trucks world news: May 2008

31.5.08

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* Kenworth C500s Go the Distance with Extreme Loads for Minnesota Heavy Hauler

Northfield,MIN,USA -Layover -30 May 2008: -- Perkins Specialized Transportation Contracting is a 50-year-old company that provides long distance transport for super loads. Typical hauls include giant boilers, super trusses and nuclear reactor vessels. With a long list of prominent customers, Perkins relies on its engineering expertise, decades of experience and Kenworth C500s to get the job done right... The company has developed a unique heavy-haul philosophy using Kenworth C500s spec'd with planetary drive axles, automatic transmissions and less horsepower than you might think. Rather than employing big 600-plus hp engines, Perkins uses smaller engines (480 hp), higher torque and multiple trucks to move huge loads easily without jerking or jumping upon take off. Additionally, the 5.56 rears deliver excellent start and gradeability without putting stress on either trucks or loads. And because the front end of the C500 has a through frame, the trucks are used as often for pushing as for pulling, a key to Perkins/ success...

Labels: truckmakers news USA

"GREN" NEWS * USA - UDOT Truck Technology Project

Reduces Emissions, Boosts Industry Efficiency

Salt Lake City, UT,USA -The Earth Times/PRNewswire -30 May 2008: -- Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) adoption of PrePass truck technology a year ago has reduced greenhouse gas and related emissions by more than 2,000 metric tons. Based on the program's projected success, PrePass is anticipated to cut emissions during the next decade by an estimated 28,000 metric tons, the equivalent of eliminating all emissions from more than 400 cars per year... The deployment of PrePass technology is another great UDOT success story according to Governor Jon Huntsman... PrePass is a sophisticated technology that enables qualified motor carriers to comply electronically with Utah's weight, safety and credential requirements at highway speeds. Motor carrier participation is strictly voluntary and carrier eligibility is subject to strict safety qualifications... Since its deployment by UDOT in 2006, PrePass has saved carriers more than$11 million in operational costs, including fuel savings of more than 930,000 gallons. By enabling enforcement personnel to concentrate on those trucks most likely to be noncompliant, and by reducing lane-changing and congestion around weigh stations, PrePass can also make highways safer for all motorists...

Labels: green news

TRUCKERS' PROTEST * USA - New York plan June 19 convoy to statehouse in Albany

New York,NY,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Clarissa Kell-Holland -May 30, 2008: -- For months now, truckers in New York have been waging a public battle to raise lawmakers’ awareness and gain media attention about the fact that high fuel prices are forcing many of them out of business... They started their battle back when diesel prices were still in the $3.50-per-gallon range. By Thursday, May 29, diesel was selling for $5.19 a gallon in some parts of New York... Now, those truckers have a new plan: a convoy on June 19 to the statehouse in Albany. Their hope is to get the governor to come out and discuss their concerns, Gramuglia said. He has even offered to pay the tolls for all truckers participating in the convoy from Fultonville to Albany... He has a meeting with the city clerk’s office and the Capitol Police in Albany on Monday, June 2, to discuss traffic control issues and finalize convoy details... Staging for the convoy is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Betty Beaver’s Fuel Stop at Exit 28 on I-90 in Fultonville, NY. Additional staging space will be available at TravelCenters of America and the Ambest Super Stop, which are also at Exit 28. Vincent Gramuglia, owner of the Betty Beaver’s Fuel Stop in Fultonville, NY, said as many as 1,000 truckers pull in to the three trucks stops on a daily basis...

Labels: truckers protests

TRUCKERS' STRIKES WORLDWIDE

* Italy - Matteoli calls Union meeting on 9 June

Rome,Italy -AGI News -30 May 2008: -- The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Altero Matteoli has asked the representatives of the trucking trade unions for a meeting. The meeting will take place on the 9 June at 17.30 at the Ministry in Piazzale Porta Pia in Rome. The talks will focus on the problems in the sector. This was announced in a communique. The trade unions had announced a strike of the artic lorries for five days from the 30 June...

* Zimbabwe - Man Accused of Instigating Strike
Harare,Zimbabwe -The Government of Zimbabwe/The Herald (Harare)/All Africa-Washington,DC,USA -30 May 2008: -- Transport and Allied Workers Union organising secretary Charles Gusinauye has been arrested on allegations of inciting truck drivers to go on strike and not deliver more than 1 000 tonnes of maize imported from Zambia meant to alleviate food shortages in the country... According to the police, Gusinauye had connived with Knowledge Chisi and a person only identified as Gwande who are both officials of his union. Police are looking for the other two. On Wednesday, the Government warned NGOs against dangling food to sway votes in favour of the opposition in the run-up to the June 27 run-off...

Labels: strikes

FUTURE - Holland - Overlooked Tram Offers Revolutionary Transportation Solution

Amsterdam took an historic step in joining the Green movement when it conducted experiments using its tram system and electric vehicles to move products into the inner city

York,PA,USA -Material Handling Management (Cleveland,OH,USA) -30 May 2008: -- ... Amsterdam-based startup company CityCargo, whose novel entrepreneurial approach is responsible for the pilot project, hopes to reduce the deliveries of the 2,500 trucks that roll into the city daily... The inner city distribution system consists of freight trams that will carry goods in and out of the city on existing tram lines, and electrically powered vans ('e-cars')... The project will now move deeper into the realization stage, according to Tom Bonkenburg, director of European Operations for York, Pa.-based St. Onge Company... CityCargo is actively seeking partners and completing details that deal with the final design of the tram, cargo box and electric vehicle design. CityCargo will start off in the first half of 2009 with 10 cargo trams, 40 E-cars and one distribution center. When the project is in full operation (in about five years), it will be 58 cargo trams, 600 E-cars and four distribution centers... (Video from YouTube, by MvdHCCA - July 31, 2007: "CityCargo Amsterdam (ENG)" - CityCargo goods delivery by cargo tram)

Labels: future cargo freights

HIGHER FUEL COSTS * USA - Fill it up, lose your shirt

Everyone is feeling the pain at the gas pump. But diesel prices are even higher, over $5 per gallon locally

