trucks world news: February 2008

FUEL COSTS * USA - Nationwide diesel prices hit all-time high

Cost of trucking will pass to consumers

San Luis Obispo,CA,USA -KSBY, by Carina Corral -Feb 28, 2008: -- Nationwide, diesel gas prices hit an all-time high, topping the previous record by nearly 11 cents... According to AAA, in San Luis Obispo County, diesel costs an average of $3.93 a gallon, compared to $3.11 this time last year... In Santa Barbara County, it's a bit cheaper at $3.87 cents a gallon, compared to $3.05 a year ago... As one trucker we talked with puts it, these record prices don't just affect truck drivers, they affect anyone who buys anything... It used to be truck drivers paid the least to fill up their tanks. Nowadays, diesel prices have surged higher than even premium gas...

Labels: fuel costs troubles

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * EUROPE

* Italy - Iveco doubles up for the Commercial Vehicle Show 2008

Italy -Transport News Network -28 Feb 2008: -- Iveco, Europe’s largest full range commercial vehicle manufacturer, will be exhibiting products across two main stands at the CV Show 2008, with a line-up of vehicles ranging from 3.5 to 44 tonnes... This will include Iveco’s largest ever display of heavy trucks at the CV Show, comprising four Stralis’ and one Trakker, supported by a separate light commercial stand featuring three popular Daily models...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

'Black Boxes' * Australia - Trucks could carry they

Heavy trucks could be fitted with electronic "black boxes" in a radical plan to cut the national road toll

Adelaide,South Australia,Australia -The Advertiser Adelaide -February 29, 2008: -- ... Federal and state transport ministers will today debate a plan to fit digital tachographs to heavy road vehicles... The black boxes would monitor speed and other safety issues, but has already raised some concerns about privacy... But transport ministers, are expected to support a trial of the black boxes, alarmed that one in five road deaths involve heavy trucks...

Labels: black recorders

TRUCKING COSTS * Australia - Increased fees will hurt consumers

Canberra,Australia -ABC News -Feb 29, 2008: -- Trucks drivers have urged Australia's transport ministers to rethink proposed increases in registration fees and fuel tax when they meet in Canberra today... The increases have been recommended by the National Transport Commission to make sure the trucking industry pays its share of road maintenance... But chief executive of the Australian Trucking Association, Stuart St Clair, says any increase in costs for the industry would eventually be passed onto consumers through higher prices... He say the ministers should delay putting up the charges as part of efforts to fight inflation...

* Ramsey urges ministers to oppose trucking cost increases
Port Augusta,Australia -ABC North and West -February 28, 2008: -- The federal Member for Grey, which covers 92 per cent of South Australia, has called on national transport ministers to oppose increases to registration costs and fuel taxes for truck drivers... Transport ministers from across the country will meet in Sydney on Friday to discuss a plan to increase the costs... But Rowan Ramsey says people living in remote and rural areas would be hardest hit because nearly everything they buy has to be trucked in... He said, "As rural Australia is one of the biggest users of transport, you can be rest assured that it'll be us that'll be paying the bills and I don't think we need it"... (Video from YouTube, by gm16v149 -November 16, 2007: "Going thru the gears in a CAT V8 powered 80 ton road train" - Only watch this if you like big bore V8s and you've got good speakers with the volume cranked right up! Cab ride on the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia near the roadhouse. If you've ever wondered how long it takes to get up to speed @ 80 tons with 600 HP this will give you some idea. More vids to follow later. Please rate and comment!)

Labels: trucking costs

TAXES * Canada - Not neutral for trucking industry

British Columbia, Canada -The Vancouver Sun, by Paul Landry: president of the B.C. Trucking Association - February 28, 2008: -- The $1.85-billion carbon tax plan may be revenue neutral for British Columbians overall, but one of the net losers will be the trucking industry... Carbon taxes will cost the trucking industry dearly -- about $1,000 per long-haul truck this year, $3,000 in 2009 and $6,000 in 2012... Offsetting income, business and corporate taxes and a PST exemption on aerodynamic add-ons will help, but won't make up the difference for an industry that relies on diesel fuel to provide its service -- and has few "lower-carbon" choices... Alternative transportation may exist for some people, but not for trucking...

* Federal budget offers few direct benefits to the trucking industry
Ottawa,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by Jan Westell -29 Feb 2008: -- The trucking industry is not overjoyed about the recent federal budget announcement, and neither is another related industry... However, there may be some indirect, eventual benefits, such as $10 million for analysis on biofuel emissions. Yet, the B.C. trucking industry is doubtful there will be any immediate benefit in that regard... The federal budget also announced improvements to the tune of $75 million at Canadian border crossings, specifically to "facilitate trade, travel and commerce," according to the federal budget 2008 document, an efficiency plan that gains the approval from the BCTA... (Video from YouTube, by gangesex -February 01, 2008: "Canada Oilpatch Trucking Sinkings, Wrecks and Recoveries". Maybe you'll recognize some of these! Some photos of frac trucks, bed trucks, wireline trucks, cats, excavators, etc etc all with a strange thing in common.....)

Labels: carbon taxes

TRUCKING PRODUCTS / ACCESORIES & SERVICES

* USA - Exousia Announces Significant Increase in Orders from American Cargo

Sugar Land,TX,USA -PRNewswire/FirstCall -Feb. 28, 2008: -- Exousia Advanced Materials, Inc. announces that American Cargo Products (ACP) has placed an order for one hundred and fifty commercial cargo boxes to be constructed using Exousia's RPA based TrussCore Laminated Panels... RPA is a proprietary TPO (thermo-plastic olefin) resin that bonds rubber and plastic to produce a new category of resins with enhanced performance characteristics that include greater resilience, the ability tosustain high impact, and increased longevity... TrussCore is an RPA-based structural core. In the manufacturing process, sheets of RPA are vacuum-pulled into an open honey comb structure. The TrussCore is then laminated with RPA sheets to produce structural panels with substantial strength relative to weight. TrussCore is also UV and moisture-resistant...

* USA - Watsontown Trucking Deploys DriverTech Fleet-Wide

Salt Lake City,UH,USA -Business Wires -February 28, 2008: -- DriverTech, the leading provider of advanced onboard solutions for the transportation industry, announced today that Watsontown Trucking Company has adopted the DriverTech DT4000 TruckPC for fleet-wide rollout... The DriverTech DT4000 TruckPC, running WindowsXP, is designed specifically for in-cab use in the transportation industry... Watsontown Trucking Company has grown to a successful company employing 265 people today. The fleet now totals 215 trucks and 600 trailers headquartered in their newly constructed operations and maintenance center located on 25 acres in Milton, PA...

Labels: trucks' products and accesories

Hours Of Service * WORLDWIDE

* Brazil - Court injunction in, wins truckers a shorter working day

Cuiaba,Mato Grosso,Brazil -International Transport Workers' Federation 27 February 2008: -- A court in Brazil has ruled that companies should limit truckers’ working day to eight hours... The preliminary injunction, which was imposed by prosecutors in Cuiaba in Mato Grasso, applies to transport companies across Brazil. It responds to evidence that trucks are involved in 70 per cent of accidents on Mato Grosso highways; that some 51 per cent of truckers passing through Mato Grosso use or have used drugs to stay awake and that 46 per cent work more than 16 hours a day... The injunction outlines that tachographs, which record distances travelled by trucks and the speeds at which they are travelling, are to be used to monitor how long a driver is working. Where limits are exceeded, fines amounting to US$1000 will be imposed on the company employing the driver. The injunction also applies to owner-drivers...

* USA & Canada - Other Unions - What their doing...
USA -Trucking Boards, by Canadian, Seasoned Veteran -28 Feb 2008: -- A court in Brazil has ruled that companies should limit truckers’ working day to eight hours... ITF-road transport union: International Transport Workers' Federation: News online... Trucks all over the country are set to stop where they are at noon on Wednesday, as their drivers honour dead colleagues and protest substandard highways in Norway: See below: To stop where they are * Norway - truckers protests -

Labels: HOS debate

Sector Glance * USA - LTL Carriers Sink

New York,NY,USA -Forbes/Associated Press -27 Feb 2008: -- Investors steered away from less-than-truckload carriers Wednesday, as the trucking industry's trade association suggested that freight volumes are slowing this month, despite a reported uptick in January... Total goods shipped by truck in the U.S. rose 2.4 percent in January from a year earlier, after increasing 1.5 percent in December, according to the ATA. The tonnage index measures the weight of freight hauled by U.S. truckers based on membership surveys... "I anticipate that truck tonnage will recover before the general economy, but I am withholding judgment on whether truck tonnage is in a recovery mode until I analyze another month or two of data," American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello said... Less-than-truckload, or LTL carriers, usually fill their trucks with freight from a variety of sources and might re-sort and redistribute it at a company terminal along their route...

Labels: LTL

ENGINES MAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Cleaner engines may boost Bayerische
Munich,Germany -The Detroit News (Detroit,Mich,USA) -29 Feb 2008: -- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG , whose 7-Series sedan spews twice as much carbon dioxide as General Motors Corp.'s tiny Corsa, may boost its stock 30 percent with cleaner engines that meet Europe's new carbon-emission rules... The outlays will give the Germans a lead as clean-air laws tighten worldwide, MM Warburg Investment Research analyst Marc-Rene Tonn predicts. "The regulations could easily become an advantage for the premium carmakers as they have always had to stay several steps ahead technologically and now will be forced to be even further ahead," Tonn said.

* USA - Navistar refiles Ford suit over engines
Warrenville,Ill,USA -The Detroit News (Detroit,Mich,USA) -29 Feb 2008: -- Navistar International Corp ., a diesel-engine supplier to Ford Motor Co. for more than 25 years, said it refiled a breach-of-contract suit against the automaker. Navistar says Ford backed out of a pledge to use Navistar engines in Ford pickup trucks. A Navistar lawsuit was dismissed in September in order to allow Navistar to mediate a third-party dispute. That dispute is settled and Navistar is taking the case up again...

Labels: engine makers

Trucking group Warns * USA - soaring diesel costs will be passed on

Oklahoma,OK ,USA -The Journal Recordby Jerry Shottenkirk -February 28, 2008: -- Diesel fuel prices on Wednesday soared to a record high for the second consecutive day, and the trucking industry has no choice but to pass some of the costs, said Dan Case, executive director of the Oklahoma Trucking Association... The national average jumped to $3.61 per gallon, and Oklahoma also reached an all-time state high of $3.44 per gallon... Case said truck transport has not decreased and probably won’t anytime soon... Trucks usually have tanks that hold 300 gallons of fuel... The saver for trucker is a fuel surcharge, which is costly to manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, and that cost likely is handled by the consumer... Truckers get about five miles to the gallon, or about 1,500 miles per tank full... (Photo by Jennifer Pitts - Semitrucks pull into the JRS truck stop on Reno Wednesday)

Labels: fuel costs

Speed Limit * USA - Manitoba government gets approval to hike speed limit to 110 km/h

Winnipeg,MAN,CAN -The Winnipeg Sun -February 27, 2008: -- Manitoba drivers will soon enjoy the same right to drive 110 kilometres per hour as their counterparts in the other Prairie provinces, but not all motorists are happy... The province’s Highway Traffic Board has approved a government plan to raise the limit from the current 100 km/h on certain stretches of road that have wide shoulders, rumble strips and other safety features... The idea has plenty of critics, however. People who attended the traffic board’s public hearings earlier this year said faster cars and trucks will lead to more accidents. The Manitoba Trucking Association is concerned that faster speeds will reduce fuel efficiency and require truckers to spend more on fuel... (Video from YouTube, by echoo2 -May 30, 2007: "TRUCK DRIVE DOWN PORTAGE" - A trip down Portage ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, for people that use to live here and miss the drive, hope you enjoy the ride)

Labels: speed limits

Clean Trucks Program * USA - L.A. approves two-thirds of

A progressive ban on older big rigs entering the Port of Los Angeles and a corresponding cargo fee aimed at generating $1.6 billion to pay for cleaner-burning trucks were approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council

Los Angele3s,CAL,USA -The Daily Breeze, by Art Marroquin -27 Feb 2008: -- ... However, a plan to require drivers to be employees of trucking companies remains in limbo as city and port officials try to wrap up the final and most disputed portion of the Clean Trucks Program... Some 16,800 drayage trucks built before 1989 will be banned from the Port of Los Angeles beginning Oct. 1, under the plan approved by the City Council. From there, trucks operating at the port will face increasingly stricter emissions regulations, with a goal to meet 2007 federal emissions standards by Jan. 1, 2012... Port officials hope the plan will reduce harmful diesel emissions by 80 percent within five years...

Labels: clean trucks

Nitrogen for tires * USA - An inflated idea?

Most everyone knows it's critical to have tires properly inflated to enhance vehicle performance and safety, get longer tire life and increase gas mileage

Houston,TX,USA -The Houston Chronicle/Cars & Trucks, by Tim Spell -February 26, 2008: -- A company, Air Products and Chemicals, claims it can provide a superior alternative to air. Its boast is using nitrogen for tire inflation with its UltraFill High-Purity Nitrogen Tire Inflation System. Available commercially and for individual consumers (I'm awaiting pricing information), the company makes a long list of reasons for the unit's use: ... Filling up with nitrogen can be surprisingly expensive. Prices of $3 to $5 per tire are typical but $10 per tire isn't uncommon. Some gas stations still offer compressed air (which is about 78% nitrogen) free of charge while others charge 25 cents for a minute or so of inflation time...

