices by easing weight restrictions

Lincoln/Kingman,ME,USA -WCSH-TV (Portland,ME), by Aaron Roberts -22 Jan 2008: -- ... The new law will increase the weight limit for logging trucks and other trucks carrying forest products from 100,000 pounds to 105,000 pounds per load. State officials say that will allow drivers hurting over the price of fuel to make an additional $200-$800 a week... According to AAA, the average price of diesel in Maine is $3.67 per gallon. That's 28 cents higher than the national average of $3.39 per gallon...

Labels: weight allowances

DRIVER SHORTAGE * USA - Changing face of trucking industry

Companies looking to minorities, retired couples

Phoenix,AZ,USA -The Arizona Republic, by Glen Creno -Jan. 23, 2008: -- High-tech trucks, predictable schedules, revamped training... The job of a long-haul trucker is changing and, many trucking companies hope, becoming more attractive. Trucking companies across the country are facing a shortage of long-haul drivers... To compensate, companies are trying to recast trucking's nomadic image and recruit more minorities, retired military people and those who want a second career. Middle-age husband-and-wife teams are becoming more popular. Their kids are raised, they want extra money for retirement or a change in what they do and they become truckers. Teaming up also helps reduce the grind of the road and the time away from home, which have driven many truckers out of the industry... High driver turnover has traditionally been a problem throughout the trucking industry. But retirements and growing shipping demand have made the shortage of long-haul drivers more acute. Fewer drivers means delayed deliveries and higher delivery costs that could be passed on to consumers. The issue is especially crucial for the Phoenix area, which touts itself as a shipping hub for businesses fed up with the costs and congestion around Los Angeles-area ports. The Valley also is headquarters to two of the country's biggest for-hire trucking companies: Swift Transportation and Knight Transportation... (Photo by Michael Schennum/The Arizona Republic - Sal Iturbe (left) takes lessons on truck driving from Dan Weiksner, a commercial truck-driving instructor at the American Institute of Technology. The long-haul trucking industry is desperate for drivers)

Labels: driver shortage

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Daimler Trucks to grow vehicle sales in 2008
Woerth,Germany -Reuters, by Christiaan Hetzner -Jan 23, 2008: -- Daimler's industry-leading truck business expects a return to growth this year year after unit sales fell 9.4 percent to 467,700 vehicles in 2007, the company said on Wednesday... "Our extremely important market in the NAFTA region and the Japanese market will recover as the year progresses. The market volume there will once again increase significantly," Daimler Trucks chief Andreas Renschler told reporters after giving a sneak preview of the refreshed Mercedes-Benz Actros heavy truck... "Market conditions in Europe are expected to remain stable"...

* Sweden - Volvo Trucks seek rapid reduction in carbon dioxide emissions

Stockholm,Sweden -Easier Motoring (UK) -22 January 2008: -- Through Volvo Logistics, Volvo Trucks is challenging its transporters to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent within the next two years... This challenge is yet another element in Volvo Trucks’ climate strategy which, amongst other things, already aims at carbon-neutral production, energy efficiency, alternative fuel technology and recycling... Volvo Trucks already offers a number of products and services under the umbrella concept, ‘Fuelwatch’, whose purpose is to reduce fuel consumption and, as a consequence, improve the environmental impact of Volvo Trucks’ customers...

* India - Tata, Chrysler may link on small truck
Mumbai,India -The Hindu Business Line/Bloomberg/The Detroit News (Detroit,MICH,USA) -January 24, 2008: -- Tata Motors Ltd ., India's largest maker of trucks and buses, may tie up with Chrysler LLC to sell an electric version of the Ace small truck, according to reports from India... Tata will build the battery-operated vehicle, which passed safety tests and that the prototype is ready for production... Tata Motors will export about 10,000 units by the end of the year to the United States without an engine or gearbox, the report said. Production may be expanded up to 50,000 units later, it said...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

22.1.08

"GREEN" NEWS * Australia - Brakes put on trucks

“We can see some tangible evidence that the area is safer and less polluted, providing an environment where people can go and enjoy themselves without the fear of trucks thundering past them” ...

Pakenham,Victoria,Australia -The Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook Star, by Candice Boyle -22 January 2008: -- Evidence showing less truck traffic in central Footscray has prompted calls for bans across the municipality... Almost 90 per cent fewer trucks were passing through central Footscray last year after the introduction of truck bans in April... Maribyrnong Truck Action Group member Peter Knight said the ban had made a difference... The results from a week-long truck count showed a 77 per cent reduction in Nicholson St. Similar results were recorded in Irving St where there was a 66 per cent reduction, and a 48 per cent reduction was seen in Droop St. The biggest change was in Barkly St where there was an 88 per cent reduction, 809 down to 94 trucks... (Picture: No trucks … MTAG member Peter Knight on Footscray’s Barkly St. There has been a marked reduction in the number of heavy trucks using the road since a campaign helped reduce its use as a main truck route.)

Labels: green news

RULES * USA - Tandem trucks allowed by NJDOT

The state Department of Transportation will allow 102-inch wide trucks and double-trailer truck combinations along the highway

Hillsborough,NJ,USA -The Bridgewater Courier News, by PAMELA SROKA-HOLZMANN -22 Jan 2008: -- ... Despite multiple attempts by Route 206 municipalities to ban the regulations... The news came Friday when state Transportation Department officials released finalized requirements for permitted routes and access to destinations for double tandem trucks with a maximum length of 102 inches. The Transportation Department developed the rules as part of a truck task force, made up of the League of Municipalities, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Motor Truck Association, and mayors... The final rules require large trucks to use the National Network -- of which Route 206 is a part -- unless seeking "food, fuel, rest, repairs, or to reach a terminal" by the shortest travel route...

Labels: trucking rules

Super Trucks * Australia - Put to the test

Port Botany,Sydney,Australia -The Southern Courier/The Village Voice, by Nick Moncrieff-Hill -22 Jan, 2008: -- The Roads and Traffic Authority has announced a three-year trial of a new range of super-sized container-carrying trucks that will initially operate solely within the Port Botany precinct... The super B-double trucks, which are 30m long and able to carry two 12m containers, will only travel as far as the Australian Customs cargo x-ray facility on Bumborah Point Road for the extended trial period... The RTA, however, has refused to rule out the possibility that the massive trucks will be used on more of Sydney's roads once the trial has been completed, which should be about the same time as the completion of the Port Botany expansion project... (Photo by Craig Wilson - Port and trucking industry spokespeople claim the new super-sized trucks will actually lead to safer conditions on roads around Port Botany)

Labels: super trucks

Toll hike protesters * USA - Feel New Jersey’s jackboot

Various media sources quoted him as saying it reminded him of movies he’d seen about Russia and Germany

Middle Township,NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Reed Black -January 21, 2008: -- Apparently, no one told the police in Middle Township, NJ, that freedom of speech is a constitutional right... On Saturday, Jan. 19, police arrested two men who had leaflets and signs protesting Gov. Jon Corzine’s plan to drastically increase tolls. The setting was the town’s high school where Corzine was scheduled to appear at a town meeting to make his case for raising tolls...Before the governor arrived, some 10 toll increase opponents began distributing flyers and displaying signs that read “No toll hikes”... Among those were former Bogota, NJ, Mayor Steven Lonegan and Seth Grossman, an attorney... Lonegan and Grossman told that when they got to the sidewalk near the school, they were confronted by a dozen or more police officers... “I was surrounded by seven officers,” said Lonegan. “They told me the governor did not want me to hand out flyers”... “They cuffed me and put me in the patrol car,” he said... A retired superior court judge who witnessed the arrests said it was “very scary”...

Labels: protests

PROGNOSIS * USA - Road to US recovery likely long

The worst will likely be over by the time 2008 is done, but there's still no quick fix for the American economy and freight volumes

Las Vegas,NV,USA -Today's Trucking (Toronto,ONT,CAN) -22 Jan 2008: -- ... a group of economic forecasters told a theatre full of truck manufacturing execs yesterday... Speaking at the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association's (HDMA) Heavy Duty Dialogue conference here in Las Vegas, Martin Regalia, chief economist for the US Chamber of Commerce predicted a 45 percent chance the U.S. economy doesn't get out of 2008 without being hit by the dreaded R word -- recession. The good news, though, is that there's a better than 50 percent the eye of the storm could be avoided... "The economy is not hitting on all cylinders and there are significant weak spots," Regalia said, pointing out housing and lending sectors as two of the more obviously troubled industries... The first truck sales predictions for 2008 were also thrown around at Heavy Duty Dialogue... Generally, Brady, Kenny Vieth, partner with A.C.T Research, and ML Associates President Martin Labbe, suggested between 230,000 to 250,000 North American class 8 factory sales in 2008 and up to 270,000 in 2009. The animated Stu MacKay of MacKay & Co. was more pessimistic, suggesting a "base core" demand of only 200,000 U.S. sales this year... "The market will be based on not much more than replacement demand," he said... All the panelists acknowledged that an array of "wildcards" -- the price of oil and the scale of another pre-buy in advance of the 2010 emission regulations, for example -- could quickly change those projections... Looking beyond this decade, Regalia warned of the possibility of more volatility even if the economy starts to recover in the short-term. He noted that about $3 trillion in tax cuts expire between 2012 and 2014, and if something's not done to preserve them, then "that's $3 trillion in tax increases"... That kind of added cost on taxpayers -- plus inflation and the burden to fix U.S. health care and a crumbling highway infrastructure -- could seriously corrode consumers' ability to buy goods, and therefore, trucking companies' ability to ship them, Regalia says...

Labels: markets prognosis

MEXICANS' TRUKS DEBATE * USA - 13 years too late, U.S. opens roads

Harlingen,TX,USA -The Valley Morning Star -14 Jan 2008: -- We applaud President Bush’s renewed effort to implement a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement that should have gone into effect 13 years ago... The White House announced the relaunch of a program that will allow Mexican trucks full access into this country, despite Congress’ efforts to stop them... Two important lessons can be learned from that... The first is, of course, that those who have tried to scare the country into believing that removing the ban would lead to waves of dilapidated, overloaded trucks driven by drugged-up drivers who hadn’t slept in days are simply wrong. Three companies already enjoy unfettered access to this country’s roads and we haven’t seen any increase in accidents involving freight trucks, regardless of nationality. Trucks are inspected as they cross the bridge and those deemed unsafe are either brought into compliance on site or sent back south, as they should be... The second is that public safety agencies obviously are already able to handle the influx of new freight, especially if most meet safety, weight and documentation mandates. It’s apparent that foreign trucks have blended in quite nicely with the normal traffic flow, without overburdening state and local law enforcement officials. Of course, as the sudden polemic reveals, the lessons haven’t been learned by the hardheads on Capitol Hill... NAFTA’s benefits are nowhere more evident than here along the border, which has enjoyed rapid economic growth since the treaty went into effect. We can only expect more benefits from the elimination of further barriers to free trade. Opening our roads will help get merchandise and produce to markets in all three NAFTA countries, benefiting merchants and consumers everywhere. Let’s hope restrictions to overland trucking are dropped this year, allowing our growth to continue...