Hillsdale,NY,USA -The Columbia Independent Online (Columbia,NY), by RICHARD ROTH -29 May 2008: -- ... That represents a $2 per-gallon increase in just one year... At those prices the owner-operator of a diesel truck, whose rig is likely to get four to five miles per gallon on average, is spending more than a dollar a mile just on fuel. Other petroleum costs have also gone up. An oil change is necessary every 10,000 miles--once a month for a long-haul trucker--and the eleven gallons of oil lubricating the crankcase of a large engine cost another $200... Some drivers are giving up and selling their trucks to meet the high demand for used vehicles in Russia, according to a Vermont driver who delivered wood chips to a Hillsdale garden supply store this week. Fuel costs are one problem, he said, but the general slowdown in the economy is also taking its toll... There are also concerns about fuel oil costs for the coming season, because fuel oil is closely related to diesel. Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand (D-20th) has urged the Congressional leadership to include $1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the emergency appropriations bill currently being debated... Meanwhile, according the independent trucker Butch McWhirt , truck drivers are making the best of a bad situation. "There's stuff guys are scarfing up because they've got to try and make the truck payment," he said. "They're trying to ride out the storm, and hoping something better comes along"...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

CHEAP FUEL * USA - Slippery slope from trash to treasure

Rustlers target fryer grease

CAL,USA -The New York Times News Service, by Susan Saulny/The Chicago Tribune -May 30, 2008: -- The bandit pulled his truck to the back of a Burger King in Northern California one afternoon last month armed with a hose and a tank. After rummaging around assorted restaurant rubbish, he dunked a tube into a smelly storage bin and, the police said, vacuumed out about 300 gallons of grease... The man was caught before he could slip away. In his truck, the police found 2,500 gallons of used fryer grease, indicating that the Burger King had not been his first fast-food craving of the day... Outside Seattle, cooking oil rustling has become such a problem that the owners of the Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Arlington, Wash., are considering using a surveillance camera to keep watch on its 50-gallon grease barrel... Nick Damianidis, an owner, said the barrel had been hit seven or eight times since last summer by siphoners who strike in the night."Fryer grease has become gold," Damianidis said. "And just over a year ago, I had to pay someone to take it away."... Much to the surprise of Damianidis and many other people, processed fryer oil, which is called yellow grease, is actually not trash. The grease is traded on the booming commodities market. Its value has increased in recent months to historic highs, driven by the even higher prices of gas and ethanol, making it an ever more popular form of biodiesel to fuel cars and trucks... In 2000, yellow grease was trading for 7.6 cents per pound. On Thursday, its price was about 33 cents a pound, or almost $2.50 a gallon. (That would make the 2,500-gallon haul in the Burger King case worth more than $6,000.)... Biodiesel is derived by processing vegetable oil or animal fat with alcohol. It is increasingly available around the country, but it is expensive. With the right kind of conversion kit (easily found on the Internet) anyone can turn discarded cooking oil into a usable engine fuel that can burn on its own, or as a cheap additive to regular diesel...

Labels: ideas fuel saving

AWARDS * USA - Clean Air Honor Ports

Two of the largest U.S. ports are among 11 winners of this year's U.S. EPA Clean Air Excellence Awards honoring innovative efforts that make progress in achieving cleaner air

Washington,DC,USA -Enviroment News Service -May 29, 2008: -- ... The awards were established in 2000, at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, a senior-level policy group that advises tne EPA on implementing the Clean Air Act. There are four categories of awards: clean air technology, community action, education/outreach, and regulatory policy innovations, with one special award for individual achievement... This year's Southern California winner is for regulatory policy innovations at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, which share San Pedro Bay... The ports developed the five year San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan outlining strategies to reduce air emissions and associated health risks from heavy-duty vehicles, oceangoing vessels, cargo-handling equipment, harbor craft, and railroad locomotives involved in port operations. The plan will serve as a model for other ports to follow in the future... (Photo courtesy Environmental Health Perspectives: Container ships at the Port of Los Angeles )

Labels: awards

30.5.08

HIGH FUEL COSTS * USA - Take Toll On Trucking Industry

It used to be that labor was the largest cost for his company. Today, the largest cost is fuel...

Chattanooga,TN,USA -The Chattanoogan, by Judy Frank -May 29, 2008: -- ... U.S. Xpress Co-Chairman Patrick E. Quinn told Chattanooga Rotary Club members Thursday... The increased costs present cash-flow problems for many trucking companies because fuel bills often have to be paid daily – while companies must wait 30 days before they are reimbursed for the freight they used that fuel to haul... Consequently, many small trucking firms are being forced out of business, Mr. Quinn said... As the third largest privately owned truckload carrier in the nation, U.S. Xpress spends $12 to $13 million per week for diesel fuel, he said... Costs are escalating sharply, he noted... Skyrocketing fuel prices are not the only problem facing the industry. For example, one constant challenge is finding enough drivers... Another problem that faces the trucking industry – and the nation as a whole – is the deteriorating transportation infrastructure... Today, there are about 300 million people in the United States, he said. Fifty years from now, studies indicate, there will be 420 million... The larger population will significantly impact everything from traffic congestion to stresses on infrastructure, he said... Just to keep up, the nation needs to spend at least $225 billion annually for the next 50 years, he said. Currently, it is not doing that... "One price the nation pays for failing to maintain and/or improve its infrastructure is increasing traffic congestion, he said. If our commute this year takes five minutes longer than it did last year, we don’t see that as a major problem,” Mr. Quinn said. “But if the commute takes five minutes longer every year, then in a dozen years that’s an extra hour on the road..."

Labels: fuel cost troubles

* Japan - Dekotora Trucks

Tokyo,Japan -offbeatearth -29 May 2008: -- Dekotora trucks are highly customized trucks found in Japan that often look like they’re straight out of the movie Transformers. These trucks are often made for fun by their drivers or made to be used as art trucks at special events.

Labels: dekotora trucks

ENVIROMENTAL REGULATIONS * Canada - Delta port refuses 250 trucks for not meeting new ones

Since adding new environmental standards to its licensing system last month, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) has taken 250 trucks out of the system

Delta,BC,Canada -The Delta Optimist/Truck News, by Jan Westell -29 May 2008: -- ... because the trucks were deemed not clean enough to be allowed to access port property under new environmental regulations ... The first phase of the environmental requirements went into effect April 1. Under those regulations, all trucks built before 1994 had to pass an opacity test (which measures a truck's emissions), before the end of March. Higher opacity readings are connected with higher particulate matter emissions... In addition to passing the test, all trucks built prior to 1989 must also now be outfitted with a VFPA-approved age emission reduction measure. Any trucks that do not meet the requirements are no longer allowed to travel to and from VFPA ports, including Deltaport at Roberts Bank...