Labels: tires

Low Emission Zone * UK - London: What it means for Haulage Workers

London,UK -ArticleBiz.com, by Luke Davies -26 Feb 2008: -- The London Low Emission Zone has now officially come into effect. Quite a few readers will doubtless be asking what it is, what it does, and how it will effect haulage companies and owner operators if media reports of the public being unaware of its existence are to be believed... Unsurprisingly, its something our members are beginning to grumble about, and it will only increase as more haulage vehicles are encompassed by the London Low Emissions Zone. For the moment though, it’s best to be aware of the restrictions so you can avoid the heavy fees levied for vehicles in the capital. My (slightly biased) advice to all concerned about the LEZ is to join a freight exchange, and swap loads to either make paying £200 a day worthwhile, or to take on work exclusively away from London to avoid the charges altogether... (VideofromYouTube, by stonedshaun -February 13, 2008: "Low Emission Zone" - Shaun Raymond Palmer expresses his opinions on the London Low Emission Zone)

* New removal vehicles to ease city congestion

London,UK -This is Local London -28 Feb 2008: -- Hi-tech removal vehicles are to be introduced along some of London's busiest roads in the latest move to reduce congestion in the capital... Transport for London's latest scheme will see 21 trucks operate along the city's red route network , which its figures show carry around a third of the capital's traffic... The new trucks are fitted with satellite navigation and automatic number plate recognition software. Parking attendants will be able to call on the trucks to remove vehicles parked illegally or blocking the road... Abandoned vehicles will also be picked up by the trucks and moved to one of nine vehicle pounds situated cross London. The scheme will see 24 hour patrolling and removal of vehicles...

Labels: low emission zone

RECALLS * UK

* Nissan recalls Navara trucks over airbags

London,UK -The Times , by Helen Nugent -February 27, 2008: -- Britain's biggest-selling 4x4 pick-up truck is being recalled so that an airbag problem can be corrected, after the vehicle received an “extremely poor” safety rating... The Nissan Navara received only one star for the protection it offered its occupants in a crash test...

Labels: trucks' recalls

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Volvo: Tests With Tired Drivers Increase Traffic Safety

Stockholm,Sweden -VOLVO PressRelease/Business Wire -28 Feb 2008: -- Today, the Swedish government approved a request for special permission to drive on public roadways with fatigued drivers. This decision means that Volvo Trucks’ work with a safety system that alerts tired drivers can enter the final phase. Fatigue and inattentiveness, as well as alcohol, are the most common causes of traffic accidents... Research shows that driver fatigue is the cause of 20% or more of the accidents that occur in traffic. This fact is a driving force behind Volvo Trucks’ development of new safety functions for trucks... The safety function that Volvo Trucks would now like to test is based on a system that monitors the way in which the driver operates the vehicle. If the driver becomes inattentive, the vehicle’s pattern of movement changes. This is registered by the system and the driver is alerted...

* Volvo Group CEO to Present CO2-Neutral Trucks

Wien,Austria -PR-Inside.com/Pressemitteilung/Business Wire -27 Feb 2008: -- Leif Johansson to Present Seven Heavy-Duty Trucks, Each Powered by a Different Renewable Fuel and Rated as CO2-Neutral; Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) to Host Volvo Fleet Introduction... The unveiling of CO2-neutral renewable fuel trucks - 7 trucks operating on 7 renewable fuels. Special Presentation by Leif Johansson, CEO of the VOLVO Group has already demonstrated its ability to develop vehicles for all of the renewable fuel options discussed here. However, the development of carbon dioxide-neutral transport will not happen on its own - nor can we do it alone...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

New rules * USA - To clean up truck exhausts

New regulations forcing trucks to curb exhaust fumes come into effect on Friday

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald -February 27, 2008: -- ... The federal vehicle standard requires all new heavy vehicles to reduce soot by up to 98 per cent and nitrous oxide emissions by 30 per cent... The Truck Industry Council (TIC) said manufacturers had introduced the necessary technology to meet the regulations... The standard would dramatically reduce harmful gases from trucks without affecting the road transport industry's efficiency or cost-effectiveness...

Labels: clean trucks

Investigation * USA - Speeding Tanker Trucks

Providence,RI,USA -NBC 10 -Feb 27, 2008: -- An NBC 10 investigation looks into speeding tanker trucks on local highways and the risks they pose to drivers... Here are three tips to keep you safe when driving near a tanker truck:

- Be aware of a truck driver's blind spots.
- Don't pass on the right as truckers have trouble seeing cars passing on that side.
- Keep your distance.

Labels: speeder trucks

Dedicated Lanes * USA - Adding those ones for trucks, would be cost prohibitive

Truck lanes might not be worth the cost

TX,USA -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TTC News Archives, by Porkus Maximus Tex/ARIEL HART -February 26, 2008: -- Truck lane projects like those proposed on I-75 in Cobb County and the western wall of I-285 might not reduce traffic congestion enough to be worth building, according to a new study by the state Department of Transportation... A 2005 study led by the State Road and Tollway Authority found that building truck-only lanes might significantly ease congestion on nearby regular lanes, including surface streets, but called its report a "limited" effort and recommended further study...

Labels: trucks lanes

Green Fleet * Canada - UPS Canada Helps Expand Largest Global One

Mississauga,ONT,CAN -Layover -27 Feb 2008: -- UPS Canada today announced it will be rolling out 139 additional cleaner-burning, propane delivery trucks. The majority of these vehicles will be deployed in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta and the rest distributed between British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba... The propane vehicles are joining roughly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada. The addition of these vehicles means more than a third of UPS Canada's 2,000 package delivery vehicles will run on low-carbon fuel... About UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services...

Labels: green trucks

Tired Truckers * USA - An I-Team 8 Investigation

"There ain't no safety, it's all about money," said J.R. Rose, an Alabama truck driver

Indianapolis,IN,USA -WISH/TV -Feb 26, 2008: -- ... I-Team 8 has discovered that many of those truck drivers, under pressure to drive as long as they can, face obstacles compromising the safety of everyone on the road... Hauling freight cross country is a hard way to scrape out a living especially these days because of high fuel prices. We found a lot of truck drivers cutting corners to deliver goods faster. That trucking companies might be looking the other way, and that government regulations might be encouraging a practice putting the safety of all of us at risk... I-Team 8's investigation found truck drivers are being pushed to the limit because most are paid by the mile. It's causing truck drivers who may be too tired to keep driving...

Labels: tired truckers

Truck Thieves * UK - Metals catch the eye of

London,UK -Road Transport -26 February 2008: -- Criminals are increasingly targeting LGVs for high value metal loads, particularly in the West Midlands, according to Truckpol. The national intelligence unit for road-freight crime says LGVs carrying this sort of goods are typically stolen by force or deception... Truckpol suffered from a lack of accurate statistics provided to it by various police forces in 2007 stats hide scale of truck crime), but it claims around 11% of all truck-related crime last year was for metal goods such as copper and aluminium... This compares with 14% for electrical and 18% for household goods. The unit says thefts of this type in the West Midlands often involved hijacking vehicles and was usually linked to organised criminal gangs...

Labels: truck thieves

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Russia - Renault, AvtoVAZ - whither AB Volvo?
Moscow,Russia -The World Trucks Blog (UK) -26 Feb 2008: -- Although Renault SA’s pursuit of AutoVAZ – Russia’s largest carmaker – has been an open secret for some time now, the news that a deal looks set to be signed on Friday of this week gives us cause for thought... Who wields the ‘fluence in the AB Volvo operation? Whilst it is certainly true that AB Volvo acquired the Renault Truck business – at the second attempt – the fact remains that AB Volvo’s biggest single shareholder is Renault SA. Volvo got the trucks, Renault the shares and so the long day wore onwards...

* Australia - Mack Trucks Cavalcade - That's the way to launch trucks says Biglorryblog!

Mittagong,NSW,Australia -Power Torque by Chris Mullet/Biglorryblog (London,UK) -25 Feb 2008: -- Mack Trucks Australia have recently ran a nationwide cavalcade touring all the major cities and landmarks including, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Albury and Townsville. Why the roadtrip? To show off their new trucks of course... "The launch of the latest Mack Super Liner, Titan, Trident and Granite models in Oz brought out this splendid customising commissioned by Mack Trucks Australia. The new Fusion cab is a major improvement over the previous Vision cab with lower NVH, higher comfort levels and improved specs. Could see the way for Mack to gain ground!"...

* Czech Republic - Skoda and Tedom Trucks

Jablonec,Nisou,Czech Republic -Biglorryblog, by Richard Stanier -26 Feb 2008: -- ... "The Xena design is back in production by Tedom Truck at Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. The G -19 model (pictured here) is powered by the Tedom TG 210 Euro 4 engine and is available in 4x2 and 4x4 configuration. It appears that the new range is aimed at municipal and utility operators, and although a tall three step cab is not something that immediately seems ideal for this kind of work, I would like to see the venture become a great success"...

* Sweden - Scania OnBoard gets a facelift

Stockholm,Sweden -Road Transport (UK) -26 February 2008: -- Scania has relaunched its fleet management software. Scania OnBoard has been refocused to deliver operators' needs rather than an information overload that is a "geek's paradise", according to marketing manager Darrell Taylor. "The message we received from the field time and time again was 'keep it simple'...

* China - Beiqi Foton Motor Co plans to set up JV in Russia

Beijing,China -Chinatruck.org -26 Feb 2008: -- Chinese truck maker Beiqi Foton Motor Co plans to set up a joint venture in Russia, as the first step in its global expansion... Automaker spokesman Zhao Jingguang said the venture will be formed this year, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 trucks...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

EPA papers * USA - Boss had dilemma

Internal documents show some in the agency thought denying a Calif. gas emission waiver a threat to his career

Washington,DC,USA -Associated Press/The Detroit News (Detroit,Mich), by Erica Werner -February 27, 2008: -- Some high-ranking career staffers concerned about the reputation of the Environmental Protection Agency believed that Administrator Stephen Johnson would have to consider resigning if he turned down California's request to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, new documents show... Johnson denied the waiver request in December, blocking California and at least 16 other states from implementing the reductions... The internal discussions were a part of transcripts released Tuesday by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is investigating that decision... William K. Reilly, who served as EPA administrator under President George H.W. Bush spoke to Johnson, but it wasn't clear if he delivered those exact talking points. Reilly co-chairs a bipartisan group called the National Commission on Energy Policy... It's not clear from the document who would have asked Johnson to deny the waiver, which was also opposed by the auto industry, which favors a national approach. Johnson has said repeatedly that he alone made the decision. Boxer, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, questioned that...

Labels: clean air

PROJECT * USA - Railroad laments stalled San Pedro port yard

A $300 million "green" railroad line serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach might finally be considered by summer

Torrance,CA,USA -The Daily Breeze, by Art Marroquin -25 Feb 2008 : -- ... about three years after the massive project was first suggested, officials said Monday... The Southern California International Gateway rail yard designed by Burlington Northern Santa Fe boasts elements to reduce air, lighting and noise pollution by using cleaner-burning cranes, locomotives and trucks, while also removing about 1million trucks annually from the Long Beach (710) Freeway... If approved by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, the proposed rail yard would be built in the east end of Wilmington's industrial area - about four miles from the twin port complex - to transfer cargo containers via rail through the Alameda Corridor... But before the SCIG project can move forward, the Port of Los Angeles must first wrap up loose ends associated with the proposed expansion of the TraPac terminal, which was approved by the harbor commission in December. The project is pending final approval from the Los Angeles City Council... (Map: Los Angeles Times)

Labels: infrastructures

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Truck tonnage reports second consecutive gain

Arlington,VA,USA -Truck News (Canada), by James Menzies -26 Feb 2008: -- In stark defiance of the popular opinion that the US is on the brink of a recession, truck tonnage in the US made a modest increase for the second straight month in January... The American Trucking Associations announced today that truck tonnage increased 2.4% in January, following an amended 1.5% increase in December. The ATA originally reported a 4.1% gain for December, but that has since been adjusted...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA -

* USA - Jim Owens on Navistar: “A potentially nice fit”

USA -The World Trucks Blog (UK) -26 Feb 2008: -- According to this from Reuters, Jim Owens, CEO and Chairman of Caterpillar says that the company has no plans to exit the On Highway truck engine business. Speaking of the potential tie-up with Navistar, he said: “Obviously I can’t comment. If we had something to announce, we’d announce it”... That’ll be at Conexpo then. But the nature of the announcement – who knows... And the niceness of the fit, we'd opine, is much like beauty. Vested somewhat in the eye of the beholder...

* USA - Area plant to lay off about 90 employees - Navistar represents more than 90 percent of Q3's sales
Urbana,Ill,USA -The Dayton Daily News, by Thomas Gnau -February 26, 2008: -- Q3 Stamped Metal Inc. has notified the state that it will lay off about 90 employees at its Miami Street plant... W. Vernon Bell, Q3's chief financial officer, wrote that the company was offering less than 60 days' notice of the layoffs because "International Truck and Engine Corp. (Navistar) recently advised the company that it will not be purchasing any further materials from the company after March 31, 2008"... Q3 was a supplier to a new line of Navistar International mine-resistant trucks and other Navistar products...