Labels: mexican's trucks

Hybrid Truck * USA - Corporate Express tests one from Isuzu

Broomfield,CO,USA -Business Report -January 21, 2008: -- Corporate Express US Inc., part of the Dutch-based Corporate Express NV, said it will test pilot a prototype diesel hybrid-electric delivery truck from Isuzu Commercial Truck of America Inc.... The office products company, with its U.S. headquarters in Broomfield, said the pilot program is the first step toward adding Isuzu hybrid-electric vehicles to its U.S. delivery fleet, with the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions... The technology combines an electric motor and electronic controls to help power the vehicle... (Photo: Elf diesel hybrid truck)

Labels: hybrids trucks

OIL NEWS * Worldwide

* Singapore - Oil drops below $90 a barrel, U.S. markets closed for holiday

Singapore - The Associated Press/The Trucker, by GILLIAN WONG -21 Jan 2008: -- Oil prices fell Monday in Asia as concern over the U.S. economy drove down regional stock markets and outweighed concern that OPEC will resist pressure to raise crude production levels... Oil prices have now retreated more than $10 from a record above $100 a barrel early this year on worries a flagging U.S. economy would dampen fuel demand. Prices had gained Friday on hopes that President George W. Bush's economic stimulus plan would work... But most stock markets have since reacted pessimistically, uncertain Bush's plan is enough to stave off a severe economic downturn in the world's largest oil consumer...

* Brazil - State oil company, Petrobras says it discovered giant gas reserve

Sao Paulo,Brazil -AP/PeakOil -21 Jan 2008: -- Brazil's state oil company said Monday it has discovered a huge natural gas reserve off the coast of Rio de Janeiro that could be as big as the recently discovered giant Tupi oil field... Petroleo Brasileiro SA's said in a press release posted on its Web site that the potential reserves in the new field were located about 5,100 meters (16,800 feet) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, just 37 kilometers (23 miles) west of the Tupi field...

* Venezuela - Boosts oil investment

Caracas,Venezuela -Business Week/PeakOil -21 Jan 2008: -- State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA will spend $15.6 billion on oil-related investments this year, a 56 percent increase over last year, the country's oil minister said Monday... Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said the higher investment is aimed at helping PDVSA meet its goal of increasing crude output to 5.8 million barrels a day by 2012... The government says output is currently more than 3 million barrels a day, though independent analysts estimate the true figure is considerably less...

Labels: oil news latin america

Traffic Congestion Solutions * Australia - Sought for Melbourne's one

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -ABC News -22 Jan 2008: -- A meeting between transport stakeholders and the Victorian Government today is exploring short term measures to ease Melbourne's traffic congestion... The Victorian Premier John Brumby says the group won't discuss long term measures such as the proposed tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway to CityLink... But he says a number of other ideas are being explored... (Photo from ABC TV: The meeting is aimed at cutting traffic congestion in Melbourne)

Labels: traffic jams

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - The oldest commercial truck driver on the road in California

90-year-old trucker keeps going and going

Oakdale,CAL,USA -The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson,AZ) By Christina Salerno -22 Jan 2008: -- At 90, Joe Rocha fondly remembers the days when truckers used flashlights to communicate, engines had to be cranked by hand, and it took 29 hours to drive from San Jose to El Centro in Southern California... Today's truck cabs look to Rocha like the inside of an airplane cockpit, with a dashboard full of buttons and switches. Everyone has a cell phone. And instead of puttering along at 30 miles an hour, trucks can travel at speeds more than double that... Rocha climbed behind the wheel of his first truck in 1938. The Oakdale, Calif. resident officially retired in the 1980s, at the age of 66... Six months later, Vincent "Fritz" Hummer, the co-owner of Hummer Trucking in Oakdale, asked Rocha if he'd like to help out occasionally. Rocha was a little bored with retirement, so he said yes... A couple of hours turned into a couple of days, then a couple of weeks... Twenty-four years later, Rocha still shows up at 9 a.m. every workday at the office of the family-owned trucking company and checks the schedule for his route... Douglas Hummer, the company's operations manager and son of its founders, said he believes that Rocha is the oldest commercial truck driver on the road in California...

Labels: truckers' stories

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Italy - Piaggio in cooperation with Daihatsu in light trucks

Milan,Italy -AFX News Limited/FORBES (USA) -22 Jan 2008: -- Piaggio SpA said it has reached an agreement with Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd, under which the Japanese group will provide petrol engines and transmissions for the Italian manufacturer's 'Porter' range of four-wheel light transport vehicles... Daihatsu is also due to supply components for new models of the Porter and Quargo ranges, which will be equipped with diesel and turbodiesel engines produced by Piaggio in India... Piaggio added that PVPL will invest 60-65 mln eur to develop turbodiesel and diesel engines with a size of up to 1,200 cubic centimetres and build a powertrain (engine and transmission) plant at Baramati... (Photo: Piaggio's Porter)

* Russia - The Japanese Cars will be Assembled in Primorye

Vladivostok Techno Holding Company “Sumotory” obtained such a right from the Japanese partners

Vladivostok,Russia -The Vladivostok Times.com -January 19 2008: -- The assembling of the Japanese trucks "Hino" starts in the Primorsky Territory. The Vladivostok Techno Holding Company "Sumotory" obtained such a right from the Japanese partners. In April, 2008 the first trucks of "Hino Dutro" model with the capacity of 3.5 tons and "Hino Ranger" with capacity of 7 tons will come off the assembly line of the Techno Center of the company in Artem... According to the company's experts, price for "our" trucks will be roughly equal to the price of used cars made in Japan in 2003-2004. They also guarantee the good quality. The tucks are expected to be sold throughout the Far East and Siberia.

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

21.1.08

EVENT * USA - The Work Truck Show 2008

New Exhibitors, Trucks, & Products Added to the Truck Show 2008

USA -TruckingInfo -21 Jan 2008 -- Floor space at The Work Truck Show 2008 is sold out, with a record 534 exhibitors covering 203,400 square feet in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta... Eighty-one of these exhibitors are participating in the event for the first time. The National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) also has increased the number of vehicles available in the Hybrid Truck and Alternative Fuels Ride-and-Drive to 14... The Work Truck Show 2008 is held in conjunction with the 44th Annual NTEA Convention Feb. 26-28, 2008, with the convention and educational sessions starting Feb. 25...

Labels: events

PROGNOSIS * USA - RITA releases Transportation Vision for 2030

Washington,DC,USA -CCJ -21 Jan 2008: -- The Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration has released Transportation Vision for 2030, designed to guide DOT's research, technology and investment decisions in order to improve safety and system performance, and find 21st-century solutions to the challenges facing the nation's intermodal transportation system... Transportation Vision for 2030 details current challenges in passenger and freight transportation, such as record-level gridlock at our nation's airports and seaports, and on our highways. It also points out flaws in the current system of transportation financing and the need to improve the use of technology. The document then outlines DOT's "pathway" to addressing these challenges, such as safety-oriented technology programs, congestion-reducing technologies and pricing models, increased energy efficiency and alternative fuels, and public-private partnerships...

* TEST - DOT to do it with Next Generation 9-1-1 system
Washington,DC,USA -CCJ -21 Jan 2008: -- The Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration on Friday, Jan. 18, announced the selection of five partnership sites that will test its Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG-911) network prototype: Helena, Mont.; Rochester, N.Y.; Seattle; St. Paul, Minn.; and the state of Indiana... Under a 9-1-1 network model currently being developed by DOT, call takers and dispatchers at 9-1-1 centers will be able to send and receive digital pictures and video, e-mail and text messages, and other modern communications from computers and handheld devices instead of relying solely on the traditional 9-1-1 telephone calls...

Labels: prognosis

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * AUSTRALIA

* ATA wards Rudd's 'razor gang' off fuel tax credits system
Sidney,Australia -ATN -21 January 2008: -- The Federal Government’s ‘razor gang’ risks fuelling inflation if it makes changes to the fuel tax credit system, the trucking industry argues... Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he has commissioned a ‘razor gang’, led by Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner, to cut spending in order to stave of rising inflationary pressures... However, taking an axe to the transport industry may have adverse consequences, Australian Trucking Association (ATA) CEO Stuart St Clair says... St Clair believes any cut to the system will add to inflation because any cost suffered by the transport industry will add to operating costs which will needed to be passed on...

* Skelton Trucking makes mark in Perth as part of 'agressive expansion'

Hemmant,QLD,Australia -qbr -21 January 2008: -- Skelton Trucking has settled on a new Perth yard and operations manager to drive an agressive expansion strategy in Western Australia... The company has also commenced construction on a new state-of-the-art facility at Stirling Crescent and Bushmead Road in Perth... Over the past 12 months, Skelton Trucking has more than doubled the size of its trucking fleet through a series of acquisitions... Skelton flags further acquisition announcements shortly, along with their expansion into the Mackay market...

* Toll-free truck scheme scrapped on Gateway, Logan motorways
Brisbane,Australia -qbr -17 January 2008: -- Brisbane's Gateway and Logan motorways will cease to be a free ride for truck drivers from midnight tonight... The Queensland Government scrapped tolls on the Gateway Bridge and the Logan arterial between the hours of 10pm and 5am for vehicles with three axles or more to encourage trucks to use the route as an alternative to the congested Brisbane Urban Corridor (BUC)... But Main Roads says the three-year trial will end tonight, while introducing penalties for operators who use the BUC route when they don't have business in the area... Cameras were installed last year to detect trucks using the BUC as a thoroughfare...

Labels: trucking industry news Australia

INFRASTRUCTURE * Australia - Bay dredging stupid, says Fox

Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox has called the imminent dredging of Victoria's Port Phillip Bay "stupid"

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -AAP/ Sky News/The Age -January 21, 2008: -- Mr Fox said the plan to deepen the bay's shipping channel to allow bigger loads into the Port of Melbourne was only a short-term solution... He said using rail from Western Port Bay would be a much better long term option than massive truck traffic from a port so close to Melbourne's CBD... "Dredging the bay and still having all of the traffic running in and out of the city is stupid," Mr Fox told... He also said having the state's main port in Melbourne could result in Victoria missing lucrative business because, even after dredging, it would not be deep enough to handle the mega tankers coming in and out of ports such as Singapore and Hong Kong... Mr Fox owns trucking company Linfox and is worth $1.29 billion, according to Business Review Weekly... Dredging is due to begin on February 1...

Labels: infrastructures

STRIKES WORLDWIDE

* Italy - Striking truckers

Rome,Italy -Biglorryblog (UK) -21 Jan 2008: -- It shows Italian truck drivers recently blockading motorway toll booths as part of a nationwide protest about conditions in the industry. During the recent action (no doubt complaining about soaring diesel prices, the unfair cost of motorway tolls,... etc.etc.etc) the action was supported by no-less than 90% of Italian companies....