Labels: green regulations

FUEL COST SOLUTIONS WORLDWIDE * Indonesia - It would withdraw from OPEC

Fundamentals of supply and demand no longer apply to oil markets. According to the U.S. government, the law of supply and demand is no longer working when it comes to oil markets

Yakarta,Indonesia -Reuters/Land Line Magazine/Bloomberg/The New York Times -May 29, 2008: -- ... Most OPEC members would like to see lower prices, but there is little they can do as the market is responding to factors beyond supply and demand, a senior Gulf OPEC source told Reuters... If those fundamentals dictated the price, oil would cost around $60 to $70 a barrel, the source said... The Wall Street Journal reported that fresh information from the U.S. Department of Energy shows that the amount of oil shipped by the world’s top exporters actually fell by 2.5 percent last year. At the same time, global demand was up sharply, and the price of oil shot up nearly 60 percent... On Thursday, May 29, oil prices were falling in New York trading while the price of diesel remained at a national average of $4.74 a gallon, unchanged from Tuesday... Also on Thursday, Indonesia’s energy minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, was scheduled to sign a decree withdrawing his country from OPEC, according to media reports. Indonesia was the only Southeast Asian country in OPEC. The country will save about $3.1 million in annual membership fees, but that isn’t the primary reason for its withdrawal... Bloomberg reported that aging oil fields and declining production have combined with increasing demand to tip Indonesia’s oil import-export equation to the import side. The nation, a member since 1962, has been considering leaving the body for the past three years...

* Philippines - VAT on oil to stay – DOF. Instead, they have decided to look for other ways to cushion the impact of rising oil prices on consumers

Manila,Philippines -The Philippine Star, by IRIS GONZALES -27 May 2008: -- Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and other economic managers have rejected a proposal to scrap the value-added tax (VAT) on oil. Instead, they have decided to look for other ways to cushion the impact of rising oil prices on consumers... The Department of Finance (DOF) estimates that VAT on oil will yield an additional P18 billion this year if the price of oil continues to hover at $100 per barrel... Economic managers want to allocate the estimated P18-billion "windfall" collected from VAT on oil this year to various sectors, Teves added... Teves said among the proposals being considered is to use the revenue to subsidize transport groups or to fund food subsidies for the poor...

Labels: fuel cost solutions

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Frozen Food Express Lowers Top Speed of Its Trucks

Dallas,TX,USA -PRIME NEWSWIRE -May 29, 2008: -- Frozen Food Express Industries, Inc., a nationwide transportation company offering service in the temperature-controlled truckload and LTL, dry truckload, and brokerage / logistics markets, announced today that it has reduced the maximum speed of its company-operated truck fleet from 65 to 62 miles per hour in an effort to mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs. FFEX expects that most of the independent contractors who provide it with trucks will take similar steps to reduce their expenses...

* Trimac Turns To Bendix For Trucking Safety Technology

Elyria,OH,USA -Truck Net, by Craig Zwiener -May 29, 2008: -- North America’s largest bulk commodities fleet has enhanced its award-winning safety program with braking technology from Bendix Commercial Vehicles Systems LLC... Trimac Transportation has added the commercial vehicle industry’s most comprehensive stability control technology – the Bendix® ESP® Electronic Stability Program – to its fleet of tractors... Trimac added the Bendix ESP full stability technology through the purchase of Kenworth® trucks, which include Bendix ESP functionality as a standard option with a delete credit on many of its highway tractor configurations...

* Amendment in defense bill includes surcharge provision - Independent truckers praise vote

Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Craig Zwiener -May 23, 2008: -- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is grateful an amendment that will protect truckers and tax payers from being exploited by intermediaries in the trucking industry has been included in the Defense Authorization Bill... The amendment stipulates that for any Department of Defense contract for truck transportation or service using fuel, the motor carrier or broker must pass any fuel surcharge on to the person responsible for paying the cost of the fuel and to disclose that surcharge...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

BUREAUCRATIC AFFAIR * USA - CARB drops sticker rule for port trucks

Following OOIDA objection

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -May 29, 2008: -- The California Air Resources Board recently deleted several requirements from its proposed port drayage truck rule, including unpopular conditions that each truck entering a California port have a CARB-approved emission sticker and submit maintenance logs to the environmental agency... CARB announced the changes Wednesday, May 28. The agency’s board approved the port rule in December, but CARB’s multi-tiered regulatory approval process includes several opportunities for changes before a final version is adopted... The revised port rule no longer requires truck operators to have an emission “compliance label” affixed to their truck, but requires all trucks to have 1994 or newer engines that meet or exceed 2007 model year engine emission standards by Dec. 31, 2009. Trucks must meet 2007 engine emission standards by Jan. 1, 2014... Also, CARB deleted its requirement that truck owners maintain a maintenance log for verified diesel emission control strategy retrofits...

Labels: bureaucratic affairs

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA - Daimler Trucks set to open in S.C.

Charlotte,NC,USA -The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area -27 May 2008: -- The Fort Mill building that will house Daimler Trucks North America's new, 150,000-square-foot sales and marketing center is nearly ready for occupancy... Koll Development Co. has turned over the building to Daimler Trucks, which plans to relocate more than 300 employees to the site beginning in July, says Larry Wilson, president of Koll's Southeast division... Daimler Trucks announced last year that it would move its sales and marketing division to Fort Mill from the company's Portland, Ore., headquarters. Wilson says the company has an 11-year lease...

* Peterbilt's ComfortClass system debuts in 63-inch sleeper configuration

Denton,TX,USA -Truck News (CAN), by Adam Ledlow -29 May 2008: -- Peterbilt has begun full production of the Peterbilt ComfortClass system in a 63-inch sleeper configuration. The system is immediately available for order in Peterbilt Class 8 vehicles equipped with a 63-inch Unibilt sleeper... (Photo: The Peterbilt ComfortClass system is now available in a 63-inch sleeper configuration)

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

TRUCKERS' STRIKES WORLDWIDE * S. Korea - High oil prices forcing truck drivers out of business

Truckers’ union plans to strike unless the gov’t imposes prices controls on transport fares