* International celebrates medium-duty success at Work Truck Show

Atlanta,GA,USA -Truck News (CAN), by James Menzies -26 Feb 2008: -- As the first OEM to announce it will meet EPA2010 emissions standards on its medium-duty engines without selective catalytic reduction (SCR), International officials say they're poised to continue their leadership in the Class 6 and 7 segments... International claims it can meet EPA2010 emissions standards on its medium-duty MaxxForce engines by tinkering the fuel system, air management, combustion processes and controls... (Photo: The DuraStar, equipped with the MaxxForce engine, has delivered double-digit fuel economy improvements, the company says)

* Dodge Continues Commercial Vehicle Market Offensive with Strategic Upgrades, Enhancements

Atlanta,GA,USA -Chrysler LLC, PressRelease/Earth Times -26 Feb 2008: -- 2008 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs' fuel economy 23 percent better than Chevy Kodiak and GMC Topkick; 14 percent better than Ford F-550 Chassis Cab -- 2008 Dodge Sprinter offers 25 percent better fuel economy than Ford E-series vans -- 2008 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs certified for up to 1,172 lbs. payload advantage over Ford F-450 and F-550 chassis cabs -- 2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab standard Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) increased to class-leading 24,000 lbs. -- Power Take-Off (PTO) pump ratings for all Ram chassis cabs increases 55 percent -- PTO prep package now available with Laramie trim-level trucks -- All-new ambulance prep package introduced for 2009 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs -- Upgraded brake system for 2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab extends service intervals and delivers maximum stopping power -- New 5.7-liter HEMI(R) V-8 with Variable Valve Timing delivers increased horsepower and torque ratings with improved fuel economy -- Cummins 6.7-liter diesel engine available with Remote Start (automatic only) -- Leading Chevrolet since April, Ford since July, Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab continues sales dominance in Class 3 segment -- With 33,500 commercial vehicles sold in 2007 (285 percent increase since 2003), Dodge is now sixth-largest commercial manufacturer...

* Freightliner debuts first hybrid beverage truck

Atlanta,GA,USA -Truck News (CAN), by James Menzies -26 Feb 2008: -- Freightliner unveiled its first non-utility medium-duty hybrid truck today – a Business Class M2e drop-frame beverage truck... The Class 6 truck is built upon Eaton's hybrid-electric system, which is expected to deliver fuel savings of 30-50% in beverage delivery applications, according to Melissa Kellogg, director of product marketing for Freightliner... (Photo: This Business Class M2e hybrid beverage truck was unveiled at the Work Truck Show)

* Sterling offering Cummins ISL on vocational trucks

Atlanta,GA,USA -Truck News (CAN), by James Menzies -26 Feb 2008: -- Sterling has announced it is now offering the Cummins ISL 8.9-litre engine on its Set-Forward L-Line 111-inch BBC model as well as the Set-Back L-Line 113-inch BBC model... Sterling officials made the announcement today at the National Truck Equipment Association's Work Truck Show. The ISL is ideal for dump, mixer, LTL and government applications, the company announced. Officials claim the new engine offers improved fuel economy and longer maintenance intervals...

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

PROGNOSIS * USA - Many issues cloud economic forecast for SoCal ports

A variety of issues will reshape the destinies of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through 2008-09

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Logistics Management, by Patrick Burnson -25 Feb 2008: -- While there may be “a modest uptick” of 2.8 percent in cargo throughput at the nation’s two largest seaports, all indications suggest growth will be flat for the near term, said analysts for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. ... In its “Industry Outlook” released late last week, analysts said that a variety of issues will reshape the destinies of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through 2008-09... Factors include port container fees soon to be implemented at both gateways levied to help pay for new trucks and infrastructure projects. As reported in LM, a whole host of related legal challenges may also be in the offing... The report noted that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s coast-wide contract expires in June, giving some shippers reason to explore other sourcing options... The report had on other cautionary note: "Environmental problems will continue to bedevil the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and they are a growing concern at Oakland and San Diego"...

Labels: markets prognosis

To stop where they are * Norway - Truck drivers plan protest

Trucks all over the country are set to stop where they are at noon on Wednesday, as their drivers honour dead colleagues and protest substandard highways in Norway

Oslo,Norway -Aftenposten -26 Feb 2008: -- ... Two more truck drivers lost their lives last week in a head-on collision on State Highway 3 at Alvdal in Hedmark Country... Their colleagues want to honor their memory by ceasing all activity for two minutes at midday in the middle of the week... The truckers also are frustrated by a lack of state funds allotted for highway maintenance in Norway. The two-minute work stoppage, expected to leave trucks standing still, is also meant to signal their frustration to state officials... The work stoppage was initiated by the drivers and is being supported by several labour organizations representing professional drivers... (Photo: MMS - This truck skidded off a road last week)

Labels: truckers protests

Red-tape parade * USA - Oakland port to eye emissions plan

Oakland,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -February 25, 2008: -- Highly restrictive truck regulations advertised as environmentally friendly are spreading up the West Coast like wildfire – and appear to be growing more aggressive at each stop... The Port of Long Beach in California adopted a port concessionaire plan on Tuesday, Feb. 19, requiring trucks to be port-approved, have authority, pay hundreds of dollars to be a concessionaire, and tag each truck with radio frequency identification... The Port of Oakland is developing two truck-related emission reduction regulations, which it plans to consider this spring...

Labels: clean air plans

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Governors join coalition to seek funding

A group of governors has thrown support behind a new coalition pushing to increase federal funding for highways, bridges and other infrastructure

USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -February 25, 2008: -- ... Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City formed Building America’s Future in January to call attention to budget shortfalls and the need to fix and build infrastructure... Coalition members held a press conference Sunday, Feb. 24, to receive support from 13 other governors including Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Charlie Crist of Florida, and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts... Ideas for increased revenue include fuel tax increases, toll roads, congestion pricing, public-private partnerships, vehicle-miles taxes, freight fees, transit ticket taxes and other forms of tax increases... Highway user groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association would like to see a priority on responsible spending of current tax revenue before endorsing increased taxes or tolls around the country...

Labels: infrastructures

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - FBI executes search warrants at Memphis trucking company

Memphis,TEN,USA -WMC-TV, by Kontji Anthony -Feb 25, 2008: -- FBI agents executed search warrants Monday at the office of Swift Transportation in Memphis and Swift's training grounds near Millington Regional Jetport, officials said... A statement from the Tennessee Department of Safety said warrants were part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the FBI... The issuance of commercial driver licenses at Swift's Memphis and Millington locations was suspended, and would remain that way through the course of the investigation, the statement said...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * EUROPE

* UK - CEVA wins contract with MAN

London,UK -Eye for Transport -26 Feb 2008: -- CEVA Logistics has been awarded a new five-year contract to manage the Swindon European Logistics Centre (ELC) on behalf of the MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group... CEVA is also responsible for daily deliveries of parts stock orders and urgent ‘vehicle off road’ parts to MAN dealerships, and is introducing night-time deliveries to further improve parts availability and enable dealerships to reduce their own stock holdings...

* UK - Culina Logistics provides storage and distribution service for Delamere Dairy

Cheshire,UK -Eye for Transport -26 Feb 2008: -- Delamere Dairy has appointed Culina Logistics to provide a shared-user storage and distribution service for its ambient milk products... Culina Logistics is the new name for the merged businesses of Baylis Logistics (ambient logistics provider) and Culina Logistics (chilled supply chain specialist). The new company operates from a nationwide network of eight distribution centres...

* The Netherlands - Lamnalco Group offers $300m for Smit’s Terminals division

The Netherlands -Reuters/Eye for Transport (London,UK) -26 Feb 2008: -- Smit Internationale has received a formal expression of interest from Lamnalco Group to acquire its global oil and gas terminals services division... Lamnalco is a joint venture between Dutch dredging group Royal Boskalis Westminster and Saudi-based Rezayat Group... Boskalis said its US$300 million bid corresponds to more than twenty times the profit of Smit Terminals and around ten times its EBITDA...

Labels: trucking industry news Europe

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Canada

* Indian truckers in Canada form association
Toronto,ONT,CAN -The Toronto News.Net -26 February, 2008: -- Indo-Canadians, who control more than 60 percent of the trucking business here, have come together to form the Indian Trucking Association (ITA)... This is the first such body of Indian-origin truckers in North America... He said the truckers have decided to come under the umbrella of the ITA to take up their long-pending grievances with the government...

* Canada - Dickson Transport joins Meyers Transportation family

Belleville,ONT,CAN -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -21 Feb 2008: -- Meyers Transportation Services has announced that Mortrans, its truckload division, has reached an agreement to purchase Dickson Transport in Napanee, Ont... Like Meyers, Dickson Transport has an 80-year history of providing transportation services to customers in the Napanee, Belleville and Kingston areas. From their hub in Napanee, they offer Truckload service between Ontario, Quebec and the US...

Labels: trucking industry Canada

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA - GM introduces new player to the Class 4 market

Atlanta,GA,USA -Truck News (Canada), by James Menzies -25 Feb 2008: -- General Motors' Fleet and Commercial Operations today introduced its new Express and Savana 4500 cutaway vans designed to offer best-in-class payload and horsepower in their market segment... "And we are the only OEM to offer an emissions-compliant V8 diesel in this GVW category"... The 4500 features a 14,200-lb GVW rating, allowing for payloads of 9,100 lbs. It can be spec'd with a gas V8 or GM's 6.6-litre Duramax diesel V8. The Express and Savana 4500s offer a 20,000-lb GCWR for improved towing capabilities, the company said... (The new GM 4500)

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

Inquiry * Australia - In Queensland’s heavy vehicle fatalities not guaranteed

Queensland,Australia -Australasian Transport News -26 February 2008: -- An inquiry into heavy vehicle fatalities in Queensland will hinge on whether State Coroner Michael Barnes, along with a number of groups, can identify a trend in the cause of accidents... In a letter to the Queensland Trucking Association (QTA), Barnes wrote he will be working with the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland, the State Traffic Support Branch as well as Queensland Police in examining the causes of the fatalities, with the results guiding his decision on whether to launch a coronial inquiry... With the death toll at 21, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Branch Secretary High Williams says "urgent action is needed" to halt the rise in fatalities... "At this rate we will succeed last year’s horrific 65 deaths," Williams says...

Labels: inquiries

Report * Australia - Identifies 'barriers' to innovation in freight sector

New South Wales,Australia -Australasian Transport News -25 February 2008: -- ... Daryl Hull, the Chair of the Council’s Innovation Implementation working group, says the report highlights the need to view freight logistics in NSW in a wider context of planning, economic activity, business transactions and community impact... The Government's Statement on Innovation identifies logistics and its associated transaction services as a primary sector for investigation and focus for innovation... The report identifies barriers to innovation and efficiency and highlights actions that could be taken by Government to stimulate innovation both in the short and long term... The Council plans to actively liaise with industry during 2008 through workshops and consultation in order to assist with the removal of identified barriers...

Labels: freight reports

Drivers' Shortage * Australia - SA Government looks to the industry to solve

Sydney,Australia -">Supply Chain Review -February 25, 2008: -- The South Australian Government will form a taskforce involving the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) to address driver shortages currently affecting the trucking industry... Minister for Transport Patrick Conlon says the growing demand for drivers to meet the "largest mining boom in the State’s history" means the Government must take a pro-active approach to ensuring all is done to attract as well as retain quality drivers... Along with SARTA, the taskforce will involve the SA Freight Council, the Transport Workers Union, SA Police, Safework SA and other government and industry groups... The taskforce will look at ways of ensuring sustainable future supplies of truck drivers...

Labels: drivers shortage

Blitz * Australia - Will target drug use

Bendigo,Victoria,Australia -The Bendigo Advertiser - 26 February 2008: -- Bendigo police will increase operations on a number of local highways in a bid to alleviate truck drivers using drugs... Victoria Police statistics show 144 out of the 4123 truck drivers screened for drugs last year tested positive - that’s one in every 29... The truck drivers had taken methamphetamines (such as speed and ice), ecstasy or marijuana, or a combination of the drugs... Senior Sergeant Ryan Irwin, of the Bendigo Traffic Management Unit, said the figure increase was a result of police tackling the issue more seriously... (Photo - CRACKDOWN: Police will increase drug testing of truck drivers on highways in the region)

Labels: drugs and truckers

Survey * USA - Fleets to open up pocket books later in

A recent survey of American for-hire fleets shows that a majority plan to buy power equipment this year, but it will be later in the year and in many cases will be less than usual

Columbus,OH,USA -Today's Trucking -25 Feb 2008: -- As part of its Q4 2007 Fleet Sentiment inquiry, CK Commercial Vehicle Research received responses from 59 for-hire, private and government fleet managers. While the majority surveyed (78 percent) indicated they planned to buy power equipment in 2008, many will be waiting until the second quarter or later... For 32 percent of them, the number of power units to be purchased will be "less than a typical buy."... In addition, 64 percent said they planned to buy trailers in 2008; of those, 68 percent indicated their purchases would represent a "typical" number of units for their fleet... A small percentage of those fleets surveyed did indicate their equipment purchases in 2008 could be "more than a typical" number: 14 percent for power units and 11 percent for trailers...