(Comments from Biglorryblog...ever wondered why the British hauliers never seem to get what they want asks? If you've ever wondered why British truck operators never seem to get what they want compared to their counterparts in say, France or Italy, this might explain why...)

* India - Truckers’ Indefinite One from Sunday
Bangalore,India -The Hindu -21 Jan 2008: -- Transport operators began their indefinite strike on Sunday opposing mandatory installation of speed governors even as trucks from neighbouring States reportedly did not enter Karnataka to support the strike... Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners’ and Agents’ Associations, G.R. Shanmugappa told that nearly one lakh trucks from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which used to ply via Karnataka to other States, desisted from entering the State...

Labels: truckers' strikes

Unsafe trucks * USA - Stream out of L.A.'s ports

Pushed by thin profit margins, many drivers rely on shadowy fix-it men or skip repairs as they elude inspectors

Los Angeles,CAL.USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Louis Sahagun -21 Jan 2008: -- Miguel had more reason than usual to be anxious as he drove his aging big rig out of the Port of Los Angeles' bustling China Shipping Terminal... By his own admission, his 24-year-old truck was dangerously overloaded. The suspension was shot, the tires nearly bald. Over his CB radio, other drivers barked warnings that the California Highway Patrol had set up several checkpoints nearby... It's also a way of life for many of the about 16,000 truckers who serve the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, the nation's busiest port complex... The truckers reflect the extraordinary rise in port traffic in the last decade and are key to what government officials and businesses hope will be continued growth in the future... But keeping many of those trucks on the road is a shadowy economy of risk-taking drivers and discount mechanics, body workers, welders and junkyards -- legal and otherwise -- amid the refineries, murky channels and harbor terminals between Long Beach and San Pedro... Profit margins for the independent operators who serve the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports are thin -- so some, like Miguel, cut corners whenever possible... For example, because a gauge showed that the weight of his load exceeded regulations -- and because he views his truck's brakes as untrustworthy -- Miguel used the trailer's brakes to stop the entire rig. The CHP considers that maneuver particularly dangerous -- and illegal... Like many other independent haulers, he contracts with licensed motor carriers, or a trucking broker, linked to shipping companies and cargo owners, such as big-box retailers. Each morning, Miguel shows up at the broker's dispatch window to solicit jobs... Like other drivers serving the ports, he's a "short-haul trucker," ferrying containers to distribution centers across Southern California... He gets paid by the load -- the equivalent of about $8.90 an hour -- and works 65 hours a week... It costs him about $500 to fill the tank with diesel fuel and roughly $2,000 a year for truck insurance... (Photo by Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times - Rigs drive in and out of the Port of Long Beach with the stacks of the Queen Mary in the background. Profit margins for the independent truckers who serve the nation's busiest port complex are thin, so some cut costs whenever possible, even if that means risky and illegal repairs to their vehicles) MORE OVER: See demonstrative VIDEO

Labels: unsafe trucks

TRUCKS' MARKETS * India - Slowdown in truck sales may continue

Mumbai,India -The Business Standard, by Ranju Sarkar -January 21, 2008: -- Even as global majors like Daimler and Nissan drive into India, the slowdown in commercial vehicles (CVs) could prolong before sales recover... ‘‘The excess supply will get absorbed over the next 12 months. I don’t see a recovery before the second half of 2008-09,’’ says T Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance... Signs of this are already visible. In an economy growing at 9 per cent, sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) fell 4 per cent in the nine months ended December 2007, after growing 39 per cent in the corresponding period last year, and at 21 per cent and 39 per cent during last two fiscals... The slowdown is a result of chronic oversupply, rising interest rates and a lax enforcement of ban on overloading of vehicles in many states...

Labels: trucks markets

Snowfall, rains * China - Strand 1,000-plus trucks to Three Gorges Dam area

Yichang,Hubei,China -Xinhua/chinaview -Jan. 19. 2008: -- More than 1,000 trucks were stranded on Saturday at an overburdened ferry en route to the Three Gorges Dam area in central China's Hubei Province when continuous snowfall and rains have forced several other roads to close... The trucks queued up at the ferry waiting to board when the dock only had a daily ferry capacity of 700 vehicles... The snow was said to be the heaviest in the past 30 years in Yichang city, where the dam is located. It has forced several highways to close, according to local traffic authorities... Local police had attempted to ease the traffic pressure at the ferry by opening designated roads to the dam area...

Labels: Cold Weather

IN JAIL * Canada - Your rig could be impounded

Transportation minister supports B.C. crackdown on unsound trucks

Don Mills,Ont,CAN -The Province, by Cheryl Chan -January 20, 2008: -- B.C.'s transportation minister has a warning for owners of heavy commercial vehicles not up to safety standards: Your rig could be going to jail... The B.C. Trucking Association has been campaigning to have flagrantly unsafe trucks impounded for a minimum of 30 days... The proposed crackdown would target irresponsible truckers driving "patently unsafe" vehicles, said CEO Paul Landry... Trucks would be towed and impounded for at least 30 days -- longer for repeat offenders -- hitting the owners where it hurts most: the pocketbook... (Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost / The Province)

Labels: regulations

RULES * USA - State reveals proposed truck regulations for roads

Trenton,NJ,USA -APP.com, by Larry Higgs -January 19, 2008: -- The state Department of Transportation has released the final proposed truck regulations which would ban large tractor-trailers and double-trailers from 11 sections of state highways and 12 parts of county roads in the Shore area... The final regulations released Friday add two more sections of state highway to a list contained in emergency truck regulations put into effect in March 2006... The truck ban replaces 1999 rules which were overturned in federal court in 2006 after being challenged by the trucking industry as being restrictive to commerce. The state appealled unsuccessfully to the U.S. Supreme Court in September 2006... The overturned rules would have prohibited big rigs from using certain county and local roads which are 11 feet wide or less except for local deliveries, and treated interstate trucks differently than those traveling within the state... The original 1999 truck ban came about after a rash of serious accidents involving trucks on smaller state highways. Without the proposed rules or emergency regulations, double-trailers and 102-inch wide trucks could have used any road in the state... The shore area would gain two additional sections of state highway on which big rigs would be banned under the proposed regulations submitted for publication in the New Jersey Register Friday. Overall, the big rigs would be banned from:

Labels: trucking rules

19.1.08

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA - Freightliner Custom Chassis mainstreams CNG alternative-fuel technology for walk-in van

Gaffney,SC,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Adam Ledlow -18 Jan 2008: -- Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) is offering a compressed natural gas- (CNG) powered chassis for the walk-in van marketplace. Officials say the CNG chassis complements the existing hybrid chassis that FCCC offers... In early 2008, UPS will deploy 167 new FCCC CNG-powered walk-in vans in California, Texas and Georgia-specifically in Los Angeles, Fresno, Ontario (Calif.), San Ramon (Calif.), Dallas and Atlanta. They will appear the same as all other UPS FCCC diesel-powered walk-in vans except for a specific label that identifies them as CNG-powered...

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

RULES * USA - State reveals proposed truck regulations for roads

Trenton,New Jersey,USA -APP.com, by Larry Higgs -January 19, 2008: -- The state Department of Transportation has released the final proposed truck regulations which would ban large tractor-trailers and double-trailers from 11 sections of state highways and 12 parts of county roads in the Shore area... The final regulations released Friday add two more sections of state highway to a list contained in emergency truck regulations put into effect in March 2006... The truck ban replaces 1999 rules which were overturned in federal court in 2006 after being challenged by the trucking industry as being restrictive to commerce. The state appealled unsuccessfully to the U.S. Supreme Court in September 2006...

Labels: trucking rules

CELAN AIR WAIVER * USA - EPA deletes portions of documents turned over in greenhouse gas case

Invoking executive privilege, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday refused to provide lawmakers with a full explanation of why it rejected California's greenhouse gas regulations

Sacramento,CAL,USA -AP/NY Daily News -January 19, 2008: -- California needs a federal waiver under the Clean Air Act to implement its tailpipe rules, which would force automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016, with reductions starting in the 2009 model year... At least 16 other state also want to implement the regulations... Earlier this month, California and 15 other states sued the EPA in a bid to force the agency to review its decision... The EPA informed Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that many of the documents she had requested contained internal deliberations or attorney-client communications that would not be shared now with Congress... More than a week after a deadline set by Boxer, the agency gave her environmental committee a box of papers with large portions of the relevant documents deleted, Boxer said... The documents provided Friday by the EPA omitted key details, including a presentation that Senate aides said predicted EPA would lose a lawsuit if it went to court for denying California's waiver...

* Gov. to oppose Bush on tailpipe emissions
Washington,DC,USA -The Bennington Banner (VT,USA), by EVAN LEHMANN -19 Jan 200: -- Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas will testify before a Senate committee next week opposing the Bush administration's refusal to allow 16 states to reduce tailpipe emissions... The appearance by Douglas, a Republican, reflects a deep division between the governor, a three-time overnight guest of President Bush, and the administration regarding efforts to address global warming...

Labels: clean air plans

Investigation * USA - Prompts Call For Change In Trucking Industry

Houston,TX,USA -Click 2 Houston.com, by Robert Arnold -January 18, 2008: -- Local 2 Investigates exposed the problem last year. Now massive, nationwide changes to the trucking industry are being proposed. Our hidden camera investigation showed how a person with no experience and little training could still get a license to drive an 18-wheeler. The proposed changes are aimed at making the roads safer for you and your family... Our hidden cameras followed a Local 2 employee last February as he took the state's road test for a class-A commercial driver's license, a license that will allow him to drive any 80,0000 pound commercial truck. .. But before our employee took the state's test, his only experience with commercial trucks consisted of watching videos on truck safety for three hours, studying practice tests for another two hours and a 21-minute, 16-second practice drive. But that practice drive wasn't even in an 18-wheeler. It was in a 14-wheel vehicle with a push button transmission and no container on the back... That was all it took for him to pass all of the state's tests and walk away with a class-A commercial driver's license... Now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is responding with a proposed rule. It would require all new big rig drivers to undergo a minimum of 120 hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel training at an accredited school before being allowed to take the state's driving test... Interestingly, this is not a new notion to the federal government. Nearly 13 years ago, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration concluded mandatory training is essential to producing safe commercial truck drivers. No word on why it took so long to come up with this rule...

Labels: driving schools

FUTURE ? * Australia - Driverless trucks

* Rio to trial automated mining

Sydney,Australia -The Australian, by Andrew Trounson -January 19, 2008: -- The mining operation of the future is likely to be an eerie place, combining driverless trucks, drills and haulage trains with plant controllers monitoring operations by remote from central control stations 1000km away in a major city... Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto yesterday said it planned this year to launch a groundbreaking trial of automated mining methods at its isolated West Angelas iron ore mine deep in the deserts of Western Australia's Pilbara. And if it all goes well, Rio could start developing a largely automated iron ore mine nearby in 2010... Rio has formed an alliance with Japanese equipment maker Komatsu to develop a system to automate Rio's Pilbara iron ore mines, with a trial due to start in October. It will involve five driverless 320-tonne dump trucks and one automated drill rig. And Rio is hoping to have a viable system in place for wider deployment within the next three to five years... Rio and Komatsu are looking to harness the huge advances in robotics, global positioning, communication bandwidths and computer speed to increasingly automate mining operations...