Seoul,South Korea -The Hankyorek(Seoul,SK) -27 May 2008: -- Jeong Yeong-jeong, 37, who has been a truck driver for 15 years, says that he is in the worst situation he has ever had to face. Round-trip freight fares from Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, to Seoul are about 600,000 won (US$ 571), but Jeong receives just about 50,000 won for the overnight trip, which takes two days and one night... The price of the diesel fuel needed to complete the trip has risen sharply to about 490,000 won, from a little more than 220,000 won in the previous year. He earns almost nothing after paying 50,000 won for the toll and 30,000 won for food. He also pays 200,000 won a month to the company and for insurance, and has to cover the cost of changing the oil or tires on his truck. Oil prices have skyrocketed to around 2,000 won per liter from 1,100 won in a year, but the freight fees have stayed almost the same, he says... For this reason, Jeong, an official of the Korean Transport Workers’ Union, said that he and about 180 colleagues, who are also truck drivers, had to stop working for eight days through May 26. Like Jeong, an increasing number of transport workers have had to stop driving or have gone on strike thinking that they would suffer even more losses by continuing to drive their trucks due to the hike in diesel prices. They are urging the company to apply price controls on transport fares based on the current price of oil and increase freight fees by 23.4 percent. LG Electronics-affiliate Hi Logistics recently suggested an increase of 6.6 percent, making negotiations difficult... About 100 companies across the nation are at odds with logistics firms over freight fares like this. More than 100 truckers belonging to the Gwangju branch of the truckers’ union, or Cargo Solidarity are waging a sit-in in front of a Samsung Electronics factory in Gwangju. Unless Samsung accepts their demand to increase transport fees, they say they will go on a strike sometime in the next month... But the high price of fuel is not the only problem the truck drivers face. There are some people who siphon fuel from the parked trucks at night, leading some of the drivers to sleep in their trucks. Highway toll fees are expected to increase soon as well, adding to their misery. The drivers say they are ready to go on a strike at the risk of losing their livelihoods entirely... Cargo Solidarity says that its members will go on strike in June, unless the government takes action... (Photo: Members of the Changwon branch of the Korean Transport Workers’ Union in South Gyeongsang Province are waging a strike due to the high price of diesel fuel)

* USA - Arkansas truck stop owner joins fuel protest

Little Rock,ARK,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Reed Black -May 28, 2008: -- The owner of an Arkansas truck stop has stopped pumping diesel and gas, saying he’s protesting prices along with truckers. Don Shamsie’s Blackwell Truck Stop is on Interstate 40 about 30 miles north of Little Rock... Shamsie added: “We’ve taken a stand to stop selling fuel to see if we can get the attention of the politicians who we felt have sold Americans out.”... Shamsie said he thinks most politicians are in the pocket of the oil companies that contribute to their campaigns... As for how he’ll survive without pumping fuel, Shamsie pointed out that at the price he’s been paying for fuel and for credit card transactions he wasn’t making money anyway...

* Holland - Dutch truckers honk horns in fuel price protest

The Hague,The Netherlands,Holland -Reuters, by Svebor Kranjc, Emma Thomasson, and Mary Gabriel - May 29, 2008: -- Dutch truckers called on motorists on Thursday to honk their horns to push for lower fuel taxes in the latest protest at soaring oil prices... Organisations representing logistic companies parked a huge truck outside parliament and handed over a petition to politicians calling on the government to reverse a diesel tax hike that is due to take effect on July 1... Truckers displayed illuminated road signs around the country urging motorists to honk their horns in solidarity... Separately, a group has collected more than 112,000 signatures online demanding the reversal of a tax that has been levied on fuel since a budget crisis in 1991... "We complain a lot but we do nothing. We should follow the example of the English truckers. And when the taxes rise in France, motorists block the streets. Then the politicians listen," organiser Robert Andringa told ... Bulgarian truck drivers rallied on Wednesday, following the lead of British and French truckers and French fishermen in a wave of demonstrations and blockades by groups which say fuel costs threaten their livelihoods... EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Wednesday euro zone finance ministers would not back such tax changes...

Labels: truckers' strikes

"CLEAN TRUCKS" PLAN * USA - Ports of LA/Long Beach put discussion on hold

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Logistics Management, by Patrick Burnson -27 May 2008: -- Members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement must wait until June 29 before resuming their discussions of the controversial “Clean Trucks” program. That’s the word sent down by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), which had required both ports to answer a series of precise questions about the pending deal. The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are also free to discuss security initiatives and other matters with antitrust immunity after that date... As reported here last month, the FMC put the agreement on hold, when it ruled that the 45-day review period be extended—much to the relief of many shippers. Had the FMC not interceded, talks between terminal operators and the ports would have commenced as early as April 1. And the FMC is still within its jurisdictional boundaries to challenge the agreement in federal court... Meanwhile, the agreement may be facing other legal challenges posed by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and affiliate shipper’s associations. According to the ATA’s Intermodal Carriers Conference executive director, Curtis E. Whalen, both ports have rejected his overtures for a “meaningful meeting” to discuss the issues. If a lawsuit ensues, it will have the support of the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL)... Once the ports finally do meet with terminal operators, they can begin working on their plan to initiate the fee portion of their Clean Truck plans on October 1. At that time, both gateways will start collecting a $35-per-TEU (twenty equivalent units) fee for all trucks, with full or partial exemptions for those that comply with 2007 emissions standards. The ports and the terminal operators also plan to discuss ways of collecting a separate $15-per-TEU infrastructure fee set to begin on Jan. 1, 2009...

Labels: "Clean Trucks" Program

29.5.08

Environmental Groups * USA - To sue over Calif. emissions

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Bloomberg News/Detroit News -29 May 2008: -- An environmental coalition plans to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to force it to overturn vehicle-emissions limits for Southern California, charging the targets fail to address pollution faced by 1.5 million people who live next to freeways... In a petition to be filed in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the Natural Resources Defense Council is demanding comprehensive monitoring of air quality along freeways, including the Long Beach Freeway, where traffic averages 12,180 vehicles an hour...

Labels: green news

STORY: This Old Truck * USA - One driver, 28 years, 3.75 million miles

Perrysburg,OH,USA -Road King, by Doug Donnelly -28 May 2008: -- When Bill Donnelly drove out of the parking lot of the Kenworth dealership in Perrysburg, Ohio, his new, long-nose, double-sleeper had five miles on it. Donnelly doesn’t take credit for those miles. He will, however, proudly take the credit for the other 3.75 million miles of smooth running on his 1980 chassis... Bill Donnelly is my father, and when he drove that 1980 Kenworth into our driveway for the first time I was crushed... Still, the 1980 Kenworth was a sight to see in our driveway — a model W900 with an extra long hood and a Cummins KTA 525 motor. The blue beauty had a 14-speed Spicer transmission. I missed the “doghouse” that I would sleep on when I was growing up, but walking around inside the cab, turning on the TV and having a place for the refrigerator had its advantages... So I warmed up to the Kenworth over time and became accustomed to watching Dad go through his usual ritual once he got home. He always believed in keeping up his outfit, figuring that as long as he was behind the wheel he wanted the best. After every trip, he would walk around the truck, put up the hood and look for spots of oil or loose bolts, check for hanging wires or cracked light covers. If something needed fixing — no matter how small — he fixed it right then... The miles have piled up over the years and odometers have been replaced. But, through logbooks and fuel permits, Dad is very aware of the miles he’s traveled... For years he ran across I-80, coast-to-coast. Then he began running more north and south routes in the Midwest. Whatever the location, Dad always stays by his rig. In truckstop restaurants he sits at booths where he can see the truck. I always respected him for caring about his truck like it was a member of the family. In a lot of ways, it is. Inevitably, conversations either start or end up centered around that Kenworth... Today, Dad lives in Illinois and makes a few trips a week to the south side of Chicago. The round trips are a lot closer than going from Sunshine Biscuit in Oakland, Calif., to Hunts Point in New York City — the places I remember so well from the road stories he told. But the miles still count. And keep adding up...