Labels: survey

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* USA - CAT to Buy Navistar?

USA - The World Trucks Blog, by Oliver Dixon -February 25, 2008: -- What we know is this. Caterpillar is in the cart as far as On-Highway business goes, and needs to do something. The status quo is not an option here. It can either commit to OH business, or it can exit. 2010 represents a moment of truth for the entire North American truck business, but for Caterpillar, it represents a stark decision. It can stay or it can go. ACERT has bombed, and Caterpillar now runs a very poor second in the US proprietary engine market. It tried to develop a JV with PACCAR; it didn't happen. There have been rumours of an approach to DTNA and an attempt to buy Western Star. No obvious movement on this one either. But, however you cut it, CAT has to carry on trying, or check out of the business... To our minds, there is too much going on here – gag orders, odd launches and the like - to suggest that this is all mere rumour. Something is going on, but any of the three rumours currently doing the rounds would seem to make no sense at all. Navistar may be CAT’s last shot at staying in the game: PACCAR JVs have come to nothing, and Cummins would seem to be opening up the gap between the two proprietary suppliers...

* USA - Judge rules against Freightliner appeal
Portland,OR,USA -The Portland Business Journal -February 21, 2008: -- The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled in favor of Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers in his effort to collect $210 million from Daimler Trucks North America, formerly known as Freightliner LLC.... The case could move to the state's Supreme Court...

* India - Scania to go it alone as L&T backs out - Tie-up was to market Swedish firm's tipper range
Mumbai,India -The Business Standard, by Swaraj Baggonkar -February 26, 2008: -- Swedish truck and bus maker Scania has firmed up plans to manufacture trucks in India. This follows the decision of the company’s current distribution partner, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), of not venturing into auto manufacturing... A manufacturing presence in India will enable Scania to market its products at competitive rates... At present, the company imports its trucks into India from Sweden as fully-built units attracting huge import duties...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

* Scrap Plan For Fuel Duty Rise - FTA Budget Submission

London,UK -TNN -25 Feb 2008: -- The Freight Transport Association has told the Chancellor of the Exchequer that his Budget must abandon plans for a 2p per litre increase in fuel duty from 1 April... FTA says that with the world price of oil now exceeding $100 per barrel, and forecast to rise further throughout the spring and summer, the imposition of a further cost increase will result in severe problems for both the UK transport industry and for all industrial users of transport, together with price rises for consumers...

* Minimum 10% Fuel Savings from University Based Company

London,UK -Transport News Network -25 Feb 2008: -- Over the last 12 months Oil Drum Limited, a renewable energy company, have been working closely with the University of Kent in the development of a fuel saving device for medium/large sized commercial vehicles... Unlike other alternative fuel based technologies, Oil Drum's hydrogen technology works in conjunction with the vehicles existing engine and fuel... No engine modifications or external power sources are required, and the unit can be retro fitted to any vehicle, so the customer can continue to use their exisitng engine and fuel...

Labels: trucking industry news UK

INFRASTRUCTURE * Canada - Mayor says he'll fight for GreenLink truck route 'till the end

Windsor,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -25 Feb 2008: -- The Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study -- a team of Canadian and American bureaucrats overseeing the new crossing and its supporting infrastructure -- has until next month to approve that "parkway" plan or go ahead and endorse GreenLink, which tunnels 65 percent of the Huron Church Road-Talbot Road corridor below grade and insulates the route with greenery and parkland... In a recent interview, Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis says residents and businesses overwhelmingly support the city's idea over the province's favored design, which only offers 25 percent tunneling and less parkland than the $1.6-billion GreenLink plan...

Labels: infrastructures

Over Height Trucks * Canada - Alberta installs warning systems for truckers

Edmonton,Alberta,Canada -Today's Trucking -25 Feb 2008: -- In an effort to reduce the number and severity of over height collisions of trucks with highway overpasses, Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation has installed advance clearance warning signs and high load warning systems at a number of locations across the province... The warning signs and systems are designed to provide truckers with advance warning that their load is too high to pass under the overpass. Over height loads are directed to use alternate routes such as the exit ramps to avoid the structures...

Labels: over height

Keep trucks rolling * USA - Lower weight limit wouldn't help much

Detroit,MICH,USA -The Detroit Free Press -23 Feb 2008: -- Michigan allows the heaviest trucks in the nation on its roads, up to 164,000 pounds compared to the national average allowance of 80,000 pounds. The Legislature could lower the weight limits. However, the state Department of Transportation says only 600-900 of the 130,000 trucks registered to operate in Michigan are licensed to carry the maximum loads, and MDOT experts don't think they're a problem because the state also requires the loads to be spread over more axles than other states... Other factors to consider: The heaviest rigs travel mainly on the heavy-duty highways, not the surface streets and local roads that have the worst pothole problems this year. Changing limits on truck weights could discourage some commerce in Michigan at a time when the state really needs business activity. One logical result of requiring trucks to carry smaller loads would be more trucks on the road...

Labels: weight allowances

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Kenan Advantage Group to buy Transport Service

USA -eTrucker -25 Feb 2008: -- Kenan Advantage Group, the nation's largest bulk transportation and logistics provider to the petroleum and niche chemical industries, announced an agreement to buy Transport Service Co... TSC, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., supplies bulk distribution to the chemical and food products industries. The company has 18 terminals and about 750 employees, including 525 company drivers. The TSC fleet includes 550 company-owned tractors, 90 owner-operated tractors and 1,300 specialized stainless-steel trailers. Company revenue in 2007 was about $130 million...

* Knight Transportation Acquires its 1,000th EPA-compliant Engine

USA -TruckingInfo -25 Feb 2008: -- Some fleets may have been hesitant to jump into the new EPA-2007 engines, but not Knight Transportation... The company last week took receipt of its 1,000th tractor equipped with an engine certified to meet the 2007 EPA emission standards...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

Clean Air * USA - Ports clean-up plan threatened

A labor-environmental alliance threatens to sink efforts to decrease pollution at the L.A. and Long Beach facilities

Los Angeles,CA,USA -The Los Angeles Times -February 24, 2008: -- Pollution, death and economic stagnation. These catastrophes are being brought to you by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters... Here's how all this is likely to shake out: The NRDC will sue the Port of Long Beach, delaying the clean air program, and any expansion projects, indefinitely. Meanwhile, if the Port of Los Angeles passes a plan that calls for employee truckers, it will be sued by the American Trucking Assn., which will have a very strong case. Federal law prohibits states or agencies from passing laws that affect the prices, routes or services of truckers. The end result is that both plans could be stuck in court for years. Everyone in Southern California will pay the price as expansion stalls and pollution worsens... (Video from YouTube, by hotboy66671 -April 01, 2006: "Helicopter into Port of Los Angeles" Heli landing in port L.A. from C. Island)

Labels: clean air plans

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Scientists Would Turn Greenhouse Gas Into Gasoline

New York,NY,USA -The NY Times, by KENNETH CHANG /Free Republic -February 23, 2008: -- If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline-powered cars 50 years from now, churning out heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming... The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have patriotically named Green Freedom, for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline... The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution of potassium carbonate, which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be extracted and subjected to chemical reactions that would turn it into fuel: methanol, gasoline or jet fuel... This process could transform carbon dioxide from an unwanted, climate-changing pollutant into a vast resource for renewable fuels. The closed cycle — equal amounts of carbon dioxide emitted and removed — would mean that cars, trucks and airplanes using the synthetic fuels would no longer be contributing to global warming...

Labels: green news

TECHNONEWS * Czech Republic - Newly Invented Self Inflating Tire

SIT is an integral tire feature that uses atmospheric air to inflate the tire automatically when a vehicle is put in motion, compensating for natural loss of pressure and ensuring maintenance-free, constant tire pressure over the lifetime of the tire

Prague, Czech Republic -PRWEB -February 24, 2008: -- SIT - the Self Inflating Tire system is a new invention of CODA DEVELOPMENT s.r.o., a company based in Prague, Czech Republic. The patented SIT solution offers a major advance in solving tire pressure concerns... The SIT System is based on proven, highly reliable peristaltic pump principles. It integrates a tube chamber into the tire wall. As the tire turns against the road this chamber acts as a peristaltic pump, forcing more air into the tire until it reaches its desired pressure. Then a managing valve automatically stops further inflation. This simple solution ensures that all tires operate at optimal pressure at all times. Driving less than 1 mile compensates for typical leakage of 1 to 3% per month...

Labels: technonews

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA & Canada

* Driver Recalls Harrowing Hour Pinned in Truck - A 49-ton garbage truck tipped over onto Polk man's vehicle

Lakeland,FL,USA -The Ledger, by Rick Rousos -February 23, 2008: -- Jody Franks spent that hour on Feb. 11 in his crushed and sporadically burning pickup. In extreme jeopardy - badly injured, trapped and scared - what stood between Franks and freedom was the weight of a fully-loaded 49-ton garbage truck that had tipped over and landed on his trusty pickup... A Florida Refuse garbage truck, driven by 41-year-old Mike Crittenden, was heading west on SR 540 and turned right onto DeCastro. The truck was apparently going too fast for the turn, and Crittenden was cited for careless driving... "I was right behind the Florida Refuse guy," said Frank Kersey, a driver for Trash Taxi. "When he took that turn, he never hit his brakes"... Kersey, the Trash Taxi hauler who had a great view of the wreck from immediately behind it, said it's been a few weeks, but he still can't believe that Franks lived to talk about the accident... (Photo by ERNST PETERS THE LEDGER: JODY FRANKS sits with his family in their Babson Park home. They are, from left, son Cory, daughter Samantha, wife, Susan, and son Carter)

* Canada - Trucker set free pending trial

Calgary,Alberta,Canada -The Edmonton Sun, by KEVIN MARTIN -23 Feb 2008: -- Cochrane trucker Daniel Tschetter can go home pending trial in the traffic-related deaths of five people, a judge ruled yesterday... Provincial court Judge Sandra Hamilton denied a Crown application to keep Tschetter behind bars, effectively overturning two earlier rulings... Tschetter, 50, was initially denied bail by a justice of the peace on Dec. 8, just hours after he allegedly plowed his cement truck into a car stopped at a red light... Tschetter was arrested at the scene of the Dec. 7 crash in the city's southeast after a northbound car stopped at a red light was crushed and dragged hundreds of metres... (Video fromYouTube, by cdn6uldv8 -March 14, 2007: "dangerous truck driver" reckless semi driver forces oncoming pickup onto shoulder while passing another transport in a no passing area)

Labels: dangerous drivers

Reckless Truck Drivers * USA - Something has to be done about

Fayetteville,GA,USA -The Fayette Daily News, by Tom Kerlin -22 Feb 2008: -- I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are truck drivers, both over-the-road, long haulers and local drivers who are home each and every night... For the most part all of them are honest, hard working and do their very best to earn a living for their families by hauling any number of things from one point to the other... One of my very best friends often spends six days on the road driving from state-to-state and, as far as I know, he has never had a ticket, much less an accident... That said, however, I'm tired of being intimidated by truckers on our roads and highways... I am seeing more and more truck drivers who speed, disobey traffic laws and drive their big rigs in a manner designed to intimidate those of us who happen to be driving something smaller than an 18-wheeler... (Video from YouTube.com, by kd5yov -May 26, 2007: "DRUNK TRUCK DRIVER": THIS DRIVER IS VERY DRUNK OR VERY SLEEPY!!US DOT: 1593321COMPANY: BEAVER TRANSPORT LLC.ADDRESS: 13536 SE TROPICANA CT PORTLAND, OR 97236 PHONE #: (503)772-0553)

Labels: dangerous drivers

* USA - On the Road Again

VDOT takes each winter storm with an enormous grain of salt, a side of gravel and washes it down with brine

Roanoke,VA,USA -WSLS10, by Angela Hatcher -February 21, 2008: -- ... The big brine truck is heading in for the night. It’s worked all day long, spraying our roads, leaving salty streaks so the snow can’t stick... At 7 p.m., it’s time for round two. They load the trucks with the gritty, ice melting mixture they hope will thaw our roads and melt even the coldest of hearts... They have to be out here, loaded down for the longest haul, until the bad weather stops and every road is an open one...

Labels: salt trucks

A giant cool box * UK - Makes a heavy haulage journey in Africa

...of 2,400km and two Titans

London,UK -Biglorryblog -22 Feb 2008: -- Now you all know that Biglorryblog is a fan of the movement of awkward loads and they don't come more awkward than a 50m cold box weighing over 140-tonnes that recently had to be moved from England to Zambia... And it took a 10-axle Goldhofer heavy-duty combination to do it too... Having travelled by container ship to the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia, the cold box was unloaded onto the low loader ready for the 2,400 km journey to Chingola in Zambia...

Labels: giant trucks

Trucking Industry Organisations * UK - Agree to co-operate

London,UK -Automotive World -22 February 2008: -- The trade associations and VOSA have signed a document that promises closer working relationships to raise standards in the industry... The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by VOSA, along with the Road Haulage Association, Freight Transport Association (FTA), the Retail Motor Industry Federation, British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association and the Confederation of Passenger Transport... The document recognises the need for "clear two way communication, mutual respect and cooperation".