Labels: trucks future

Clean Truck Program * USA - Port of Long Beach’s opponents say, go beyond clean air into labor organization

* Shipper says it has met Long Beach truck standard

OOIDA: Plan will exclude long-haul drivers who make occasional port visits, and force owner-operators to pay additional fees to drivers with access

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -January 17, 2008: -- A major Asian shipper says it already has complied with the port of Long Beach’s Clean Truck Program... Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line officials announced they would voluntarily stop using trucks with pre-1990 engines in January, ahead of the port’s Oct. 1 deadline, according to a company news release... Other parts of the twin ports’ Clean Truck Program have been criticized for what opponents say go beyond clean air into labor organization... Also, each port plan to consider approving in February a plan backed by the Teamsters Union to require all truck drivers to be company employees, and to limit port entry to trucks from companies that are licensed by the port as concessionaires... OOIDA has expressed concerns that the Teamsters-backed plan will exclude long-haul drivers who make occasional port visits, and force owner-operators to pay additional fees to drivers with access. OOIDA officials met with the Federal Maritime Commission in October 2007 to convey those concerns...

Labels: Clean Truck Program debate

MILES per GALLON * Canada - May adopt CAFE standards

Ottawa,ONT,Canada -Wards Automotive (USA) -January 18, 2008: -- Canada’s minister of transport says the country will, for the first time, establish its own fuel-economy standards for motor vehicles and that they will be at least as stringent as the new rules adopted in the U.S... The Canadian standards would kick in in 2011 and would call for fleet averages of at least 35 miles per gallon. In 2006, the unregulated fleet average of vehicles sold in Canada was 27 miles per gallon...

Labels: fuel rules

HOS DEBATE * USA - Federal commission: Rest breaks need to stop on-duty clock

The inability of truckers to stop the on-duty clock when taking short breaks has been put in the spotlight by a federal commission charged with making highway funding recommendations

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -January 18, 2008: -- ... Commission members acknowledged that truckers have several hurdles facing them, which may be in conflict with the congestion pricing strategy... The report addressed three big problems truckers face on a daily basis. The report touched on schedules dictated by shippers, the difficulty in passing on toll costs, and restrictions within the HOS regs that keep truckers from adjusting their schedules... But, in addition to trying to adjust delivery times, the commission members also recognized that there need to be changes to the HOS regs to provide truckers with some flexibility... The report points out that truck drivers no longer have the option of a “log-off” during rest breaks. That means that truck drivers who might want to alter their driving schedule through a peak-period congestion pricing scheme by taking a rest break, can’t... “Therefore, it is recommended that an adjustment be made to the hours-of-service regulations to take into consideration the need for rest breaks to accommodate congested metropolitan areas,” the report concluded...

Labels: HOS debate

Fleet execs * USA - Expect fuel to have bigger impact on operations in '08

Survey eyefortransport reveal that the majority of North American fleet executives expect fuel purchasing to become an even bigger challenge this year and are constantly adapting their fuel management decisions as a result

Orlando,FLA,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -17 Jan 2008: -- ... The Fuel Management for Fleets 2008 Report, conducted over two years with more than 300 North American fleet execs, was aimed at establishing the concerns and strategies of those in charge of fueling North America's fleets amidst concerns over the changing price of oil... With skyrocketing fuel prices, supply chain issues, new hardware specifications, environmental regulations and evolving technologies, the current climate can be daunting for fleet executives responsible for fueling their vehicles. With this in mind, eyefortransport asked survey respondents to pinpoint the areas that concern them the most, and their strategies for dealing with these challenges... The industry report showed that traditional fuel purchasing strategies are still the most popular, with 26 percent of respondents relying on negotiations with suppliers, 17 percent negotiating with fuel card companies and 14 percent creating and implementing a fuel-buying plan... One of the more sensitive areas covered by the report is customer surcharging... While the hope is that, via hybrids, aggressive fuel efficiency programs, bulk fuel purchases and alternative technology, fleets can limit surcharges in the future, currently 18 percent of respondents in 2007, rising to 28 percent in 2008, divulged that they offset all fuel price increases with customer surcharges. A further 39 percent in 2007 and 31 percent in 2008 said that they cover at least some of the price hikes through this kind of hedging. A nearly even 26 percent in 2007 and 27 percent in 2008 said they do not apply surcharges, but 7 percent each year said they were considering doing so as a way to hedge fuel increases in the future. By all accounts, there will be no great short-term reduction in surcharging practices... (Only 26 percent of fleet execs interviewed described their company's fuel management system as 'good')

Labels: fuel costs troubles

TRANSPORT INDUSTRY NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* S. Korea - Kumho-Asiana Wins Auction For Bust Korea Express

Hong Kong,China -Forbes (New York,NY,USA), by Shu-Ching Jean Chen -17 Jan 2008: -- Korea Express, the largest logistics company in South Korea, looks set to be picked up by a consortium led by Kumho-Asiana Group, giving one of the country’s biggest conglomerates a critical platform to become a top global logistics player... Court officials overseeing the auction process of Korea Express told reporters on Thursday that Kumho-Asiana, through its affiliates Asiana Airlines, the country’s second-largest airliner, and Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., was selected as the preferred bidder to buy a controlling stake in Korea Express for a reported value of about $2 billion. ..

Labels: transport news worldwide

18.1.08

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Dominicks' Trucks Go Green

Safeway Switches To Biodiesel

Chicago ILL,USA -NBC5.com -January 17, 2008: --
Joined by Mayor Richard M. Daley, Dominick’s announced Thursday that it has converted its entire truck fleet to cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel... By using biodiesel, Dominick’s said it will be eliminating 1,457,256 Lbs. of carbon emissions released into the air annually, which is the equivalent to taking 143 cars off the road every year or to planting 551 acres of pine or fir forests...
The announcement also includes Safeway’s entire U.S. fleet of more than 1,000 trucks which have been converted to cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel, a move that will reduce carbon emissions nationally by 75 million pounds and take nearly 7,500 passenger vehicles off the road each year... Safeway is the first major retailer in the United States to convert its entire trucking fleet to biodiesel...

Labels: 'green' trucks

SALES * USA -Bomb-Resistant Trucks

Ladson,SC,USA - Brightcove -Jan 17, 2008: -- With $21 billion from Congress, the Pentagon has ordered nearly 12,000 trucks called MRAPs for use in Iraq and Afghanistan...

Labels: truck sales

REPORT * USA - Truckers, Farmers Iowa's Most Deadly Jobs in 2007

A new state report shows 57% of Iowa's worker deaths last year involved farmers and truck drivers

Waterloo,IA,USA -AP/kwwl TV -18 Jan 2008: -- ... Iowa recorded 79 work-related fatalities in 2007, including 23 truckers and 22 farmers, according to the Iowa Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program... Of the remainder, more than a dozen workers died at industrial or commercial jobs and the rest were a mix of occupations... The deaths do not include heart attacks, disease or other non-traumatic causes...

Labels: drivers' death

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - MARKET & PROGNOSIS

* Trucking Drives Higher

New York,NY,USA -Associated Press/Forbes -17 Jan 2008: -- Shares of most trucking companies rose in trading Thursday, as investors rallied with increasing confidence that the worst of the sector's downturn is now over, although an uptick in demand has yet to be seen... Stifel Nicolaus John Larkin said some truckers will likely benefit from international growth of container trade in the next one or two years. He noted a further slowdown in the U.S. economy isn't expected to affect this growing segment... But Wachovia analyst Justin B. Yagerman noted that while U.S.-based truckers should benefit from growing port traffic in the coming years, indications suggest that the freight slump has not yet subsided. Yagerman said indications suggest that both truckload and less-than-truckload carriers will still struggle with weak demand and excess capacity in the near term. Also, the analyst said truckload pricing could get worse if the weakness continues... In midday trading, truckload carrier Werner Enterprises rose 14 cents to $16.39. Heartland Express added 6 cents to $14.24, and Knight Transportation gained 3 cents to $15.11... J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. lost 17 cents to $25.46... Among less-than-truckload carriers, Con-way rose 69 cents to $40.94, and Arkansas Best added 20 cents to $19.94...

* YRC jumps early contract hurdle, faces restructuring challenges

Washington,DC,USA -Logistics Management, by John D. Schulz -15 Jan 2008: -- With the Teamsters’ rank-and-file ramification likely on a new five-year labor deal, YRC Worldwide hopes it has stemmed freight diversion to non-union competition as the nation’s largest group of LTL carriers hopes to rebound from one of its worst years in its 84-year history... Now that the contract is behind them, YRC officials have some hard choices. One likely scenario is a partial closure or sale of parts of its regional business. There is also a chance of potentially merging the Roadway and Yellow brands, a move management has resisted but might be its best hope for profitability and long-term competitiveness...

* NYK Logistics Americas Inc. acquires Bruni International to enhance cross-border capabilities

Long Beach,CAL,USA -Logistics Management, by Jeff Berman -16 Jan 2008: -- Transportation and logistics services provider NYK Logistics Americas Inc. (NLA) said this week it has acquired Bruni International, a Laredo, Texas-based provider of customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and distribution services... Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed...

* ProLogis goes forward with sustainability initiative

Denver,CO,USA -Logistics Management -17 Jan 2008: -- ProLogis, a global owner, manager, and developer of distribution facilities, said this week it has rolled out a new sustainability initiative that will mandate all of its new United States-based development to comply with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)-drafted environmental standards... The USGBC is a building industry nonprofit group that promotes sustainable development, according to a ProLogis statement...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

Idling Bill * USA - May see support from truckers

Augusta,ME,USA -Blethen Maine Newspapers/Central Maine Morning Sentinel, by PAUL CARRIER -18 Jan 2008: -- A trade group for the trucking industry may join environmentalists in backing a bill to limit idling by commercial trucks and buses, as supporters try to make Maine the 14th state to penalize drivers who leave their engines running while they are parked... Environmentalists and the American Lung Association of Maine see the bill as a way to reduce pollution and save energy. Dale Hannington of the Maine Motor Transport Association said, his association is inclined to support it because it includes exemptions that should make it work for truckers. The bill would allow an occupied commercial truck to idle for longer than five minutes to heat or cool while the driver waits to load or unload. It also includes exemptions for certain circumstances, such as traffic jams, when an engine must run to operate mixing or other equipment, or when a driver cools or heats a sleeper berth in a truck...