Labels: trucks and truckers stories

TRUCKERS' STRIKES * WORLDWIDE - Because higher fuel costs

* UK - Truckers jam London in petrol protest

London,UK -AP/Edmonton Sun (Alberta,Canada ) -28 May 2008: -- Hundreds of trucks rolled into central London yesterday, jamming a major route into the British capital in a protest against rising fuel prices... Around 300 truck drivers honked their horns and parked on a highway on the edge of the city... The truckers are protesting the soaring cost of fuel in Britain, where diesel fuel now costs around $2.35 a litre... They say thousands of trucking jobs are in jeopardy and are calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour government to lower fuel taxes for trucking companies...

* Bulgaria - Truck and taxi drivers on strike in Sofia

Sofia,Bulgaria -The Sofia Echo, by Elitsa Grancharova -28 May 2008: -- On May 28, about 150 trucks took part in the rally against the high fuel excise duty in Sofia suburbs, while 15 cabs gathered to protest the same in Sofia’s centre... The truckers’ protest was organised by the Confederation of the Automobile Transport Associations, Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik reported. Their main demand is for the Government to urgently intervene on the fuel market and to take measures against the speculative prices of fuels. They also insisted on re-payment of the excise duty that the transport companies pay and measures against any cartels being formed by fuel retailers... (Photo: Krassimir Yuskesseliev)

GREEN FLEET * Canada - Coke launches fleet of hybrid trucks that are nicer to the environment

Diesel-electric engines cut fuel consumption

Vancouver,BC,Canada -The Province, by Frank Luba -May 28, 2008: -- Green is joining red in Coca-Cola's corporate colours... The soft-drink giant announced yesterday that it's launching a fleet of heavy-duty, diesel-electric hybrid delivery trucks... The 22 trucks, 10 of which will be based in the Lower Mainland, cost 50-per-cent more than traditional vehicles but use 37-per-cent less fuel, produce 32-per-cent fewer emissions and run more quietly, the company said... While the trucks' 215 horsepower diesel engines run continuously, the 14,969-kilogram vehicles run primarily on electric power up to about 50 kilometres per hour, the company said... The diesel engine is engaged when more power is required and the batteries also recharge during braking... After Canada, Coke will start using the Quebec-built hybrids in the U.S. and hopes to add 120 vehicles there. The fleet of 142 will be the largest hybrid, heavy-duty distribution fleet in North America, the company said... (Picture by Jon Murray - The Province: Coca-Cola Canada president Kevin Warren, park board chairwoman Korina Houghton and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan mark Coca-Cola's green-truck initiative)

Labels: 'green' trucks

STUDY * Sweden - Not all noise from trucks is bad

Experienced truck drivers prefer sound that provides them with information about how the journey is proceeding and they do not view information-bearing sound as a disruption

Goteborg,RG, Sweden -The Swedish Research Council/Informationsdienst Wissenschaft (Bayreuth,NRW,Germany) -28 May 2008: -- The sound in a truck cab should not be regarded simply as disruptive noise that should be suppressed when building trucks. Experienced truck drivers prefer sound that provides them with information about how the journey is proceeding and they do not view information-bearing sound as a disruption... This has been demonstrated by Anders Genell at the Division of Applied Acoustics at Chalmers University of Technology in Goteborg,RG, Sweden... He has carried out a series of tests using a model truck cab, where the subjects are exposed to different sound images and sometimes vibrations in the steering wheel and floor. The emotional reactions were examined using two test groups - experienced truck drivers and students... Examples of sound which the drivers want to hear is sound that indicates when the engine is working as it should when under pressure, such as on an incline or when accelerating. In addition, they want a discreet engine sound in order to be able to listen to talking books or music. They also want some sound from the tyres on the road surface, which among other things provides them with information about how slippery it is. The dissertation also shows that an overall approach to sound and vibrations must be taken in order to create a good working environment. If you influence one of the sources of sound or vibration then the perception of all the others is changed...

Labels: trucks' noise

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* Navistar Keeps On Trucking

Warrenville,Ill,USA -Forbes (New York,NY), by Melinda Peer -28 May 2008: -- Truck and engine maker, Navistar, roared through analysts' full-year estimates, projecting record growth despite a weak North American truck market... On Wednesday, Navistar International projected 2008 sales of more than $15.0 billion on account of increased market share and increased shipments. The guidance exceeded the mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial for full-year sales of $13.0 billion... The Warrenville, Ill., based holding company's subsidiaries make commercial and military trucks, buses, chassis and diesel engines...

* Volvo unsure '08 US truck market will improve

USA -Reuters, by Nichola Groom & Peter Henderson -May 28, 2008: -- Some in the industry, including diesel engine supplier Cummins Inc and truck maker Navistar International Corp, have said the market will rebound in the latter half of 2008 as truckers buy equipment in anticipation of new clean- air rules that go into effect in 2010... Volvo, which has about 15 percent of the U.S. truck market, is not as optimistic... Still, Lorentzson said the company would not cut prices to spur sales... But he did not know whether there would be a price increase this year... Nevertheless, Volvo is resigned to the fact that high oil prices are now a fact of life...