Labels: trucking organisations

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* France - Record global sales for Volvo AB's Renault Trucks division

London,UK -Automotive World (subscription), by Glenn Brooks -22 February, 2008: -- With 79,857 vehicles invoiced in CY2007, Renault Trucks has reported a record sales year... Whilst the European 6 tons market segment rose 7% last year to 422,000 trucks, the French brand enjoyed a 45% rise, thanks mostly to unprecedented demand in markets in the east of the continent... Renault's overall global sales of just under 80,000 vehicles, represented a rise of 1.59% compared to 2006...

* UK - New LDV Maxus variants and concepts to debut at CV show

London,UK -Automotive World, by Glenn Brooks -22 February, 2008: -- LDV has issued more details of the new Maxus model variants that will be unveiled at the UK's Commercial Vehicle Show in mid-April... Two concept vehicles will also make their debuts - the 7.5 tonne Maxus MX100 and the Maxus Luxury Minibus. The OEM is yet to release images or specifications of any of these...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

NEIGHBORING COMPLAINS * Australia - Why don't trucks use the freeways?

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -The Age, by Emma Walker -February 23, 2008: -- Just under a year ago, I bought a house in Yarraville. It's on Francis Street, the one with all the trucks. Yes, I knew what I was buying into... I fell in love with the "village-like atmosphere" spruiked by every local real estate agent...I soon discovered that every day 20,000 trucks pass through my area, 8000 of them up and down my street alone. They're on a cheaper (no tolls) route to the busiest port in Australia... Even post-curfew, residents on Francis Street experience traffic noise that exceeds Australian standards... But it isn't just the noise that bothers me... No, what really bothers me is the health implications... Links between diesel fumes and cancer, most typically lung cancer, are now established. Virtually every one of those 8000 trucks a day is releasing carcinogenic particles into the air... (Video from YouTube, by DingosGotMyBaby -January 24, 2007: "Aussie Trucks " Australian Truck Photos)

Labels: neighboring complains

Truckers Hauling Produce * USA - Deal with job related stresses

Barstow,CA,USA -The Desert Dispatch, by Aaron Aupperlee -February 21, 2008: -- A week ago, oranges were scattered across Interstate 40. A month ago, it was eggs and mushrooms on Interstate 15. The roadways and interstates criss-crossing Barstow have been covered in many different types of produce and other food items. Last year, a banana truck flipped over on Barstow Road, and a truck hauling tomatoes caught fire outside of Hinkley. While some in the business of shipping fruits and vegetables across the country say drivers are not under extra stress to deliver their loads on time, others disagree. Don Dunkel has been driving trucks since 1998 and said the years he spent hauling onions and potatoes out of California kept him on edge. Outside near truck stops in Lenwood, he admitted to driving six to seven miles over the speed limit just to get loads to their destinations on time. On top of that, Dunkel said he constantly worried about damage to the tomatoes or other fruits he carried. Any bruises cost Dunkel his own money. Once, he lost a load on the road. It cost him $2,000, he said. Dunkel’s pedal-to-the-floor solution is not shared by other drivers... Bill Madewell, who sat at the same stops in Lenwood on Thursday, drives perishable goods and said he would much rather drive produce over other loads. He drives for a large trucking company and drives on a team, two drivers to one truck. And even though he knows his loads are time-sensitive, a day longer on the road and the cargo might spoil, he does not speed or feel pushed on the road... (Photo by Aaron Aupperlee - Trucks sit at a truck wash on Lenwood Road Thursday afternoon en route to delivering or picking up loads. Some truckers say that perishable loads put truckers under undue stress, some say they have plenty of time to deliver fruits and vegetables)

Labels: truckers' stresses

Vehicle Maintenance * USA - TMC Releases Third Update to VMRS 2000 Version 1.05

Arlington,VA,USA -Layover -21 Feb 2008: -- The Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of American Trucking Associations (ATA) has released its third update for Version 1.05 of the Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards (VMRS)... What is VMRS?VMRS got its start as a way of creating standardized reports that transportation fleets could use to track the reliability of a host of products and components. It quickly evolved into a universal language that equipment owners and operators could use to enhance their ability to monitor equipment expense. It is now the management tool of choice for many fleet maintenance and equipment managers...

Labels: vehicles maintenance

Trucking Industry * Australia - Needs to retrofit to suit the times

The trucking industry should eventually look at retrofitting older vehicles...
Sydney,Australia -Australasian Transport News (subscription) -22 February 2008: -- ... in an effort to comply with stringent emission guidelines to be implemented over the coming years, NatRoad CEO Bernie Belacic says... With the election of the Rudd government marking a shift in Australia’s approach to climate change, Belacic says the industry needs to look toward becoming "pragmatists" in order to improve productivity, boost efficiency and reduce emissions... However, rather than replacing older vehicles which do not meet Euro 4 or 5 standards, Belacic wants operators to look at fitting technology to improve emissions performance... "I am hesitant to say we necessarily need to move to new vehicles," he says. "Quite potentially one can retrofit older vehicles"...

Labels: trucking industry news Australia

* USA - Big Rigs on Little Roads

Neighbors that live on area rural roads are concerned about the noise, speed, and accidents caused by the big trucks

Bloomfield,N.Y.,USA -13wham, by Sean Carroll -22 Feb 2008: -- An overturned tractor trailer on Route I-490 disrupted traffic near downtown Rochester on Thursday afternoon and inconvenienced many drivers. But neighbors that live on area rural roads are concerned about the noise, speed, and accidents caused by the big trucks... The Bloomfield Town Board wrote letters to the trucking companies asking them--as a courtesy--to avoid the village roads... State DOT Commissioner Astrid Glynn said she's looking at ways to keep these trucks on the thruways and interstates and off smaller roads... Glynn said New York is one of the most truck dependent states in the country. She wants to balance that industry's concerns with those of neighbors to create safer trucking routes...

Labels: neighboring complains

SAFETY * USA - Group ranks states on safety legislation

Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -February 21, 2008: -- The group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has issued its annual grade card on which states have adopted what it considers to be key highway safety legislation, such as required seat belts and motorcycle helmets... The AHAS is composed of consumer, safety, law enforcement and insurance organizations. The group called for extensive and uniform safety laws in all 50 states and said the government should withhold federal highway funds from those states that are slow to act... Most states have adopted at least 6 of the 15 model laws the group supports... Although the report found that no state has adopted all 15 traffic safety measures, it gave grades of “green” – the highest score – to the following 17 states that came the closest with 11 or more laws: Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. The District of Columbia received a green rating, as well...

Labels: safety

BILLS * USA - Tennessee bill would limit left-lane use

TEN,USA - Land Line Magazine -February 21, 2008: -- A bill introduced in the Tennessee Senate is intended to keep most traffic out of the left lane on the state’s multi-lane highways... Tennessee law now mandates vehicles traveling slower than 55 mph on interstates and four-lane controlled-access highways to stay out of the far left lane. Trucks also are restricted to right lanes on designated areas of highways with three or more lanes in each direction where signage is posted. The only exception is for passing slower vehicles – one at a time...

Labels: laws and bills USA

TOLL ROADS DEBATE * USA - Poll shows opposition to Corzine plan

NJ,USA -The Associated Press/Land Line Magazine -February 21, 2008: -- New Jersey voters are unhappy with Gov. Jon Corzine and his plan to increase highway tolls... A new poll issued by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday found that 73 percent of those questioned oppose Corzine’s plan for massive increases in tolls. Even those who don’t drive on the toll roads don’t want toll hikes, reported... The poll also found that 52-percent of the registered voters surveyed disapprove of Corzine’s overall job performance. That’s about a 9-point drop from early December, a month before Corzine unveiled his toll proposal... Results could alter projects planned for I-75 and I-285...

Labels: toll roads debate

DEBATE Truck Lanes * USA - Study raises questions about value of

Atlanta,GA,USA -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by ARIEL HART -21 Feb 2008: -- Truck lane projects like those proposed on I-75 in Cobb County and the western wall of I-285 may not reduce traffic congestion enough to be worth building, according to a new study by the state Department of Transportation... Adding lanes solely for big rigs would only speed up regular traffic on adjacent interstate lanes by about 10 miles per hour in the next three decades, the study found... Given that and the $13 billion price tag of a full truck-lane network, the study recommended the state not pursue truck-only lanes... A 2005 study led by the State Road and Tollway Authority found that building truck-only lanes might significantly ease congestion on nearby regular lanes, including surface streets, but called itself a "limited" effort and recommended further study...

Labels: trucks lanes

Carbon Taxes * Canada - Will hurt the trucking industry

Vancouver,B.C.,CAN -Truck News, by Jan Westell -20 Feb 2008: -- The carbon taxes announced by the BC provincial government yesterday will cost the trucking industry "dearly," according to the president and CEO of the B.C. Trucking Association... Paul Landry measures that cost to be about $1,000 per long-haul truck this year, about $3,000 in 2009 and $6,000 in 2012. Further, the total cost to the industry will be in the tens of millions of dollars this year, potentially rising to hundreds of millions over the next five years......

Labels: carbon taxes

Fertilizer * Canada - Gets newly sprouted classification

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -21 Feb 2008: -- In the interest of public safety, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations have been amended to reflect the re-classification of anhydrous ammonia (fertilizer) from non-flammable, non-toxic gas, to toxic gas... The change in classification is partly in response to the Transportation Safety Board's recommendation that Transport Canada review the primary class and safety marks for anhydrous ammonia, following three train derailments involving releases of the gas...

Labels: classification

Carrier Operating Revenues * Canada - Costs up y-y in third Q

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -21 Feb 2008: -- The top 97 Canadian for-hire motor carriers generated operating revenues of $2.5 billion and operating expenses of $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2007, both up less than 1 percent from the previous quarter, reports Stats Canada... The companies rated earn $25 million or more annually... On a year-over-year basis, operating revenues were up 5.8 percent while operating expenses increased 6.7 percent...

Labels: statistics

Trucking Rule * USA - KCC backs off

Wichita,Kan,USA -AP/Nebraska.TV - February 20, 2008: -- The Kansas Corporation Commission is backing off a controversial interpretation of federal trucking regulations as they apply to farmers hauling grain or livestock to market... That means the stricter regulations need not apply to farmers moving grain or cattle within the state. They only come into play when the farmer's intent is move commodities across state lines... Senator Pat Roberts says he is pleased the commission quickly clarified their position. He says this common sense approach is much more practical for Kansas farmers and ranchers...

Labels: trucking rules

* Jamaica - Government sues Daimler Chrysler for faulty water trucks

Kingston,Jamaica -Radio Jamaica -20 February 2008: -- The Ministry of Water has filed a $374 million claim against European auto manufacturer Daimler Chrysler... The claim follows a long-standing dispute between the Government and the company over several defective water trucks which were purchased by the Rapid Response Unit nearly eight years ago... Out of the one hundred units that were purchased in May 2000, only 31 are still in operation... Minister of Water Dr. Horace Chang says 25 trucks suffered transmission failure with only three repaired to date... The other units were written off following accidents... The Water Minister says several of the trucks were affected by after delivery service issues... These include wide scale transmission failure, leaking tankers, poor paint work resulting in tankers rusting, loosening of tankers from chassis and water pumps failing due to inappropriate construction material...

Labels: sues

RULES * USA - Port of Long Beach approves restrictive truck measures

Long,Beach,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine , by Charlie Morasch-February 20, 2008: -- The Port of Long Beach approved a complicated new concessionaire licensing program on Tuesday, Feb. 19, that’s intended to cut pollution but likely will shut large numbers of long-haul owner-operators out of the port... The final phase of the three-part clean truck program allows independent owner-operators and company drivers port access if they meet a series of conditions, including:
- Pay $250 application fee and $100 per truck each year;
- Tag trucks with radio frequency identification devices;
- Agree to port-approved scheduled maintenance;
- Agree to anti-terrorism cab inspection; and
- Gain port approval as a licensed concessionaire.

The clean truck concessionaire plan has the potential to slow freight movement and hurt owner-operators throughout the nation if other ports imitate Long Beach, OOIDA officials have warned... Owner-operators and OOIDA members, however, wonder why the concessionaire program is truly necessary. If the stated goal is cleaning up dirty air, aren’t the newest, lowest-emission trucks good enough to come into the port without forking over the fees for a license?... “Obviously, this isn’t about clean air,” said Joe Rajkovacz, OOIDA regulatory affairs specialist. “Nothing in this concessionaire agreement is about clean air”...

Labels: clean air plans

ANTI-THEFT TECHNOLOGIES * Sweden - Volvo Invests in

To Reduce Number of Thefts from Trucks

Stockholm,Sweden -Business Wire -20 Feb 2008: -- Solely in the EU, goods are stolen from trucks each year amounting to about SEK 75 billion and the number of thefts are rising all the time. In addition to the costs to society and the shipping companies of the thefts they result in the driver environment becoming increasingly insecure and vulnerable... Now the Volvo Group, through Volvo Technology Transfer, has acquired an interest in the Jönköping-based company Datachassi, which has developed a patent pending theft protection system based on intelligent radio technology and sensors that can sharply reduce thefts... Most of the thefts from trucks are from the trailer and to date there has not been any satisfactory security system for protection. The key feature with the Datachassi invention is that it links the tractor with the trailer using sensors and intelligent radio technology and, consequently, reduces the risk of theft and slashing of cargo covers. The system is built into the trailer’s sidelights and can easily be refitted. Solely in Europe, there are three million trucks that theoretically could be equipped with the system and several leading truck manufacturers have expressed major interest in it...