Labels: trucks idling

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Louisiana Roads Voted Nation's Worst for Second Year; Arkansas' Most Improved

Tuscaloosa,Ala., USA -PRNewswire/earthtimes.org -17 Jan 2008: -- While campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee touts his road improvement efforts that moved Arkansas from the state with the worst roads to "the most improved road system in the country," he says, in the annual Highway Report Card survey conducted by Overdrive, the trucking industry's leading magazine for owner-operators... WORST ROADS 1. Louisiana 2. Pennsylvania 3. Oklahoma 4. California 5. Arkansas - BEST ROADS 1. Texas 2. Florida 3. Tennessee 4. Virginia 5. Ohio

Labels: infrastructures

Trucks face Auction * Australia - For access to port

Users of Port Botany would pay a levy to use the facility at busy times, adding millions of dollars to the cost of getting goods through the site under a controversial proposal that has won the support of the State Government

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Brian Robins -January 18, 2008: -- ... The head of the Roads and Traffic Authority, Les Wielinga, said introducing an auction system for users to access the port would relieve road congestion around the area... But Mike Moylan, of the Australian Trucking Association, has criticised the idea as "novel and untried" and warned that it would be "a huge commercial risk to the state"... "There are a million containers passing through the port every year. You're talking a huge amount of money," he said. "We did a survey among our members and no one was in favour of it"... The proposal involves users of the port "bidding" to be able to gain access to Port Botany at peak times during the day, with some of this extra money to go to the stevedoring firms that operate at the port - Patrick and DP World. The rest of the money would be used to upgrade facilities around the port...

Labels: ports auction

RULES OF THE ROAD * USA - Schools, firms say new truck-driving standards would yield better drivers

ew federal rules that would change the standards for truck-driver training would produce better drivers, said officials with trucking companies and driving schools

Harrisburg,PA,USA -The Central Penn Business Journal, by Jim T. Ryan -18 Jan 2008: -- ... But the proposed rules aren’t perfect, and local industry leaders suggested some improvements... On Dec. 26, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) posted its new rules and opened a three-month comment period... The rules would require 44 hours of behind-the-wheel training for new truck drivers before they can complete their training and begin driving... They welcomed the changes FMCSA is proposing because safe, competent drivers are most important to companies, motorists and others... (Photo by Amy Spangler - Fred Crook, left, demonstrates his knowledge of the pre-trip safety inspection for James “Skip” McClellan, lead instructor at the Sage Corp. program at Lebanon County Career School in Lebanon. Crook attended the truck-driving school five years ago and is refreshing his skills to be recertified for re–entry into the truck-driving industry)

Labels: driving schools

Teamsters * USA - Say UPS Freight Workers Sign Cards in New England

New England,USA -Transport Topics -17 Jan 2008: -- The Teamsters union said workers at seven UPS Freight terminals in New England signed cards to join the union, although the cards must now be sent to a neutral arbitrator... A majority of workers at the sites signed authorization cards to become union members, the union said late Wednesday... UPS Freight, a unit of UPS Inc., is the successor to Overnite Transportation, which waged a substantial, bitter fight with the union from 1999-2002... UPS Inc. is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers...

Labels: teamsters union news

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* Sterling recognized by J.D. Power and Associates for superior dealer service

Redford,Mich,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Adam Ledlow -17 Jan 2008: -- Sterling Truck Corporation recently accepted its award for J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Heavy Duty Truck Service. This is the second time Sterling has been recognized by J.D. Power and Associates in four years... Members of the Daimler Trucks North America Operating Committee and the Sterling dealer council recently accepted the award at the annual Sterling Dealer Council Meeting in Detroit, Mich. The award is given to the truck manufacturer that ranked highest in J.D. Power's annual customer survey...

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

17.1.08

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK - Hanbury Davies bought out by Wincanton

Southampton,UK -Road Transport -17 January 2008: -- Leading logistics firm Wincanton has continued its buying spree with the surprise acquisition of Hanbury Davies, one the UK’s biggest container hauliers, for £25m... Wincanton has only recently ventured into the container market launching relatively operations in Alconbury and Marchwood near Southampton. However the purchase of Felixstowe-based Hanbury Davies (HD) has quickly made it one of the biggest players in the sector...

* Glyn Davies sells out again, this time to Wincanton (COMMENT from Road Transport)

London,UK -Road Transport -17 Jan 2008: -- It hardly seems any time since Glyn Davies sold his original business to Securicor Omega and made him a rich man. Then he got bored with being at home all day, so he set up a second haulage business, Hanbury Davies. He merged some ailing companies created one of the most successful haulage companies in the industry. Now he has sold the company to Wincanton for £25 million... Glyn is an extremely good and sharp businessman. He monitors every day the profit of the fleet and he uses no agency drivers. His latest idea, as explained at a Motor Transport debate, is to reduce tuck speeds to reduce the amount of fuel used. The drivers did not like it but it helps counter the rising fuel prices. Hanbury Davies is one of the best operations in the country... What will Glyn do now says Biglorryblog?

* Suckling Transport scales down and boosts profit
Essex,UK -Road Transport/Motor Transport -16 January 2008: -- Suckling Transport's decision to scale down its oil tanker groupage service nationally has helped boost margins and allowed profit to rise... Managing director Peter Larner says it made the wrong decision during 2006 to push its Tankshare concept across the UK margins fell to just 1.8% as a result. Instead, the Essex-based fuel distributor concentrated on the areas it could increase profit and, for the year ending 31 March 2007, its margin rose to just under 2.5%...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

DEBATE * UK - What price congestion?

Report: Congestion is costing the economy £20bn a year

London,UK -Commercial Motor/Road Transport, by Roanna Avison -17 January 2008: -- The fact that the country's roads are struggling to cope with the sheer volume of traffic trying to use them is well known. As is the fact that the time spent sitting in queues is bad for business, as well as drivers' stress levels. So it comes as no surprise that a report by think tank Policy Exchange into the UK's transport infrastructure found that the roads we all depend on are "not fit for purpose". As a result congestion is costing the economy £20bn a year, the report warns... In fact it says the UK's roads are so poor that they are near the bottom of the international league table. The UK has fewer kilometres of motorway than other European countries with comparable populations...

The spokesman adds that road pricing, backed up by public transport improvements, has the potential to cut predicted congestion growth by nearly half: "That is why we are working with local authorities who want to develop local schemes and exploring pricing as a concept"...

Labels: price congestion debate

COMMENTS * Europe - Truck manufacturers take the slow road east

London,UK -Automotive World -16 Jan 2008: -- The rapid growth in demand from Eastern Europe seems to have taken many of the European truck manufacturers by surprise, but events in 2007, such as the opening of MAN's new factory in Poland, suggest that the region's potential has at last been well and truly recognised...

Labels: markets comments

TRUCKS' MARKETS * VietNam - Light truck sales up in Mekong River Delta

The sales of light trucks have been increasing recently, especially when nearly 10,000 out-of-date self-modified trucks need to be replaced as requested by the Government

Hanoi,Vietnam -VietNamNet Bridge –17 January 2008: -- ... The demand for light trucks has been increasing considerably in the Mekong River Delta, where the demand for vehicles to carry goods (farm produce and seafood) is always very high. Meanwhile, local residents have to replace the self-modified trucks (the vehicles manufactured under the simple technologies by farmers themselves) which have become too old... Can Tho City now has 15 sales agents and branches of well known truck manufacturers, including Vietnamese Vinaxuki, and Japanese Isuzu or Mitsubishi. Analysts said that it is now the golden opportunity for the sales agents as the number of truck buyers has increased sharply, especially since the end of 2007...

Labels: trucks markets

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Taiwan - Nissan sends first shipment of Cabstar trucks to Mexico

Taipei,Taiwan -Automotive World (UK), by Glenn Brooks -17 January, 2008: -- Yulon Nissan Motor says it has begun production of the Nissan Cabstar light duty truck as well as exports to Mexico, its first overseas market... This, Nissan’s affiliated company notes, is the first time a Taiwanese plant has been the source of a 3.5t class light commercial vehicle for the North American country...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * UK

* Renault Trucks' dealer network woos Cliniserve
London,UK -Motor Transport/Road Transport -17 January 2008: -- Cliniserve chose to buy its new fleet of 27 Master panel vans from Renault Trucks, rather than Renault UK, to take advantage of its dealer network... The clinical waste management company has plenty of experience with Renault Trucks, and currently runs a 70-strong all-Renault fleet... Operations director Lee Elliott explains that rival products were also evaluated. He says the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter were also shortlisted, but the Master won thanks to its superior payload...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

A front-seat look * USA - Chinese get, at U.S. trucking

State Line,PA,USA -The Hagerstown Morning Herald (Hagerstown,MD), by DON AINES -16 Jan 2008: -- ... Sponsored by the China Road Transport Association (CRTA), the delegation saw how Con-way manages freight from customer service, dispatching and tracking, to the 164-door loading area where forklifts moved pallets of goods into the trailers for shipment. Service Center Manager Steven Sibbio said the facility handles an average of 3.2 million pounds of freight a day... China's government understands the importance of transportation to economic growth, Warren Hoemann, senior vice president of American Trucking Associations said, spending $100 billion a year on road construction. By contrast, the most recent U.S. federal highway bill appropriated $286 billion over five years for construction and maintenance, he said... Yang Xue Feng, vice director of the Liao Ning Province Transportation Management Bureau, asked through an interpreter why the drivers all appeared to be 40 or older; about their education; and how pay differs between supervisors, drivers and dock workers... As for the age of drivers, Con-way Chief Operating Officer David Miller said, younger drivers usually do pickup and delivery, while older drivers with families prefer fixed routes and regular schedules. There are about 200,000 trucking companies in China, ranging from firms with thousands of trucks to companies with just one, said CRTA Chairman Mingde Yao...The delegation also met with officials at the American Trucking Associations' headquarters in Arlington, Va., and with U.S. Department of Transportation officials... (Photo credit: Yvette May / Staff Photographer - During a tour of Con-way Freight in State Line, Pa., on Tuesday morning, members of the China Road Transport Association discuss Con-way's highly engineered freight operations)

Labels: visitors

DUI Checkpoints * USA - Washington governor calls for

WASH,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -January 16, 2008: -- In an effort to crack down on drunken drivers in Washington, Gov. Christine Gregoire has proposed legislation that would allow law enforcement to set up sobriety checkpoints... Washington is one of 11 states that prohibit spot checks to nab drunken drivers... The proposal would require jurisdictions to first apply for warrants... Opponents say the plan would violate the state’s protections against “suspicionless” searches... All vehicles, or a designated sequence – such as every fourth vehicle – would be required to stop at checkpoints. Failure to stop could result in $5,000 fines and one year in prison...

Labels: DUI checkpoints

Toll Study * USA - Raises questions about safety of alternate routes

Increasing tolls and privatization of public roads will lead to more traffic and dangerous conditions on alternate routes

Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -January 16, 2008: -- ... The authors of an academic study stated in a report released Tuesday, Jan. 15... The study strengthens the position of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association against the U.S. Department of Transportation’s move in recent years to promote tolling and public-private partnerships... Study authors Peter Swan of the University of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA, and Michael Belzer of Wayne State University in Detroit used traffic data and toll information from the Ohio Turnpike to illustrate that excessive tolling forces truckers and motorists onto alternative routes... “Additionally, non-interstate roads are inherently more dangerous than interstate roads, so diversions from interstate roads would likely result in greater property damage and greater loss of life,” according to the report...