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

FUEL SAVING * USA - Georgia Man Uses Tractor Engines in Regular Trucks

"The average full size pick-up in America gets like 13.4 miles a gallon, these are getting 42, 45 in that range"

Byron,GA,USA -WTVM, by Zaneta Lower -May 28, 2008: -- Gary Brown has been in the tractor business for more than 20 years, but as gas prices went up, his sales went down. So, he and a few friends came up with another way to use some of the old tractor parts. "We're just taking economical farm engines, farm tractor engines and putting them in pick-ups," Brown says... That's right, Brown says engines initially built for a hard day's work in the fields are perfect for trucks like a Ford F-150 meant for the road... What they did was work, and according to Brown, run more efficiently... "The average full size pick-up in America gets like 13.4 miles a gallon, these are getting 42, 45 in that range," says Brown... Seems impossible, right! ... The name of the business, Shade Tree Conversions, comes from an old, simple country concept... If you'd like more information on this idea or to find out which tractors are compatible with which vehicles, visit shadetreeconversions.com. Brown will not sell the vehicles, he will however, sell people a copy of the plans for $50... Video: Local man swaps tractor engine to conserve fuel- (Photo: Brown says engines initially built for a hard day's work in the fields are perfect for trucks like a Ford F-150 meant for the road)-

Labels: ideas fuel saving

WORLD OIL MARKET * Luxembourg - Challenges OPEC

Luxembourg,Europe -New Europe, by Kostis Geropoulos -26 May 2008: -- ... The sight of the US President begging in public view before the Saudi royal family, holding hands with them, literally, in the hope of persuading the kingdom to increase production to bring soaring oil prices down was humiliating to Americans around the world... It might well be that OPEC has decided to allow prices to go ahead and go up and start heading to that transitional way from an oil-based economy. If OPEC increases oil production by a million or two barrels per day in the long term, it could drive prices back down to, let’s say, USD 70 per barrel. If this reignites growth and usage and they know that they do not have any substantial increased capacity, and then what will happen in three to five years is a huge price spike, leading to peak oil, Ron Smith, chief strategist at Alfa Bank in Moscow, said... OPEC is right now practically the only source of all extra production. “If they don’t have it, it’s to their interest to make the peak oil not so much a peak but a plateau,” Smith said. “The earlier we enter the plateau — oil prices start to rise, moderate demand and encourage marginal production in small, expensive fields — the more likely we will have a gradual transition. Otherwise they can try to keep the prices down until the day we run out of excess capacity completely and then we will have a price spike far beyond what we have seen. The second will be dangerous.”... (Foto por CECILIA PUEBLA/ANA/EPA -May 23, 2008: OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri visits the oil station Bloque 15 in the Ecuadorian Amazon)

Labels: oil markets

28.5.08

TRUCKERS' PROTEST * UK - Lorry drivers flex their muscles

Hundreds of lorry drivers converged on London yesterday to protest at rising fuel costs

London,Uk -Times On Line, by Fran Yeoman - May 28, 2008: -- ... Police closed a section of the A40 — one of the capital’s main arteries — so that it could be used as a massive lorry park... From there the drivers made their way to a rally at Marble Arch, where they told of jobs under threat, severe belt-tightening and family companies facing closure... Early yesterday morning, as the convoys set off from Kent, Essex and all points north and west, they were greeted with spontaneous applause from motorists, who are also feeling the pinch with petrol prices rising to an average of about 114p a litre and diesel to 126p... The hauliers were in good spirits, with horns blaring and banners waving, but by the time they reached Marble Arch — where a sign lamented “Dying for a rebate” — the mood was more sombre... A delegation will hand in a letter to Brown's office, calling for the immediate introduction of an "essential user" rebate of 20-25 pence per litre, allowing heavy goods vehicles to claim some of the fuel duty back... The rally organisers, TransAction 2007, had hoped for 1,000 lorries but seemed satisfied with the 200-300 parked in rows on the A40, and another 100 that joined a protest in Wales... (See Video) (Picture: Oil prices have risen by a third since the start of 2008)

Labels: truckers' protest worldwide

WASHROOM ROADS * Canada - Urine bottles found along N.B. highways

NB,Canada -CBC News -26 May 08: -- Highway officials say dozens of bottles of urine are being found along the sides of roads, tossed away by drivers who can't be bothered to find a washroom... Most of the so-called pee jugs are from transport trucks parked on exit ramps, according to the company responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Fredericton-Moncton highway in southern New Brunswick... He said drivers could be ticketed for littering if they continue throwing their jugs out the window...

Labels: washroom roads

FUEL COST, ONE SOLUTION * USA - Bill advances to close loophole blamed for energy speculation

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly overrode President Bush’s veto of the Farm Bill last week, voting 82-13 to approve the bill that also aims to close a legal loophole championed by Enron, which allows energy commodities to inflate gas and diesel prices

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -May 27, 2008: -- Any closing of the “Enron” loophole could have a profound effect on trucking. Energy industry insiders have estimated as much as a third of the per-barrel cost of crude oil is driven by investment speculation... The bill would close a loophole in market trading regs that currently allows for “over-the-counter” trading of energy futures – essentially allowing investors to gamble and reap large rewards on the escalation of oil prices... Hedge fund manager Michael Masters reportedly told a U.S. Senate committee last week that oil prices are being driven almost as much by speculators as they are by Chinese demand. According to Financial Post, annual Chinese petroleum demands increased 920 million barrels in the past five years, while demand driven by speculation tallied 848 million barrels... The Farm Bill isn’t likely to be the last legislation aimed at reforming energy trade... A statement from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, said the proposed act would: protect consumers from price gouging during an official “energy emergency;” would prevent traders of U.S. crude oil from routing transactions through off-shore markets without speculative limits; would allow the U.S. to enforce penalties against countries or companies colluding to set oil prices; and would roll back $17 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies...

Labels: fuel costs solution

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - DHL to partner with UPS in US

Deutsche Post World Net has today announced a plan to restructure its DHL US Express business

USA -Transport Intelligence (Germany) -28 May 2008: -- Under the plan, DHL and UPS have agreed to develop a contract whereby UPS will provide air uplift for DHL Express US domestic and international shipments within North America. In addition, DHL will redesign its ground linehaul network. Management stated that the impact on service levels would be minimal with less than 4% of shipments affected... As one central part of its restructuring activities, DHL and UPS will pursue a contract to provide air uplift, creating a single airline partner for DHL Express in the US... DHL will continue to operate its courier and ground network as well as pickup and delivery services to customers across the country. The proposed agreement will extend for 10 years. The commencement of UPS service into the DHL network is expected to begin later this year...

* Truck Pre-Buy Unlikely in ’09 - Execs Confident in New Engines

New York,NY,USA -Transport Topics, by Sean McNally -May 26, 2008: -- Executives with four of the largest U.S. trucking fleets all said they are not planning to pre-buy trucks next year... The executives, speaking to investors and reporters May 20-21 here at the Wolfe Research Transportation Conference, said they were confident with the technologies that will be used to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 diesel engine emission standards and that projected price increases on those models would be less than originally feared...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

TRUCKING INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE * Mergers & Acquisitions

London,UK -Transport Intelligence -27 May 2008: -- Activity for the week of 20 May 2008

5/12: USA - Actionview International Inc. announced the acquisition of Jim Palmer Trucking, Inc., a reefer carrier based in Missoula, MT operating a fleet 350 tractors and 500 trailers in 44 states.? Jim Palmer had TTM revenue of $34.8 million.