Labels: technonews

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA and Canada

* JBS-Swift plans expansion

Greeley,CO,USA -The Rocky Mountain News, by Dave Krieger -February 21, 2008: -- JBS-Swift is expanding its fleet of trucks and will be adding several hundred new jobs in Greeley... The meat company contracts with trucking firms to bring livestock into Greeley beef and lamb packing plants and to take meat from the plant for distribution... Marco Sampaio, a company spokesman, said Wednesday that initial plans are to buy 150 trucks and trailers, based in Greeley, that will be used to transport product from its United States meatpacking facilities...

* Canada - Kolombo Receives a Major Order From Brasseur Transport

Quebec,QUE,CAN -The Earth Times -20 Feb 2008: -- Kolombo Technologies Ltd., announces that Brasseur Transport, a company specialized in liquid products transportation by cisterns trailers, has placed an important order for Kolombo's systems for its vehicle fleet... The order is for 82 units of the TRS-5000 System, developed by Kolombo, that will be installed on Brasseur Transport's vehicles by the end of March 2008... Kolombo was founded in Quebec City in 2000 and focuses its activities on the research, technological development and commercialization of vehicle management, protection and anti-theft systems, in particular for heavy machinery, trailers and commercial merchandise...

Labels: trucking industry news USA and CAN

Investigation * USA - Truckers Assoc. Objects To CBS4

"Most truckers who falsify their logs feel if you don't fudge on your logbook, you'll starve to death"

Denver,CO,USA -CBS4, by Rick Sallinger -19 Feb 2008: -- The association that represents Colorado trucking companies is calling a CBS4 investigation on logbook cheating "outrageous" ... (see below "Truckers Falsifying Logbooks * USA - CBS4 (Denver)... truckers' logbooks ... 19/02/08") It claims the practice of falsifying the number of hours in service only involves a small number of drivers. The investigation found that despite the association's claims, lying on log books is common... The Colorado Motor Carriers Association insists logbook cheating is not widespread... "I think it does a disservice to cast the net that is saying this is a large number, because it isn't," Greg Fulton with CMCA said. Fulton said only a very small number of drivers cheat on their logs and the companies do not condone it... Those caught cheating face a fine, are taken out of service, and their company can be penalized and fire them...

Labels: truckers' logbooks

Clean Air * USA - Long Beach Passes Truck Plan Without Employee Mandate

Long Beach,CA,USA -The Cunningham Report -19 Feb 2008: -- After meeting for more than six hours, the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission voted unanimously tonight to create a concession program with more than a dozen requirements for trucking companies to do business at the port... Only a handful of business people addressed the commission, mostly in favor of the plan. Most of the other speakers testified against the plan, mainly because it does not require concessionaires to use employee drivers. Some said the plan was not sustainable because owner-operators - even with a subsidy - could not afford to buy a clean truck without going deep into debt... Instead, the program allows the market to determine whether trucking companies will continue to contract with independent owner-operators, hire them to employees or use a combination of both. Before the vote, commissioners indicated they are open to reconsidering the employee component in the future, but the port needs to move forward...

Labels: clean air plans

* Canada - B.C. Imposing carbon tax on all types of fuel

Gasoline prices up by 2.41 cents a litre on July 1; reduce tax impact by using less fuel, says finance minister

Victoria,BC,Canada -The Times Colonist (Hamilton,Ontario,Canada), by Lindsay Kines & Jeff Rud -February 19, 2008: -- British Columbians will begin paying a new carbon tax on almost all forms of fuel in July as the provincial government moves to cut greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming... Every dollar raised, however, will be returned to people and businesses in the form of tax cuts, Finance Minister Carole Taylor said yesterday... In addition, every man, woman and child in B.C. will receive a $100 Climate Action Dividend cheque in June - before the carbon tax comes into effect. A family of four will get $400...

* Truckers say they'll lose tens of millions of dollars

Victoria,BC,Canada -The Times Colonist (Hamilton,Ontario,Canada), by Carla Wilson -February 20, 2008: -- B.C.'s commercial truckers say new fuel taxes announced in yesterday's provincial budget will cost their industry tens of millions of dollars -- and possibly hundreds of millions -- over the next five years... Operating a long-haul truck will cost about $1,000 more this year alone, said Paul Landry, president of the B.C. Trucking Association... That's because although B.C.'s new carbon tax is supposed to be revenue neutral -- monies raised will be returned to businesses and citizens as lower taxes -- truckers say they'll share most of the burden, noting they don't have the option to scale back their driving... "For our industry, it is not revenue neutral," Landry said...

Labels: carbon tax credits

BRIBING * Vietnam - Copping fines

Bribe-taking on major highways remains a persistent bugbear staining authority figures and festering public discontent

Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam -Thanh Nien Daily -19 Feb 2008: -- Around the period of the Tet (Lunar New Year), newspaper correspondents staked out at major highways that have drawn notoriety for the cowboy methods of traffic police and discovered that transgressions have reached a zenith... Officials took bribes and permitted passage to vehicles crammed with an inordinate number of passengers or overloaded trucks goods... Such clandestine activities, in fact, have become routine for both drivers and traffic police, especially during the holiday time when inflated kickbacks reap a “bountiful harvest” for these scheming perpetrators... (Photo: A routine bribe-taking conducted between a truck driver and a policeman in Binh Phuoc Province)

Labels: bribes

Protesters * Australia - To blockade city's busiest truck route

Protesters will blockade one of Melbourne's busiest truck routes from 8am today in a bid to highlight the freight traffic "nightmare" that will follow channel deepening

Melbourne,Victoria,Australia -The Age, by Clay Lucas -February 20, 2008: -- ... The Melbourne Truck Action Group, which will occupy the intersection of Francis Street and Williamstown Road, Yarraville, for 30 minutes this morning, says the junction is already flooded with 8000 trucks a day... The trucks use the intersection to go from Melbourne's port to the West Gate Bridge and the Western Ring Road... Residents say they have to endure diesel fumes and noise... The number of container units moving through the port is expected to increase from 2 million last year to about 7 million in 2035... The State Government did not have a plan to demonstrate how inner city roads would cope with this traffic, Mr Knight said...

Labels: neighboring protests

TRUCKING MARKETS * Dubai - Transport firms say road curbs are bringing business to halt

Dubai,United Arab Emirates -The Emirates Business 24/7, by VM Sathish -February 18 , 2008 : -- Land transport companies said the ban on lorries and trailers on highways and the limited hours during which they are allowed to operate is hurting their business... The firms said the slowdown is having a knock-on effect on businesses that rely on transport companies... Factors such as the imposition of the road toll system, a ban on lorries on Sheikh Zayed Road and other main thoroughfares and the limited number of lanes and hours open to lorries on Emirates and Al Khail roads has more than doubled the average driving time in an industry where time is money... (Photo by KHAMEIS AL HEFAITY)

Labels: trucking markets

Truck Pollution * USA - L.A., Long Beach port officials split over

Program to cut diesel fumes may be affected as officials appear divided over how to treat truckers who haul cargo in old, polluting vehicles

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Louis Sahagun -February 19, 2008: -- For months, officials in Los Angeles and Long Beach have touted plans to jointly combat air pollution generated by their adjacent ports, but a much-vaunted program to replace thousands of polluting trucks has hit a significant snag... The problem reveals that officials at the cities' ports have sharply differing views on how to treat the 16,500 truckers serving the nation's busiest port complex... In a move that disappointed environmentalists and Los Angeles port officials, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Friday released a plan to slash truck-related diesel pollution that would allow trucking companies to use employee drivers, independent contractor drivers or a combination -- as they do now... Environmentalists and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters had hoped Long Beach would take a radically different approach -- that trucking and shipping companies would be compelled to hire the truckers. The burden of owning, operating and maintaining the fleet of cleaner big rigs would fall to the companies... (DECISION: Port of Long Beach officials will vote today on their version of a plan to deal with diesel emissions from trucks)

Labels: clean air

AWARD * USA - Local truck driver honored for 29 years of safe driving

Anderson, IN ,USA -The Herald Bulletin, by KAYLEY FRANK -18 Fewb 2008: -- It was 1985, and Alan Adams was driving home after making a delivery to Seattle. He was coming into Chicago — headed east on Interstate 80 — and was approaching the exit ramp where another highway split from the interstate... For Adams, who has been driving a truck for just short of 30 years, close shaves like this one are nothing new... Although he’s no stranger to the dangers of life on the road, during the years he’s been a trucker, he’s been fortunate enough to escape them... Recently, Adams was recognized by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association for 29 years of accident-free driving — a feat that only a few OOIDA members were able to claim this year... (Photo: Richard Sitler / The Herald Bulletin - Alan Adams, who has driven 29 years without an accident, is shown in the cabin of his truck)

Labels: drivers' awards

Truckers Falsifying Logbooks * USA - CBS4 (Denver) Finds

A CBS4 investigation has found that truckers blatantly falsify their service logs and stay on the road longer than they're allowed

Denver,CO,USA -AP/CBS 4 DENVER -18 February 2008: -- ... Five-thousand people a year are killed in accidents involving trucks... Federal rules require the drivers to record their hours in logbooks, but cheating is so common they are often referred to as comic books... Early on Aug. 15, 2007, Denver trucker Peter Baumann's run came to a deadly end just short of his destination in Grand Junction. Baumann hit an Interstate 70 overpass, killing him and his girlfriend... Grand Junction police said his logbook to record his driving hours appeared to have been falsified. The trucking company he drove for insists they were not... CBS4 found such cheating by truckers is a common practice... The Colorado Motor Carriers Association said the vast majority of truckers do not falsify their logs. They say evidence of that are improved safety figures... Last year the Colorado State Patrol found more than 13,000 violations of truckers' hours and more than 1,000 instances of falsified logbooks...

Labels: truckers' logbooks

WARNING TRUCKERS WORLDWIDE * What Should I Do If I Have Been in a Truck Accident?·

* Iceland - Protect Against Lawsuits with On-board Computers

Reykjavik,Iceland -Automating Fleet Management, by Heimir Sverrisson (Former Professor University of Iceland and Reykjavik University) -18 Feb 2008: --

* Render first aid and summon medical professionals.
* Contact an attorney as soon as possible. He will send investigators to the site, advise you of your rights, and recommend steps to take.
* DON'T GIVE STATEMENTS to police, an insurance adjuster, the other driver(s), or bystanders. Any admission of fault can reduce your ability to recover damages.
* If possible, take photos of damage to both vehicles, debris, your visible injuries, and the general scene.
* Get contact information from any witnesses before they leave the scene (let your attorney get their statements).
* Record the truck driver's name and driver's license, license plate numbers of the cab and trailer.
* Exchange personal information (including insurance information) with all drivers involved.
* See a doctor as soon as possible. Seemingly minor injuries can turn out to be serious — brain trauma, fractured bones, soft tissue injury. Carefully document your injuries, your treatment, and your recovery over the next weeks and months.
* Report the accident to your insurance agent, but stick to basic facts (where it occurred, when, vehicles involved). DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without talking to your attorney.
* Make sure that your vehicle and the truck are inspected before any repairs are made. Your attorney can arrange this.

Labels: trucks accidents warning

Truckers rate * USA - Best and Worst roads, drivers

TX,USA -Truck News -February 17, 2008: -- Highways in Texas and the four surrounding states figured prominently in the annual survey of best and worst roads in the U.S. by Overdrive, a trucking industry magazine for owner-operators... Among the five states drivers say have the worst roads are Louisiana (No. 1), Oklahoma (No. 3) and Arkansas (No. 5). Texas was rated the state with the best roads... Interstate 10 in Louisiana, I-40 in Oklahoma and I-40 in Arkansas were rated among the four worst highway segments in the nation. I-10 in Texas was rated No. 3 in the nation for best highway segment... I-40 and I-30 in Arkansas and I-10 in Louisiana were rated among the four most-improved highway segments... Auto drivers often complain about the driving of commercial truckers, but in this survey truckers rated auto drivers. Texas was mentioned as having some of the worst auto drivers (No. 5) but also as having some of the best (No. 1)...

Labels: survey

Traffic Fines * Canada - No more dodging in Saskatchewan

Regina,Sask,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -14 Feb 2008: -- The province of Saskatchewan has reached a deal with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to withhold income tax refunds and GST rebates from drivers who have unpaid traffic fines in the province... The partnership takes effect this tax season and applies to all fines laid under provincial statutes that are payable to the province. CRA will garnish the returns for any outstanding fines under the deal, the province has announced... Saskatchewan has also established a new Fine Collection branch to get tough on drivers who don't pay their traffic fines...