Labels: toll roads debate

Truck Parking * USA - Committee in Hesperia, CA, proposes restrictions on

Hesperia,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -January 16, 2008: -- Truck drivers living in Hesperia, CA, may want to make plans to be home on Jan. 23... That’s because the Hesperia Community Development Advisory Committee will be meeting that night to discuss nine proposed revisions to the city’s municipal code related to commercial truck parking... Currently, the city allows trucks to park free on public streets for two hours. However, this could change if the committee’s recommendation to eliminate the two-hour parking provision is approved... The committee is also recommending the removal of an existing provision from the municipal code that allows trucks to park on public streets if they have permits...

Labels: truck parking problems

Clean Air * USA - Proposed diesel engine rules may cost billions

Sacramento,CA,USA -California Farm Bureau, by Kate Campbell -January 16, 2008: -- Proposed regulations by the state Air Resources Board aimed at reducing emissions from diesel engines, including those used in agriculture, have farmers greatly concerned. The sweeping changes will impact about 400,000 in-state, on-road diesel vehicles and about another 1.2 million from out of state...ARB staff was in Easton in December to begin the process of discussions that will lead to a final air quality regulation in late fall 2008... Farmers and ranchers explained to ARB staff how the equipment is used, the level of investment in customized equipment, average miles and hours per year the equipment is operated and other special uses. They stressed to officials that the complex diversity of farm equipment makes it more difficult and much more expensive to retrofit or modify existing vehicles... (Photo: Visalia beekeeper David Bradshaw, right, and truck owner Roger Everett, joined more than 30 agricultural vehicle owners in Easton to hear about an Air Resources Board proposal to regulate diesel engines)

Labels: clean air plans

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * INDIA

* Patel Integrated enters into MOU with Eicher Motors for purchase of trucks

Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India -Equity Bulls -16 Jan 2008: -- Patel Integrated Logistics Ltd (PILL) has announced that the Company has entered into an exclusive MOU with Eicher Motors Ltd., to initially purchase 225 trucks for a consideration of about Rs 20.00 Cr. for various types of vehicles ranging from 3.00 Tonners to 16.00 Tonners. PILL will also be additionally acquiring & strengthening its own Fleet in line with its Vendor Acquisition Strategy in India... The MOU also entails acquisition of additional trucks for its 126 vendors who supply about 756 vehicles, which is exclusively deployed for PILL's requirements.

* Patel Integrated enters into MOU with Tata Motors for purchase of Light Trucks
Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India -Equity Bulls -16 Jan 2008: -- ... Tata Motors would also supply to PILL, with the Balance part of the requirement which is not being met by Eicher for the lower payload vehicles more specifically the Tata ACE 1.00 Tonner & Tata 407 – 2.50 Tonner Capacity...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

POLLUTION * USA - Texas Is Biggest Carbon Polluter

Everything's big in Texas — big pickup trucks, big SUVs and the state's big carbon footprint, too.

Austin,TX,USA -AP, By APRIL CASTRO -16 Jan 2008: -- Texans' fondness for large, manly vehicles has helped make the Lone Star State the biggest carbon polluter in the nation... The headquarters state of America's oil industry spewed 670 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2003, enough that Texas would rank seventh in the world if it were its own country, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The amount is more than that of California and Pennsylvania — the second- and third-ranking states — combined... A multitude of factors contribute to the carbon output, among them: Texas' 19 coal-burning power plants; a heavy concentration of refineries and chemical plants; a lack of mass transit; and a penchant among ranchers and urban cowboys alike for brawny, gas-guzzling trucks — sometimes to haul things, but often just to look Texas tough... (Photo by Pat Sullivan/AP - Trucks make their way out of Houston on Interstate 10, Monday, Jan. 14, 2008, in Houston. Everything's big in Texas _ big pickup trucks, big SUVs and the state's big carbon footprint, too. Texans' fondness for large, manly vehicles has helped make the Lone Star State the biggest producer of greenhouse gases in the nation)

Labels: air pollution

MARKET * USA - Trucks With EPA '07 Exhaust Heavily Discounted Due to Glut

USA -FleetMag.com/Automotive Digest -January 10, 2008: -- Some fleets pre-bought MY2006 trucks, are delaying MY2007 purchases. MY2007 truck supply exceeds demand so prices, availability excellent... MY2007 diesel trucks meet stricter emissions standards, include diesel particulate filters (DPF)... Fuel economy doesn't seem to be reduced, CJ-4 oil is maintaining drain intervals... Higher under-hood heat appears to be handled by beefed up radiators. Operation at highway speeds provides sufficient heat to burn up DPF contents... Drivers require training to understand passive regeneration of DPF, alert light when it happens... Who will buy equipment, clean ash from DPF at 150-250K miles remains uncertain... Next tightening of diesel exhaust standards scheduled for MY2010...

Labels: market news

Clean Air * USA - California Will Use Public Bonds to Reduce Emissions

75% of money to reduce pollution in commercial diesel vehicles.
CAL,USA -Fleet Owner/Automotive Digest -16 Jan 2008: -- CA voters passed Proposition 1B in 2006. Dedicated $20B to highway improvements, public transportation, Also authorized $1B for air quality improvements... CA Air Resources Board (CARB) will allocate money... 75% of money to reduce pollution in commercial diesel vehicles. Most of it for equipment to retrofit diesel engines or replace trucks. $25M would replace 345 trucks, retrofit 650 more... Remaining 25% will reduce emissions in ships, harbor craft, locomotives... Trucking industry favors CARB plans...

Labels: clean air plans

HOS DEBATE * USA - FMCSA Reconsiders Rules. Technology Solutions to Improve Safety

FMCSA engaged in new hours of service rulemaking efforts

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner/Automotive Digest -16 Jan 2008: -- Favors electronic on-board recorders to monitor, record driver's on-, off-duty time... Use of currently available technology could reduce truck crashes by 20%-33%. Including stability control, lane-departure warning systems... Virginia Tech Transport Institute shows human factor accounts for 90% of accidents: Driver distraction, fatigue largest, most significant causes of accidents... Meanwhile, Volvo continuing development of "seeing machine" to monitor driver eyes, detect fatigue...

Labels: HOS debate

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * USA - Rising diesel prices smack businesses

Diesel fuel prices are soaring, and some experts say the cost of a gallon will roar past $4 this summer

Philadelphia,PA,USA -Philadelphia Inquirer, by Henry J. Holcomb -Jan. 16, 2008: -- ... This has far-reaching impact on business. Consumers will feel it, too... Rising fuel prices are pushing thousands of trucking companies close to the edge, threatening to diminish transportation resources when long-term forecasts say the amount of goods shipped will double by 2010... The trucking industry is already beset by driver shortages and talk of new tolls and toll increases, said Jeffrey Tucker, who is chief executive of the Tucker Co., a Cherry Hill logistics firm, and a director of the National Industrial Transportation League... "If the economy stays iffy much longer, thousands of carriers will go out of business," Tucker said... In Europe, more than half the automobiles now have diesel engines, which get more miles per gallon and last longer, and there are signs that the engines could soon gain favor in the United States, Stephen Schork, editor of the Schork Report, a daily energy newsletter published in Villanova, said... "There have been tremendous technology strides since the noisy, smelly, hard-to-start diesel cars that turned off Americans in '70s," Schork said. "Diesels are cleaner and friendlier now"... What is not clear, he and others said, is how friendly the price of diesel will be as the oil industry races to catch up with - but not overtake - demand... (Photo by MICHAEL BRYANT / Inquirer - A semi driver fills up in Paulsboro. Soaring diesel prices are linked to costly crude oil and demand from growth overseas)

Labels: fuel costs troubles

Regulation * USA - Bye, bye fees

So, OK, abusive-driver fees are on the out and we probably won’t see them again

VA,USA -Fleet Owner, by Skil Carr -January 16, 2008: -- The death-knell has sounded for Virginia’s controversial abusive driver fees, so for all the readers that thought these were a bad idea, your wish is coming true... The abusive-driver fees in question were civil penalties drawn up to fine drivers going 20 mph over the speed limit $1,050, plus $61 in court costs, in addition to existing fines that typically total $200. Also, a first-time drunken driver faced a $2,250 civil penalty – plus fines and court costs that typically run about $500 or more – under the abusive-fee regime, while driving without a license came with a mandatory $900 civil penalty in addition to the ordinary $100 for a fine and court costs... Many reasons are being trotted out for the failure of these fees, probably the biggest being that they only applied to in-state residents. That stuck in everyone’s craw, because if you didn’t pay them in three installments over 26 months, you’d lose your license: not so for someone from Ohio or any of the other 49 states in the Union... So, OK, abusive-driver fees are on the out and we probably won’t see them again. But here we are left facing a yearly pile of bodies on our highways with no one – politicians and John Q. Public as well – willing to seriously address it...

Labels: regulations

Fuel Tax Rebate * USA - Running on Empty, Truckers Call for

The surging cost of diesel, however, has fueled discontent among Maine truckers, pressing the Governor for fuel tax relief even as some go out of business

Damariscotta,ME,USA -Lincoln County News, by Mike Colbert -16 Jan 2008: -- ... At nearly 29 cents a gallon, Maine has one of the highest state fuel taxes in the nation. At $3.70 per gallon on Tuesday, it also had the highest overall cost for diesel... With fuel costs a dollar more than at this time last year, Larry Sidelinger, who runs a trucking concern in Damariscotta, said many drivers are exiting the business... Even though the damage to the trucking industry may not become measurable until the end of 2008 when truck registrations can be tallied for the year, early indications can be found by following the insurance thread... Commenting on the multi billion dollar profits posted by oil companies each quarter, Sidelinger termed the rush for profit, at the expense of truckers and other consumers, a form of "economic terrorism"... (Photo: Larry Sidelinger)

Labels: fuel taxes

16.1.08

TRUCKS' SALES * USA - PG&E adds LNG trucks to fleet

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Energy Current (Houston,TX) -15 Jan 2008: -- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) added five Class 8 heavy-duty liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks to its alternative fuel fleet. PG&E says it is the first utility in the U.S. to put the Kenworth T800 LNG-powered environmental footprint and improve California's air quality... PG&E purchased the trucks from Bay Area Kenworth as diesel units and collaborated on the upgrade to LNG operation with Kenworth and Westport Innovations Inc., a developer of gas engines and fuel systems...

Labels: trucks sales

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS & ACCESORIES * Tyres

* Germany - Chemicals firm develops nano-additive to reduce tyre tread wear
Germany -Auto Industry (UK) -16 Jan 2008: -- The Technical Rubber Products unit of the chemicals group LANXESS Corp. has developed a new rubber additive, called Nanoprene, that it claims will significantly cut tread wear in automotive tyres, extending their life beyond the typical 30,000 miles... Prof. Werner Obrecht of LANXESS’ Technical Rubber Products (TRP) business unit says the patent-pending Nanoprene reduces the conflict between low rolling resistance, dry and wet road grip and longevity that compromises tyre technology...