5/14: Israel - Merhav Ampal Energy Ltd. announced the acquisition of 15% of Gadot Chemical Tankers & Terminals Ltd. for $15.5 million.? Based in Netanya, Israel, Gadot distributes edible oils and plastics, additives, alcohols, aromatic solvents, esters, minerals, pharmaceuticals, printing inks and textile fibers.

5/15: Japan - Commercial RE Company Ltd. announced the acquisition of Tenko Souken Co., Ltd., a warehousing company based in Atsugi-shi, Japan.? Terms were not disclosed.

5/15: Belgium - Benelux Port Holdings S.a.r.l. has acquired 57% of Westerlund Group NV, a provider of warehousing, transport and logistics services to the pulp and paper industry in Belgium, France, China, and the U.K.? Terms were not disclosed.

5/16: USA - A Clean Environment Company announced the acquisition of Perma-Fix Treatment Services, Inc., a hazardous waste processing facility located in Tulsa, OK, for $1.5 million in cash.

5/19: UK - Cityspace Ltd. has acquired Kizoom Ltd., the UK's leading provider of intelligent travel information systems.? Terms were not disclosed.

STRATEGIC BUYERS - Domestic Transactions
5/22: USA - SuperShuttle International, Inc. has acquired Golden Touch Transportation of NY, Inc., a provider of passenger ground transportation to airlines, universities, hospitals and schools in the metropolitan New York City area. ?Golden Touch had TTM revenue of $27.0 million.

STRATEGIC BUYERS - Foreign Transactions
5/20: China - Changle Century Sunshine Paper Industry Co., Ltd. announced the acquisition of 48.8% of Changle Shenyi Transportation Co., Ltd. ("CSTC") for $0.8 million.? Based in China, CSTC provides general cargo transportation and domestic and international container transportation services.

5/21: Oesterreich - Oesterreichische Post AG has acquired 24-VIP Express Logistics Services d.o.o., a package delivery provider located in Bosnia.? Terms were not disclosed.

5/21: Oesterreich - Oesterreichische Post AG has acquired HSH Holding B.V.B.A., a specialist in non temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics based in Stekene, Belgium.? Terms were not disclosed.

5/22: China - China TransInfo Technology Corp. announced the acquisition of 53.3% of China TranWiseway Information Technology Co., Ltd. ("CTIT") for $0.9 million. ?CTIT develops applications for highway and street traffic monitoring projects in China.

5/22: Russia - JSC Sovcomflot made a mandatory offer to acquire the remaining 3.17% stake in Joint Stock Company Novorossiysk Shipping Company for $41.3 million.? Novorossiysk operates vessels for the transportation of container and bulk freight from its base in Novorossiysk, Russia.

FINANCIAL BUYERS
5/14: USA - Wells Fargo & Company announced it is leading an investor group that will acquire IdleAire Technologies Corporation out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection for $385.4 million.? IdleAire, a provider of in-cab services to the heavy-duty trucking industry in the US, had TTM revenue of $34 million.

5/20: USA - The Carlyle Group has acquired ITS Technologies & Logistics LLC, a provider of intermodal terminal operation services based in Hazel Crest, IL.? Terms were not disclosed.

Labels: TI Mergers and Acquisitions worldwide

27.5.08

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE - Soaring fuel prices have yet to dent demand for freight transport

* UK - Britain has become the latest country to experience public protests over fuel prices, with truck drivers yesterday (May 27) blocking major roads into London with their vehicles

London,UK -Transport Intelligence -28 May 2008: -- Trade bodies representing that country's road freight industry are urging the government to cut the tax on diesel. The British International Freight Association, for example, is demanding the abolition of a planned 2p (£0.02) increase in fuel duty this October and the introduction of an "essential user rebate". Britain has some of the most expensive fuel in the world, with prices now over US$9 a gallon... Public protests against fuel prices have also occurred in countries where fuel is cheaper than in Britain. In France, for instance, the government seems to be reacting to demonstrations by contemplating a reduction in VAT (sales tax) after fishermen blockaded French ports. That sort of action is thought likely to be about to occur elsewhere in Europe...

* USA - Soaring Fuel Prices Take a Withering Toll on Truckers

New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, by LOUIS UCHITELLE -May 27, 2008: -- ... If diesel prices do not decline and make that side of the business viable, Jesse Hendley of eastern Georgia says, he will have to sell his trucks, or try to sell them. That is just what thousands of other truckers are doing as they shed used rigs in what appears to be the biggest shakeout since trucking was deregulated in 1980... The squeeze on truckers’ profits from rising fuel costs is compounded by the slowing economy, which is reducing freight traffic. Truckers say they find it hard to impose fuel surcharges, in part because their industry has suffered for years from over-capacity as deregulation drew thousands of small operators into trucking... Still, 70 percent of the nation’s freight tonnage moves over the highways on trucks, much of it in the diesel-powered tractor-trailers of the nation’s 350,000 independent operators, each with a fleet of up to five vehicles, one usually driven by the proprietor. Profit margins, notoriously thin in good times, are minuscule now, and each rise in fuel prices pushes more truckers into the red... More than 45,000 vehicles, or 3 percent of the tractor fleet, have disappeared from the highways since early last year, according to America’s Commercial Transportation Research in Columbus, Ind.... That surpasses the last great shakeout, in the early 1980s, when deregulation, along with a recession, high interest rates and the second Arab oil embargo, took out 33,000 tractors... John Seibert, a research analyst at the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, whose members includes as many of the protesters, said the drivers “think that government should not permit a situation in which the market does not pay them for their work.” He added, “It would seem that they are demanding a return to some form of regulation.”... (Picture by Tami Chappell for The New York Times - Jesse Hendley with trucks he owns near his home in Millen, Ga. He says he will sell his trucks if fuel prices do not fall)

* USA - Tough times for truckers

Meriden,CT,USA -The Meriden Record-Journal, by Jason R. Vallee -26 May 2008: -- ... when he first started working in trucking a little more than 20 years ago, he would drive to the Berlin Turnpike to buy wholesale diesel fuel at 99 cents per gallon... Just last week, Brysh went to his wholesale distributor and found prices had spiked to more than $4.40 per gallon... Michael J. Riley, president of the Motor Transportation Association of Connecticut, said those prices have risen to $5 in some parts of the state during recent weeks... With no end to the excessive rates in sight, area companies, and particularly independent truckers, are looking for federal assistance to combat the higher costs. If no help is provided, Riley warns, the next action could be picking up the pieces of a shattered economy... These are just the fuel costs. The higher prices have led to closings and bankruptcy filings by independent truckers and small companies... (Photo by Dave Zajac / Record-Journal )