Labels: trucking's fines

Winter Road Network * Canada - Manitoba's ones, opened to trucks

Winnipeg,Man,Canada -Truck News, by James Menzies -15 Feb 2008: -- Manitoba's 2,200 km winter road system opened to commercial vehicles this week... The roads were late in opening because of mild temperatures through December, but the ice is now thick enough to support loaded tractor-trailers. Some sections of winter roads in the southern regions are limited to 26 tonnes... The province has been expanding its winter road network and has installed two new bridges on the Rice River Road. Meanwhile, the province has shifted more than 600 km of road off the ice and onto hard land... (Video from YouTube, by allencanada - February 25, 2007: "Many Cars in ditch" Cars, Trucks and an Ambulance in ditch on feb 24 2007, on the south perimeter hwy 100 in Manitoba. -Hwy 1 Winnipeg Bypass- Road was Icy and windy. Music from www.myspace.com/maximmusic and The Covino and Rich Show "The Show")

Labels: infrastructures

"The Blonde and the Trucker"

USA -Jokes by Curt Spang -February 17, 2008: -- A trucker stops for a red light, a blonde catches up. She jumps out of her car, runs up to his truck, and knocks on the door. The trucker lowers the window, and she says "Hi, my name is Heather andyou are losing some of your load"... The trucker ignores her and proceeds down the street... When the truck stops for another red light, the girl catches up again. She jumps out of her car, runs up and knocks on the door. Again, the trucker lowers the window. As if they've never spoken, theblonde says brightly, "Hi my name is Heather, and you are losing someof your load!"... Shaking his head, the trucker ignores her again and continues down thestreet. At the third red light, the same thing happens again... All out of breath , the blonde gets out of her car, runs up, knocks onthe truck door. The trucker lowers the window. Again she says "Hi, myname is Heather, and you are losing som e of your load"... When the light turns green the trucker revs up and races to the nextlight. When he stops this time, he hurriedly gets out of the truck, andruns back to the blonde. He knocks on her window, and as she lowers it,he says... "Hi, my name is Kevin, its winter in Illinois and I'm driving the SALT TRUCK".

Labels: jokes

TRUCK ENGINES * UK - Cummins' Euro 6 to use existing SCR technology

London,UK -Road Transport/Motor Transport -18 February 2008: -- Cummins Emission Solutions says price increases on its Euro 6 light-duty engine will be negligible, because it should be able to reach the standard with existing technology. To reach Euro 6 requirements on its ISBe engines - the driveline for the Daf LF-Series - Cummins will use the same SCR technology that achieves current Euro 4 and Euro 5 emission levels, and rely on more AdBlue injection to make the jump. ..

Labels: trucks engines

FIGURES * UK - Roads see more trucks, fewer cars in 2007

London,UK -Road Transport -18 February 2008: -- Light vans are the fastest growing category of traffic on UK roads, according the latest figures from the Department for Transport (DfT). Provisional figures comparing 2007 and 2006 indicate that light van traffic was 9% higher, against an increase in HGVs of just 1% and a decrease in cars of 1%. Overall traffic levels fell by 0.9%... Cars account for 78% of all traffic on the roads light vans 14%, HGVs 6% and other vehicles, 2%. Delays on the slowest journeys got worse, according to the provisional figures, with vehicle delay on the slowest 10% of journeys going up from 3.78 to 4.05 minutes per 10 miles... The statistics, compiled for the DfT by the national statistics office, are based mainly on data taken from 190 automatic traffic counter sites, supplemented by manual counts...

Labels: transport statistics

More Urea * USA - Needed for 2010 SCR engines?

At least one heavy-duty truck manufacturer is testing higher doses of urea in prototype 2010 engines in order to drastically reduce fuel consumption of the future engines

New York,NY,USA -Today's Trucking -18 Feb 2008: -- ... According to New York market analysts Bear Stearns, a source speaking to the firm says early tests of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) have gone well. The company is one of a handful of OEMs offering SCR as the solution to reduce NOx is upcoming 2010 EPA-mandated engines... The contact also revealed that in recent months his firm has begun to experiment with higher urea dosing levels than was initially expected. He explained that engines are being tested with about five to six percent urea per gallon of diesel, compared to one to three percent originally... Urea is a Nitrogen-based reducing agent that, when injected into the exhaust gas upstream of the catalyst, drastically reduces NOx...

Labels: EPA 2010 engines

DRIVERS FATIGUE * Canada - Lots of Canadians asleep at the wheel

17.8 percent of all fatal crashes and 25.5 percent of crashes causing injury on Ontario roads in 2004 were fatigue-related

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -18 Feb 2008: -- Driving while tired is more common than driving under the influence and is a much bigger problem than previously believed, according to a recent report on highway safety... And it's not just truckers who are the culprits... Driver fatigue could be the cause of almost one in five fatal crashes noted the report produced by the Highway Safety Roundtable, which compiles some of the latest available research on the consequences of driver fatigue. According to the study fatigue is linked to the deaths of some 400 Canadians every year... By eliminating incidents that are clearly linked to factors like vehicle condition, speed, drug or alcohol impairment and weather, Yoassry Elzohairy, senior safety research adviser for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, estimated that 17.8 percent of all fatal crashes and 25.5 percent of crashes causing injury on Ontario roads in 2004 were fatigue-related...

Labels: drivers fatigue

Driving Simulator * USA - A thrill ride for truckers

Newington,CT,USA -The Waterbury Republican American (Waterbury,CT), by Mac Silvestrini -February 18, 2008: -- Lou Little emerged from the truck-driving simulator with the look of a man who was not quite sure how to describe the experience... Little, a Vernon resident, is a truck driver for Stamm Construction Co. of Newington. He had just emerged from an L-3 TranSim VS IV Driver Trainer Simulator, which essentially is a flight simulator modified to simulate driving a truck... The simulator can replicate a number of different truck transmissions and engine models, plus a variety of tire sizes and axle configurations. It can also replicate just about any driving condition or environment imaginable, and teach drivers how to respond to just about any emergency... (Photo by Jim Shannon /RA - Joe St. Pierre, of Stann's Construction Co., tries his hand at a driving simulator at the construction headquarters in Newington. The driving simulator is used by construction and trucking compaines and local government agencies interested in assessing and training their truck drivers)

Labels: trucks simulators

BORDER SOLUTION * Canada - Windsor truck marshalling hub closer to reality

Windsor,ONT,CAN -Todays' Trucking -18 Feb 2008: -- The company is vying to manage a public-private "truck marshalling yard" being proposed by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in Windsor, Sarnia-Port Huron, and fort Erie-Buffalo. The facility -- to be located on the outskirts east of Windsor, off of Highway 401 -- would act as the staging area for a complete "trade corridor management system"... The theory is that a truck marshalling yard in the Windsor-Essex area would reduce border queuing by ensuring all truckers' administrative and Customs reporting info is completed before approaching the border... Once cleared, the trucks would be metered through en route to the border, resulting in more efficient flow and less trucks idling close to homes and businesses inside the city...

Labels: border infrastructures

BORDER TROUBLES * Iran / Turkmenistan - Iranian truck drivers protest over Turkmen police mistreatment

Iran-Turkmenistan -IRNA -Feb 18, 2008: -- Some 80 Iranian truck drivers did not unload their cargos in protest to the misbehavior of Turkmenistan's police with one of their colleagues... The drivers said they would not unload their trucks "until the case of the beaten driver be legally followed up," the drivers' spokesman, Jafar Arab, told IRNA... A 60-year-old Iranian truck driver was severely beaten by Turkmen police on Sunday and hospitalized due to his serious injuries...

Labels: border troubles

COLD WEATHER * Greece Paralysed - Freak snowstorms leave its beaches and famous sights white

Athens,Greece -The Daily Mail (UK) -18 February 2008: -- Huge areas of Greece have been hit by a freak snowstorm that has left hundreds of villages stranded, closed schools, and caused dozens of flights to be cancelled... Even the sunshine island of Crete was blanketed in snow today as the usually mild country was gripped by a second day of severe winter weather... Schools and university have been shut throughout the country as famous sights like the Acropopolis were battered by blizzards... (Photo by AP / Frozen: The cold weather is highly unusual and has many services have ground to a halt)

Labels: Cold Weather

Chavez * Venezuela - "Does not plan on halting oil exports to the United States"

President Hugo Chavez sent a soothing message to American motorists on Sunday, saying that Venezuela is not preparing to cut off oil shipments to the United States

Caracas,Venezuela -Associated Press/The Detroit News (Detroit,Mich,USA), by CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER -February 18, 2008: -- ... The socialist leader rattled oil markets a week ago when he threatened to halt shipments to the United States in retaliation for Exxon Mobil Corp.'s success in convincing courts in the U.S. and Europe to freeze Venezuelan assets... Chavez has repeatedly warned against a possible U.S. invasion he says Washington would use to seize control of Venezuela's immense oil reserves... U.S. officials have denied any such plan exists... The United States relies on Venezuela for about 10 percent of its oil imports... The administration of Chavez -- a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro -- is locked in a legal battle with Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil over compensation for the nationalization of one of four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco River basin...

Labels: venezuelan oil

Bureaucracy * USA - Lack of MRAPs Cost Marine Lives

Study

Washington,DC,USA -AP, by RICHARD LARDNER -16 Feb 2008: -- Hundreds of U.S. Marines have been killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq because Marine Corps bureaucrats refused an urgent request in 2005 from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles, an internal military study concludes... The study, written by a civilian Marine Corps official and obtained by The Associated Press, accuses the service of "gross mismanagement" that delayed deliveries of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks for more than two years... (Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP: A Category I mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle, is driven on a test course during a media demonstration at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in this Aug. 24, 2007 file photo)

Labels: bureaucracy affairs

TRUCKER'S COMPLAIN * Canada - Idling trucks not the fault of drivers

Sarnia,ONT,Canada -The Observer, from "letter to the editor", by Dave Vandenberk -15 Oct 2008: -- ... If you think that intentional increase of idling trucks and their fumes are a criminal act and those responsible should be held accountable, who are you talking about? The drivers themselves?... I have to tell you, as a truck driver myself, it is certainly not my choice to be sitting in a lineup idling, not making any money, losing sleep, wasting fuel, etc. Why should I be penalized twice?... What about idling cars? Should they be held responsible as well? ... Keep in mind, big trucks get E-tested every single year...

Labels: trucks idling

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE * Venezuela - To Build Combat, Civil Trucks

Caracas,Venezuela -Prensa Latina (Cuba) -Feb 16.2008: -- A Venezuela joint venture will manufacture and sell Venezuelan-made Tiuna military vehicles, increasing production and diversifying its assembly line as a result of recent investments... By presidential decree, 51 percent of the shares are owned by the Compañía Anonima Venezolana de Industrias Militares, while the private company Cenareca, which has so far manufactured the Tiuna vehicle, owns the rest... Before going ahead with the fusion, Cenareca must conclude 310 Tiuna multi-purpose reconnaissance vehicles contracted with the Defense Ministry... By 2010, the first Tiuna civilian vehicles could hit the streets according to a state policy aimed at diversifying the industry and reducing imports... (Photo 2010 Tiuna civilian vehicles)

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

PROGNOSIS * USA - The diagnostic dilemma

Despite the jargon and the math, however, these experts were explaining something that’s going to have huge ramifications to the trucking industry...

USA -Fleet Owner -February 15, 2008: -- ... Cummins’ Zwissler put it this way: “What’s being required of us is to develop extremely sensitive sensors that can detect excessive NOx [oxides of nitrogen] and PM [particulate matter] at very low levels. That means these sensors are going to be more complex – and thus have a higher risk of faults. That’s going to make the maintenance folk’s life more challenging”...What’s going on is that, starting in 2010, specific rules kick in dictating “good” and “bad” thresholds for the pollutants NOx and PM in the exhaust system of trucks. In 2010, the feds want these “detections sensors” to indicate when those emissions reach five times the acceptable level. In 2013, that threshold gets ratcheted down to three times the acceptable level – with these thresholds continuing to drop through 2019... (Photos: 1. A view of Detroit Diesel’s new DD15 engine - 2. A diesel particulate filter -DPF- that’ll be host to these new sensors)

Labels: prognosis

HOS * USA - FMCSA Extends Comment Period

Hill Grants Extension Through March 17

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics, by Sean McNally -15 Feb 2008: -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended its public commenting period for its interim hours-of-service rule for 30 days... The comment period was to close Friday, but in a letter dated Wednesday to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, FMCSA Administrator John Hill said he would keep the docket open through March 17... Advocates, along with the group Public Citizen, unsuccessfully challenged the interim rule, hoping to force another revision...

Labels: HOS debate

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Canada & USA

* Alternate Energy Corp. Announces Strategic Alliance With Lange Transportation & Logistics

Toronto,ONT,USA -CNNMoney.com (USA) -February 15, 2008: -- AEC's recently announced Hydrogen Injection Process for diesel-powered trucks drives a new symbiotic business relationship; Lange and AEC to accelerate the "greening" of the trucking industry; Hydrogen Injection increases horsepower and decreases emissions... Alternate Energy Corp., an emerging leader in the commercialization of economically viable and environmentally responsible hydrogen solutions, forms a strategic alliance with Lange Transportation & Logistics of Mississauga, ON... Under this partnership, Lange Transportation, has agreed to work closely with the AEC engineering, product development and marketing teams, to refine and commercialize AEC's newly announced Hydrogen Injection Process (HIP), produces pure hydrogen alongside premium commodities...

Labels: trucking industry news USA and CAN

Safety Agency * China - Criticizes "grim" chemical transport conditions

Beijing,China- Xinhua -15 Feb 2008: -- The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) criticized "grim" chemical transportation safety conditions on Friday and asked local authorities to draw lessons from a series of sulfuric acid accidents in Yunnan..... SAWS, in a notice on its website, said that the safety situation in chemical transportation remained grim, and it blamed the management of cargo carriers, who frequently allowed overloading and fatigued drivers... Three sulfuric acid spills occurred within 15 days in the southwestern province of Yunnan, two involving the same company in less than a day... Preliminary investigations by SAWS indicated that the tanker had been seriously overloaded and the driver was tired after long hours on slippery roads...