Labels: tyres

STATISTICS * Europe - New Eurostat report

Measures facts and figures of EU’s automotive and other sectors
Brusells,Belgium -eurostat.ec.europa.eu -16 Jan 2008: -- The new edition of European business - Facts and figures1, published by Eurostat, the EU’s Statistical Office, covers 2006 data on the main sectors of the European business economy, including the transport equipment manufacturing and motor trades sectors... The ‘Transport Equipment’ sector including predominantly road vehicle manufacture is reported to comprise 43,000 enterprises, 0.2% of the EU’s total businesses. Their aggregate value added is put at €177bn, 3.5% of the EU total. It employs 3.2m people, 2.6% of total EU employment, at an average employment cost per capita of €43,000. The apparent labour productivity of these employees in the transport equipment sector is put at €56,000 per capita... The motor trades sector is said to comprise 782,000 enterprises, representing 4.1% of all EU businesses, and to produce €151bn of value added, a 3.0% share of the EU total. Motor trade businesses employ a total of 4.067m people, at an average cost per employee of €24,000; their average apparent productivity figure is put at €37,000. Motor trades had 29% of their employees in the 15-29 age group, behind only hotels & restaurants (36%) and retail trade (30%)...

* 2007 new car registrations rise in new member states, flat in Western Europe
Brusells,Belgium -ACEA -16 Jan 2008: -- Nearly 16 million new cars were registered in Europe (EU27+EFTA) in 2007, or 1.1% more than the year before, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ACEA reported today. Soaring oil prices, changes in taxes, shrinking credit availability and purchasing power restrained buyers’ confidence and the demand for new cars in some of the Western European countries (+0.2%). In the new EU member states, where car density is still much lower and many households have been able to afford buying a new car only recently, a steady growth was recorded throughout the year (+14.5%)...

Labels: transport statistics

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * UK

* Another record year for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

London,UK -Easier/Motoring -9 January 2008: -- Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles achieved its eighth consecutive year of increased sales in the UK in 2007. In addition, with total registrations of 27,777 commercial vehicles, Volkswagen’s market share grew to over eight per cent for the first time plus it maintained its position as number one van importer...

* Renault Trafic and Master vans with 3 year/100,000 mile warranty

London,UK -Easier/Motoring -10 January 2008: -- With effect from 1st January 2008, Renault’s Trafic and Master ranges will be sold with a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty. The new terms reflect the company’s commitment to quality after ten consecutive years of European LCV market leadership, as well as bringing both vehicles in line with New Laguna, which was the company’s first product to benefit from the extended warranty terms in October last year...

* Renault launches new Trafic Sport and Kangoo Van Extra

London,UK -Easier/Motoring -10 January 2008: -- Ready to take the challenge to its rivals from the beginning of the year, Renault is launching two new Kangoo Van and Trafic versions to further broaden its already comprehensive range... New Kangoo Van Extra special edition...

* First Daily joins Iveco fleet at Salesmark

London,UK -Easier/Motoring -15 January 2008: -- Iveco has delivered the first Daily van to Lancing-based carpet fitting supplies specialist Salesmark, which already operates five Eurocargos within its eight-strong commercial vehicle fleet...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

HOS DEBATE * USA - “Illegal” Rule Makes Roads Dangerous, Safety Advocates Say

Cleveland,OH,USA -Occupational Hazards, by Laura Walter -January 14, 2008: -- The Teamsters Union, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety filed a brief arguing that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) interim final rule regarding hours of service for truck drivers was “illegal” and creates dangerous driving conditions... "People are dying on the highway because FMCSA is more concerned about making its corporate bosses happy than it is about making our highways safe," said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa... The final interim rule, reinstated Dec. 11, allows truck drivers to drive 11 hours within a 14-hour time period and as many as 84 hours per week. FMCSA first issued this hours-of-service rule in 2003, increasing the time truck drivers could drive by one hour. The rule has a history of being twice struck down by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit but later reinstated... The Teamsters Union and other safety advocates describe FMCSA’s actions as “lawless” while ignoring court rulings that threw out the final interim rule. The groups also argue that the rule focuses on the trucking industry’s economic needs instead of the health and safety implications for truck drivers...

Labels: HOS debate

OPTIMISTIC PROGNOSIS * USA - Trucking officials see stable US economy

Washington,DC,USA -BusinessWeek, by DAN CATERINICCHIA -15 Jan 2008: -- Despite declining freight volumes in the U.S. and rising fuel costs, trucking industry representatives on Monday offered optimistic economic outlooks... "I don't expect things to get worse," American Trucking Associations President and Chief Executive Bill Graves said... Graves, speaking at a welcome ceremony for Chinese officials at ATA headquarters in Arlington, Va., said he anticipates an improving economic picture by the beginning of 2009...

Labels: prognosis

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Sri Lanka - Logistics group starts joint venture to serve Fiji
Colombo,Sri Lanka -ATN (Australia) -14 January 2008: -- Sri Lankan third-party logistics group Logiwiz has set up a joint venture with C J Patel & Co, a leading marketing and distribution company of consumer products in Fiji, to carry out third party logistics business in Fiji and other pacific locations... The new company, Logiwiz (Fiji) Pvt Ltd, has already commenced operations in four strategically located distribution centers in Fiji islands, Suva (capital city), Kalabo, Lautoka and Labasa and services global brands Nestle, Glaxo, Sanitarium, Mattel, Phillip Morris, Colgate and Kimberly Clark under its roof... The company intends to expand its business to provide total supply chain solutions to its customers in the south and south-west Pacific region...

Labels: trucking industry news worldwide

TRUCKING INDUSTRY STRATEGIES * Australia

* ALC seeks feedback on national supply chain 'vision' strategy
Canberra,Australia -ATN -15 January 2008: -- The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) is seeking comment on a new industry strategy designed to develop a vision for the transport and logistics sector as an economic powerhouse... The new National T&L Freight Supply Chain Strategy will be launched at the ALC Forum next month in Canberra... According to the ALC, the most critical action areas are:

· Safety — Implementing T&L 'Vision Zero' program nationally
· Investment — Planning and delivery of infrastructure to handle the growing freight task
· Leadership — Ensuring issues of national strategic importance are communicated effectively
· People — Attracting, retaining and continually developing the workforce
· Energy and environment — T&L taking the lead in environmental sustainability
· Innovation and technology - Developing an innovation culture and remaining globally competitive
·Efficiency – Ensuring regulation supports supply chain efficiency.

Following on from feedback received on the previous draft version and by comments submitted by industry stakeholders, the ALC has made substantial changes to the document.

* CSIRO’s Future Fuels Forum set to deliver report in June
Melbourne,Australia -ATN -10 January 2008: -- Emissions trading, future fuels and international oil supply are just some of the factors that will be considered as the CSIRO's newly formed Future Fuels Forum (FFF) articulates the main challenges for the nation in arriving at a secure and sustainable transport fuel mix for road, rail, air and sea to 2050... Director of the CSIRO Energy Transformed National Research Flagship, Dr John Wright, says, "Cost-effective transport underpins our lifestyles and economy. We need to start work now to ensure the sector can continue to deliver its many benefits and address its environmental impact along with other important issues relating to fuel security and supply" ... The Future Fuels Forum is designed to provide useful input to decision makers in industry and government on strategic policy and future investment, which will be articulated through the release of a comprehensive report in June 2008...

Labels: trucking strategies

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Australia

* Isuzu maintains leadership in Australian truck sales for 2007
Melbourne,Australia -ATN -16 January 2008: -- Isuzu maintained a clear lead in truck sales in 2007 capturing 22.1 percent of the overall market (8,420 units), according to the latest data collected by ERG International... It was followed by fellow Japanese manufacturer Hino with 16.1 percent marketshare (6,136 units), Mitsubishi (11.7 percent), Kenworth (7.2 percent), Iveco (4.5 percent), Volvo (3.6 percent) and Mack (3.6 percent)...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * AUSTRALIA

* NatRoad promotes more experience for heavy truck licensing
Melbourne,Australia -ATN -15 January 2008: -- A NatRoad proposal to force those wanting heavy combination or multi combination vehicle licenses to go through a driver experience program will reduce the amount of inexperienced heavy vehicle drivers, according to NatRoad CEO Bernie Belacic... NatRoad’s Industry Issues Committee proposes drivers should hold a rigid vehicle license for one year with a minimum of 100 hours experience before attaining a heavy combination license. The committee proposes 200 hours experience coupled with one year driving a heavy combination license before progressing to multi combination vehicles. If passed, the proposal will require drivers to record the number of hours in a log book, with employers signing it... Currently, to drive heavy combination and multi combination trucks, drivers need only hold an appropriate vehicle license for one year without having to know how to operate either vehicle, Belacic says...

* NTC says time running out to meet start date for new charges
Melbourne,Australia -ATN -16 January 2008: -- The National Transport Commission (NTC) has conceded that it is "running out of time" to meet the July 1, 2008 implementation date for the new heavy vehicle charging regime set by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)...

* FedEx launches new 'economy' service in Australia, NZ
Brisbane,Australia -ATN -145 January 2008: -- FedEx Express has the expansion of its customer portfolio of services with the launch of FedEx International Economy service in Australia and New Zealand and eight other Asia-Pacific markets...FedEx International Economy is specially designed for customers with less urgent shipments of individual packages under 68kg...

Labels: trucking industry news Australia

What’s the 5-1-1? * USA - California group plans trucker information line

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -January 15, 2008: -- A California-based government association wants to learn what traffic and travel information would most help truckers... The San Diego Association of Governments is gathering information for “511 CVO” – a three-digit phone number and Web site that will have specific travel information tailored to meet truckers’ needs... San Diego currently allows commuters to call 5-1-1 from cell phones and learn about the region’s traffic by using voice commands.The survey is available at http://511trucker.com... The San Diego Association of Governments wants trucking companies and drivers to tell them what information “will be the most useful,” wrote Tracy Manzo, coordinator for the project...

Labels: truckers' information

DANGEROUS DRIVER * Border: Mexico/USA - Trucker’s U-turn causes four deaths

Pharr City,TX,USA -Land Line Magazine -January 14, 2008: -- A Mexican trucker who was making a U-turn on a bridge was responsible for a wreck that killed four people this past week at the US-Mexico border according to the director of the bridge... One person was killed when a minivan hit the truck and caught fire. Three others died when their pickup veered off the bridge and into the dry riverbed below... Medina says the trucker was on the Mexican side of the bridge when he attempted the maneuver. And, Medina says U-turns are not uncommon on the Mexico side of the bridge...

Labels: dangerous drivers

FUEL TAXES * Canada - CRA to provide diesel tax refund for APU fuel

Ottawa,Ont,CAN -Truck News -15 Jan 2008: -- The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) and Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) have successfully lobbied the feds to refund the federal excise tax on diesel fuel used to power auxiliary power units (APUs)... The changes will begin in April, according to the Canada Revenue Agency, allowing carriers to receive refunds on fuel used to power idle-reduction devices...