Labels: safety

MEXICANS' TRUCKS * USA - Peters announces a new U.S.-Mexico border crossing at Yuma

Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said a new border crossing at Yuma, Ariz., will make cross-border access easier

Yuma,AZ,USA -The Trucker -15 Feb 2008: -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said today that local communities and businesses across the nation stand to benefit from increased trade under a federal program that makes it possible for U.S. trucks to enter into Mexico... The cross-border demonstration project allows U.S. companies to travel into Mexico to make deliveries and pick-ups, giving them the ability to compete in Mexico’s growing markets and take advantage of new business opportunities, Peters said... In addition, Peters said the new border crossing will make cross-border access easier, which will make Yuma and the State of Arizona far better positioned to take advantage of enhanced trade with Mexico... (Video from YouTube, by Vitamorm -28 Oct 2007: "OCOTILLO TRUCKS ARE STUCK")

Labels: mexican's trucks

TRUCK SALES * USA - Class 8, in January worst for month since '03

USA -The Trucker -15 Feb 2008: -- According to figures provided by Ward’s Automotive, Class 8 sales in January totaled 9,600 trucks in the United States, compared to 12,034 in December, a month-to-month drop of 20.2 percent... Reported sales were 18,555 in January 2007, making for a decline of 48.3 percent in 2008 compared to the same period. By a couple of percentage points, however, the January report was first in nine months in which the sales total has fallen by less than half. On the other hand, again by a point or two, January’s drop was greater than the 46.8 percent slide for all 12 months of 2007... Continuing the bad news/good news theme, January’s total was the month’s worst going back to 2003 — but still better than the sub-9,000 figures turned in that year and the year before...

Labels: truck sales USA

Clean Trucks Program * USA - Port Scraps Employee Driver Provision

The Port of Long Beach announced Friday that it will not require short-haul truck drivers to become motor carrier employees as part of its $2 billion clean air program

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Business Journal, by RICHARD CLOUGH -15 Feb 2008: -- The port said it will vote Feb. 19 on a concession model for its Clean Trucks Program that will allow independent contract drivers to continue operating... The announcement is a turnabout in strategy by the port, which has been criticized by the trucking industry for how it plans to implement a joint plan with the Port of Los Angeles to replace 16,000 short-haul diesel trucks with cleaner-burning models... Under the new Long Beach plan, the port will offer three financing options to truckers who want to access a $2 billion fund to replace their trucks: lease to own, grants for an engine retrofit or grants for the purchase of a new truck...

Labels: Clean Trucks Program

WEATHER TROUBLES * USA - Closures, floods hit trucking industry hard

Olympia,WA,USA -The Olympian , by Jim Szymanski -15 Feb 2008: -- February's mountain pass closures and December's floods that shut down Interstate 5 have taken a toll on the state's trucking industry... Detours have increased fuel expenses for trucking companies and frayed the nerves of customers who had to wait longer for deliveries, said Stan Vander Pol, vice president of the Washington Trucking Association... Trucking companies typically lose money during winter months, then profit in better weather, he said... Stan Vander Pol said he could not estimate how much business association members lost as a percentage of normal business. He said trucking companies who compete with his company were reluctant to share information on lost business...

Labels: Cold Weather

PAY SYSTEM * Canada - Residents don’t understand, says trucker

Prince George,British Columbia,Canada -The Prince George Citizen, by GORDON HOEKSTRA -15 February 2008: -- ... But the log trucker says residents don't understand the system... The system the driver is talking about is the pay system for truck drivers. It's normally based on a rate of pay that is tied to a turnaround time. If a log trucker is being paid for a five-hour turnaround time, and it takes him six hours, he's not compensated for the last hour... There's an tendency for truckers to go faster when the conditions are good, but that can reduce turnaround times, which makes them even more difficult to meet when conditions are poor as they are now, said Prince George Truckers Association president Stan Wheeldon ... He said there has to be a change in mindset on the turnaround time issue and truckers' argument it makes it necessary to speed...

Labels: truckers' pay systems

Trucker Accident Costs * USA - Governor says taxpayers shouldn't pay for

Middlebury,Conn,USA -Newsday -February 15, 2008: -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell says Connecticut taxpayers shouldn't get stuck paying the tab for the response and cleanup of a tractor-trailer crash off Interstate 84 earlier this week... The accident on the Waterbury/Middlebury town line shut down the highway in both directions for more than 14 hours on Tuesday because of a leak from a compressed hydrogen gas canister on the truck. Rell has directed state agencies to recoup the costs. She says taxpayers should not be on the hook because a trucker carrying hazardous and potentially explosive cargo fell asleep at the wheel... A spokeswoman for truck owner Linde Gas of Murray Hill, N.J., says she doesn't know whether the company's insurance carrier will reimburse anyone...

Labels: trucks accidents costs

TRUCKS ACCIDENTS * USA - ODOT tries to stem increase in

Truckers keep on truckin’ — and getting into accidents

Eugene,OR,USA -The Register-Guard, by Jeff Wright -February 15, 2008: -- ... In a new report, the state Department of Transportation says total truck miles in Oregon increased by 8 percent between 2001 and 2006... But the rate of truck crashes in which the truck driver was at fault climbed by 22 percent in the same six-year span... In response to that “bedeviling” trend, the agency has vowed to intensify its efforts this year to reduce truck-related accidents on Oregon highways, primarily through more “inspection blitzes” of truckers and their rigs, and through an education campaign aimed at truckers, truck companies and the general public... (Video from YouTube, by katkisa -December 30, 2007: "Trucking Accident " - A trucking accident caught on film in Oregon. My brother is a truck driver and was driving past it. As you can see, one truck was plowed into the back of another and so on and so forth. Text from him = This is what happens when someone doesn't pay attention - Snow and Ice don't mix)

Labels: big rig accidents

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * GERMANY - Deutsche Post CEO May Resign in Tax Scandal

Germany -Associated Press/ Transport Topics (USA) -15 Feb 2008: -- The chief executive officer of Deutsche Post AG has offered to resign in the wake of allegations that he evaded about $1.5 million in taxes... Deutsche Post CEO Klaus Zumwinkel presented his offer to resign to a company committee following allegations he evaded taxes through investments in Liechtenstein, AP said, citing German federal officials... Deutsche Post delivers mail in Germany and is a major worldwide player in the express delivery and logistical services business through its DHL unit, including DHL Americas...

Labels: trucking industry news worldwide

TRUCKS * Russia - Big Oilfield Ones

The mighty MZKT makes a welcome return

Russia -Biglorryblog (London,UK), by Vladimir Chekhuta (Pictures & comments) -15 Feb 2008: -- Terrific shots of mighty MZKT oil field trucks "this Belarus truck is the heavy chassis MZKT-790976 (8x8). It recently successfully finished tests in the desert in UAE... The Arab drivers certainly liked the new heavy MZKT! Perhaps it will ''wrestle' with Kenworths and Oshkoshs and win in future? "...

Labels: biggest trucks

DRIVER ALERT * USA - CAL issues $800 fines for missing engine stickers

The DOT was set up on the grass alongside four lanes of California’s Interstate 805 on Jan. 17

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -February 14, 2008: -- ... Since January 2007, CARB enforcement officers have issued 1,465 citations with $800 fines after inspecting 5,050 trucks for worn or missing Emission Compliance labels or engine data plates. Truck owners were given 45 days to obtain a new label, and the entire fine was dropped... Beginning on Friday, Feb, 15, however, missing emission labels will require at least a $300 fine, even if truck owners replace the labels within 45 days... Joseph Gomes, an OOIDA member from Norfolk,VA, isn’t likely to be making many return trips to California anytime soon... A tightening trucking economy and the increased emission rules make it unlikely he’ll make many stops in the Golden State... “I don’t think I will be going that way again anyway,” Gomes said. “The rates are too cheap to come back”... (Photos courtesy of Danny Schnautz: 1. No engine label - 2. With engine label)

Labels: driver alerts

Public-Private Partnerships * USA - May have a negative impact

... without an increase in transparency - GAO wants transportation policy ‘re-examined’

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -February 12, 2008: -- Officials with the U.S. Government Accountability Office are calling for a fundamental re-examination of the current strategy for tolling, congestion pricing and public-private partnerships being promoted by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters... GAO officials released a report Monday, Feb. 11, stating that public-private partnerships need more transparency and public accountability to be a sustainable transportation philosophy. The report is titled “Highway Public-Private Partnerships: More Rigorous Upfront Analysis Could Better Secure Potential Benefits and Protect the Public Interest”... Public-private partnerships, or PPPs, are the result of deals struck between governments and private businesses to fund and/or complete projects. A well-known case for truckers is the lease of the Indiana Toll Road to private investors from Spain and Australia in mid-2006. The investors paid the state government $3.85 billion for the right to collect tolls and assume control of the roadway for 75 years... GAO officials say some PPPs are necessary, but without an increase in transparency, public-private partnerships may have a negative impact on interstate commerce...

Labels: public-private partnerships

REDUCE IDLING * USA - Pennsylvania Senate OKs bill to

PEN.USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -February 13, 2008: -- A bill that is intended to reduce unnecessary idling of large trucks throughout Pennsylvania is halfway through the statehouse. In most instances, drivers idling their trucks while sleeping or resting would be exempt from the rule... Idling rules already are in place in Allegheny County and the city of Philadelphia... The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would put in place idling limits statewide. Diesel-powered commercial vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds would be limited to idling for no more than five minutes per hour...

Labels: idling reduction

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29.2.08

FUEL COSTS * USA - Nationwide diesel prices hit all-time high

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * EUROPE

'Black Boxes' * Australia - Trucks could carry they

TRUCKING COSTS * Australia - Increased fees will hurt consumers

TAXES * Canada - Not neutral for trucking industry

TRUCKING PRODUCTS / ACCESORIES & SERVICES

Hours Of Service * WORLDWIDE

Sector Glance * USA - LTL Carriers Sink

ENGINES MAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

28.2.08

Trucking group Warns * USA - soaring diesel costs will be passed on

Speed Limit * USA - Manitoba government gets approval to hike speed limit to 110 km/h

Clean Trucks Program * USA - L.A. approves two-thirds of

Nitrogen for tires * USA - An inflated idea?

Low Emission Zone * UK - London: What it means for Haulage Workers

RECALLS * UK

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

New rules * USA - To clean up truck exhausts

Investigation * USA - Speeding Tanker Trucks

Dedicated Lanes * USA - Adding those ones for trucks, would be cost prohibitive

Green Fleet * Canada - UPS Canada Helps Expand Largest Global One

Tired Truckers * USA - An I-Team 8 Investigation

27.2.08

Truck Thieves * UK - Metals catch the eye of

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

EPA papers * USA - Boss had dilemma

PROJECT * USA - Railroad laments stalled San Pedro port yard

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Truck tonnage reports second consecutive gain

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA -

PROGNOSIS * USA - Many issues cloud economic forecast for SoCal ports

26.2.08

To stop where they are * Norway - Truck drivers plan protest

Red-tape parade * USA - Oakland port to eye emissions plan

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Governors join coalition to seek funding

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - FBI executes search warrants at Memphis trucking company

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * EUROPE

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Canada

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA - GM introduces new player to the Class 4 market

Inquiry * Australia - In Queensland’s heavy vehicle fatalities not guaranteed

Report * Australia - Identifies 'barriers' to innovation in freight sector

Drivers' Shortage * Australia - SA Government looks to the industry to solve

Blitz * Australia - Will target drug use

25.2.08

Survey * USA - Fleets to open up pocket books later in

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * UK

INFRASTRUCTURE * Canada - Mayor says he'll fight for GreenLink truck route 'till the end

Over Height Trucks * Canada - Alberta installs warning systems for truckers

Keep trucks rolling * USA - Lower weight limit wouldn't help much

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

Clean Air * USA - Ports clean-up plan threatened

24.2.08

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Scientists Would Turn Greenhouse Gas Into Gasoline

TECHNONEWS * Czech Republic - Newly Invented Self Inflating Tire

DANGEROUS DRIVERS * USA & Canada

Reckless Truck Drivers * USA - Something has to be done about

23.2.08

* USA - On the Road Again

22.2.08

A giant cool box * UK - Makes a heavy haulage journey in Africa

Trucking Industry Organisations * UK - Agree to co-operate

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

NEIGHBORING COMPLAINS * Australia - Why don't trucks use the freeways?

Truckers Hauling Produce * USA - Deal with job related stresses

Vehicle Maintenance * USA - TMC Releases Third Update to VMRS 2000 Version 1.05

Trucking Industry * Australia - Needs to retrofit to suit the times

* USA - Big Rigs on Little Roads

SAFETY * USA - Group ranks states on safety legislation

BILLS * USA - Tennessee bill would limit left-lane use

TOLL ROADS DEBATE * USA - Poll shows opposition to Corzine plan

DEBATE Truck Lanes * USA - Study raises questions about value of

Carbon Taxes * Canada - Will hurt the trucking industry

21.2.08

Fertilizer * Canada - Gets newly sprouted classification