Labels: fuel taxes

FUEL TAXES * USA - Commission calls for dramatic increase, to pay for sub-standard infrastructure

Washington,DC,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Adam Ledlow -15 Jan 2008: -- A recent report by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has drawn both praise and criticism from the American trucking community... The report calls for, among other things, the increase of fuel taxes by as much as 40 cents per gallon to pay for infrastructure improvements. The report says that an annual investment of $225 billion is necessary over the next 50 years to update the current system to a state of good repair. Less than 40% of this total is currently being spent, according to the commission... The American Trucking Associations has commended the efforts of the commission "for its hard work and dedication to analyzing the future infrastructure needs of the nation"... The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) however, disagreed with the commission's call to increase fuel taxes, saying instead that there needs to be a restructuring of the way money from the Highway Trust Fund is used... "They need to show us the money," says Todd Spencer, executive vice-president of OOIDA. "Where it's going, how it is being used, what are our true national needs, how the system is going to be cleaned up top to bottom, and then we'll talk about paying more"... "Truckers pay enormous sums into the Highway Trust Fund, contributing as much as 36% of it, and deserve better than just 'a new beginning' – which really just means paying even more money"...

* USA - Commission debated fuel tax increase vs. highway privatization
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -January 14, 2008: -- Trucking officials have a theory about why a federal commission prefers a fuel-tax increase to fund future highway improvements... It’s as simple as knowing who is on the commission, one official says... The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission is scheduled to publish its recommendations on Tuesday, Jan. 15, leading up to committee hearings in the U.S. House and Senate... The 12 commissioners with varying backgrounds debated whether to recommend an increase in fuel taxes – the traditional method of maintaining a highway trust fund – or the Bush Administration’s push to privatize and/or toll more highways...

Labels: fuel taxes

SMOKING BAN COMMENTS * Canada - "Work vehicles to be workplaces"

Reader's Letters -Edmonton,Alberta,Canada -The Edmonton Journal -15 Jan 2008: --

* Shane Morosse, Edmonton: What happened to freedom?
I had just come back from the United States. I drive truck long haul. Much to my surprise, the first thing I read about is the government and law enforcement telling me that I can't smoke in a workplace; that my truck is a workplace... It is my home while I am on the road. No one has the legal right to invade anyone's home, whether it be mobile or fixed, and tell someone how to live their life... What if I have a home based business? Will the government stick their nose in and invade my privacy? Will it bring forth a law which entitles it to invade my home and my place of business? Enter my home and fine me for smoking in my own home? This is without a doubt, a misappropration of authority... I was under the impression that we live in a free country. Free from oppression. Free to protect our homes and rights...

* D.A. Taylor, Edmonton: Seems like a little confusion, Mack.
I understand that truck drivers get to claim food and daily living expenses on their long trips as deductions from their income because they are away from their home and on the job... With the unpopularity of a health and safety regulation of no smoking in the workplace, it seems there is a reverse claim that truck cabs and sleepers are, in fact, not workplaces, but private homes, and no one can say what they do in their own homes...

Labels: smoking ban cabs

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - New Mercedes Actros and Axor - Pictures of the prototypes
Sttugart,Germany -Biglorryblog (UK) -15 Jan 2008: -- The white one is the smaller Axor while the all-black beast in the Actros --although in true prototype testing tradition they're very heavily disguised with extra plastic panels and what looks like bin liners!...

The Germans appear to have made both new cabs more aerodynamic and looking at the side shot of the white Axor it appears that Merc has addressed criticisms aimed at the current range by making the cab deeper which will mean more living room inside the already-popular fleet tractor when it finally arrives...
Meanwhile, the full-width, high-roof Actros prototype has new doors and closer inspection suggests it has a flat dash too. The current Actros MegaSpace already has more than enough room to swing a cat in so the new model should have as much, if not more... And here's an interesting footnote. You might be wondering how young Mr Salter came by such pictures. Considering how truck makers jealously guard their secrets you might think it would be impossible to catch sight of them without some cunning plan? Actually the truth is far more mundane than that... The test track at Merc's massive Worth plant is next to a public footpath which even crosses the test track at some point via a footbridge... so you could hardly miss them... (Pictures of the new prototypes were featured recently in Commercial Motor

* South Africa - Nissan to make more trucks
Johannesburg,SA -Fin24 -Jan 16 2008: -- Commercial vehicles manufacturer Nissan Diesel SA (NDSA) plans to increase its production capacity from 4 500 units to about 9 000 units a year from 2008, the firm says... It recently completed a R10.9m expansion project at its Rosslyn facility in Pretoria...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

15.1.08

* USA - Truck brochures...

They don't sell them like that anymore--unfortunately

London,UK -Biglorryblog comments... -15 Jan 2008: -- One day I'll have him! One day I'll post a blog on a truck that Richard Stanier HASN'T got a brochure for...but until then the Brochure King has a 100% record! After posting the picture of the Dodge 'Bighorn' he's sent me this scan and the following e-mail message: "Hi Brian, great to see Martin's contribution to today's Blog - The Dodge Bighorn. The brochures are a bit of a collector's item too, but I've scanned one for you. I miss the 1970's style of advertising somehow....." Me too RJS, but then I'm an unreconstructed dinosaur....harrrumph! (P.N.We.... too!!! arf... arf...)

Labels: truck brochures

DARK PROGNOSIS * USA - Container cascade will swamp US ports

Plan B port diversification strategies by shippers to the US have enabled the country's bursting ports to avoid the choking peak season congestion that brought trade to a standstill in 2004 ... But for how long?

Denver,CO,USA -CargoNews Asia, by Luka Powanga -15 Jan 2008: -- Last year's peak season passed without any major hiccups in cargo handling, with many shippers using Gulf and East Coast ports as alternative routes... The highway system that accounts for 71 percent of all freight tonnage is severely handicapped. The vehicle miles of travel have grown by 100 percent over the past 20 years and yet the lanes have increased by a meagre four percent, generating an imbalance between traffic volumes and the highway capacity and precipitating congestion and traffic snarls... A report by the Federal High Way Administration noted that bottlenecks accounted for more than 243 million truck hours of delay annually... The extended travel time cost carriers $25 to $200 per hour. Without major investments, 42 percent of the national highway system will be congested during the rush hour and 29 percent during the off-peak hours by 2020. The impact this will have on container trucking will be horrific... A report by the US Department of Transportation to Congress pegged the cost of maintaining the highways at $91 billion a year with the cost escalating to $197.9 billion if improving highways and bridges is considered. Yet, the government has allocated a little over $33 billion, a shortfall of $58 billion on maintenance alone... Doug Sampson, senior vice-president of logistics company Acme Distribution said: "The increase in the capacity of the East Coast ports is only a part of the solution. In addition, we'll need to continue to search for ways of expanding our highway capacities and infrastructure and the government must assist in funding that additional capacity"... Yet no solution is in sight and the situation is expected to deteriorate as US-world trade grows. Imports are expected to surge from the current 18 million to 60 million TEUs by 2024... And the big question being asked in US shipping and intermodal circles is how will this freight be accommodated?

Labels: prognosis

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28.1.08

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

Countdown * UK - For the London Low Emission Zone

STATISTICS * UK - Truck drivers slow to ask for training

Study * Nigeria - Most expensive road transport route for business

"GREEN" NEWS * Canada - CTA enviroTruck revs up in B.C.

What freight recession? * USA - Truck tonnage spikes in December

BCTA * Canada - Defends industry against unbalanced media reports

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

PROTEST * Poland - Truckers stuck in border jams threaten to block Warsaw

26.1.08

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * China - Eases tolls for food trucks

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * UK - Commercial Vehicle production was the best for almost a decade

Hard Times * USA - Truck Drivers Suffering

Giant Truck * Australia - Larger than any seen in Australia - up to 60 metres long

25.1.08

STATISTICS * USA - Trucking Carried More Than 10 Billion Tons of Freight in ’06, ATA Says

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia

TRUCKS' P. ORDERS * COMMENTS - Great Works of Fiction Part 3: Long Lead Times.

Electric Trucks * Uruguay - Deliver Coca-Cola in

TRUCKS' MARKETS * Europe

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

TRUCKS' PURCHASE PROSPECTS * USA - State closer to purchasing Hino trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Solutions * Australia - To slow speeding trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA & Canada

HOS * USA - Get another vote of confidence

"Heavy-Duty Dialogue" * USA - NHTSA addresses stopping distances, stability systems

24.1.08

POLICY * Australia - Diesel tax rebates under attack?

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

PARKING RIG TROUBLES * USA - Trucker ticketed in California while searching for parking spot

Weight Limits * USA - Change, Should Help Some Maine Truckers

DRIVER SHORTAGE * USA - Changing face of trucking industry

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

22.1.08

"GREEN" NEWS * Australia - Brakes put on trucks

RULES * USA - Tandem trucks allowed by NJDOT

Super Trucks * Australia - Put to the test

Toll hike protesters * USA - Feel New Jersey’s jackboot

PROGNOSIS * USA - Road to US recovery likely long

MEXICANS' TRUKS DEBATE * USA - 13 years too late, U.S. opens roads

Hybrid Truck * USA - Corporate Express tests one from Isuzu

OIL NEWS * Worldwide

Traffic Congestion Solutions * Australia - Sought for Melbourne's one

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - The oldest commercial truck driver on the road in California

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

21.1.08

EVENT * USA - The Work Truck Show 2008

PROGNOSIS * USA - RITA releases Transportation Vision for 2030

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * AUSTRALIA

INFRASTRUCTURE * Australia - Bay dredging stupid, says Fox

STRIKES WORLDWIDE

Unsafe trucks * USA - Stream out of L.A.'s ports

TRUCKS' MARKETS * India - Slowdown in truck sales may continue

Snowfall, rains * China - Strand 1,000-plus trucks to Three Gorges Dam area

IN JAIL * Canada - Your rig could be impounded

RULES * USA - State reveals proposed truck regulations for roads

19.1.08

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA - Freightliner Custom Chassis mainstreams CNG alternative-fuel technology for walk-in van

RULES * USA - State reveals proposed truck regulations for roads

CELAN AIR WAIVER * USA - EPA deletes portions of documents turned over in greenhouse gas case

Investigation * USA - Prompts Call For Change In Trucking Industry

FUTURE ? * Australia - Driverless trucks

Clean Truck Program * USA - Port of Long Beach’s opponents say, go beyond clean air into labor organization

MILES per GALLON * Canada - May adopt CAFE standards

HOS DEBATE * USA - Federal commission: Rest breaks need to stop on-duty clock

Fleet execs * USA - Expect fuel to have bigger impact on operations in '08

TRANSPORT INDUSTRY NEWS * WORLDWIDE

18.1.08

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Dominicks' Trucks Go Green

SALES * USA -Bomb-Resistant Trucks

REPORT * USA - Truckers, Farmers Iowa's Most Deadly Jobs in 2007

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - MARKET & PROGNOSIS

Idling Bill * USA - May see support from truckers