* USA - Fuel prices continue to take their toll; used U.S. trucks exported

New York,NY,USA -The New York Times (see above)/Land Line Magazine -May 27, 2008: -- An article in today’s looks at the impact of fuel prices on truckers... The Times cites a report by America’s Commercial Transportation Research group that says 45,000 tractors, or more than 3 percent of the nation’s tractor fleet, have departed from U.S. highways since early last year. That surpasses the last great shakeout, in the early 1980s, when deregulation – along with a recession, high interest rates and the second Arab oil embargo – took out 33,000 tractors... It also cites a Commerce Department report that says nearly 24,000 used, over-the-road tractors have been exported to other countries in the last year. The weakness of the dollar is one reason more trucks are going abroad. According to the article, many of the trucks end up in Russia, a strong outlet for the used trucks... Thousands of truckers have sold their used rigs because the soaring price of diesel has stripped the profit from hauling...

* USA - Truckers grapple with rising diesel prices

West Covina,CA,USA -San Gabriel Valley Tribune , by Kevin Smith -28 May 2008: -- Southern California motorists have been hammered by spiking gasoline prices - prices that have topped $4 per gallon at many stations... But as bad as that's been, trucking companies and independent truckers are facing even worse... On Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of diesel fuel in the Los Angeles/Long Beach region was $5.134, down from Monday's record high of $5.135 per gallon... A month ago, diesel was selling for $4.49 per gallon and a year earlier it was priced at $3.16 per gallon... "Every day it gets worse and worse," said Isidro Lombera, owner of Fast Freight Transportation in Santa Fe Springs. "I'm trying to raise my rates, but most customers won't let you. They want you to keep rates the same. Some of them have gone somewhere else. But if they can't find anything they come back ... then we try to negotiate a price."... JNC Transportation in Baldwin Park has hiked its rates out of necessity, according to owner Jim Cass... Cass' company uses 25 trucks that haul produce destined for export overseas... "I'm passing our cost increases along to customers," he said. "It's a 35 percent increase in delivery costs, but our customers understand perfectly well. I'm actually busier than I've been in a long time. I keep hearing about the economy going bad, but people still have to eat."... Julie Sauls, a spokeswoman for the California Trucking Association, said drivers are getting hit from all sides with increased fees, diverted tax revenues and rapidly escalating diesel prices... "Diesel prices have surpassed labor as the biggest expense for trucking companies," she said. "One of our members said they're seeing voluntary repossessions of equipment. Some drivers just can't afford the cost of fuel."...

* South Korea - High Diesel Prices Hit Merchants

Seoul,S.Korea -The Korea Times, by Kim Hyun-cheol -28 May 2008: -- The situation raises concerns of the possibility of another nationwide strike from cargo truck drivers... Last week, the Korean Transport Workers' Union (KTWU) threatened to go on strike next month unless the government comes out with countermeasures to help ease their hardship... The union went on strike in 2003 and 2006, asking for improved freight-operating systems and better working conditions... A cargo driver is paid 800,000 won ($770) for a round-trip between Seoul and Busan currently, but now the charge is not profitable as drivers spend nearly 600,000 won on diesel for the trip, the union says... The government discussed a series of measures at a ministers meeting on Wednesday including a subsidy extension... Cargo truck drivers currently receive a 287-won per liter subsidy for diesel they consume at work. Without the extension, the policy will expire next month... The union, however, is negative on the effects of the measure, saying that cannot be a permanent solution and the money falls well short of recent increases in diesel prices... "The subsidies come from the driving tax, and it means the government is doing nothing but burdening the common people with its policy failure," a KTWU official said...

Labels: fuel costs troubles worldwide

Benefit from incentives * Canada - Truckers' & Employee incentives can help fleets meet an array of objectives

Canada -Truck News -23 May 2008: -- Driver compensation is usually measured in terms of an hourly wage or a rate based on travelled distances, but an array of additional incentives can play an important role in helping your fleet retain workers, lower fuel bills, and reduce accident claims... In a recent study, for example, the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) concluded that safety incentives helped studied fleets reduce insurance claims, workers' compensation claims and crashes by 65%...

Labels: truckers' benefit

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Canada & USA

* Canada - Kenworth offers automatic transmission for T800 - The Allison 4000 and 4500 transmissions are now available on

Kirkland,Wash,USA -Truck News (CAN) -23 May 2008:-- Allison's automatic transmissions can now be spec'd on the Kenworth T800... The fully-automatic transmission is well-suited for construction and short-haul applications with high horsepower requirements, the company says. The Allison 4000 and the Allison 4500 are now available with Cummins ISX engines that don't exceed 1,650 lb.-ft. of torque...

Labels: truckmakers USA and Canada

Govt Ignoring Call * Australia - For upgraded stops as fatigue regs approach

There is not enough urgency in delivering adequate rest areas for truck drivers in New South Wales, the industry says

NSW,Australia -ATN -21 May 2008: -- ... The Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) NSW branch has hit out at the State Government for failing to act on improving rest facilities as new fatigue regulations approach... "With the approach of the new Heavy Vehicle Driver Fatigue legislation rapidly approaching, ATA NSW has expressed their concern that mandatory rest breaks for drivers will be almost impossible to comply with, due to the lack of rest areas on NSW roads," ATA NSW Manager Jill Lewis says... ATA NSW has requested the RTA to update the rest area information on the website to include suitability for heavy rigid vehicles, semis, b-doubles and road trains. It also wants a list of amenities such as fresh drinking water, toilets, lighting and, where possible, to commonly name the rest area... Lewis says... "For example, if a rest area is not suitable for a B-double, the operators and drivers should know before they leave the depot. What is a driver to do when they go to pull over for the mandatory rest break only to find that the area is not big enough for them to turn around in?"... ATA NSW is calling on its members to download the list of truck rest area locations and to make comments on their suitability...

Labels: trucks stops

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * Australia - ATA NSW wants investigation into diesel prices

The rising price of fuel continues to haunt the Rudd Government, with the New South Wales branch of the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) calling for an investigation into diesel prices

NSW,Australia -Australasian TN -27 May 2008: -- ... ATA NSW Manager Jill Lewis has written to the Federal as well as NSW governments highlighting the impact the cost of diesel is having on truck drivers. Lewis says truck drivers have contacted ATA NSW raising concerns they cannot meet escalating costs... In her letter, Lewis outlines the combined effect fuel, truck repayments, insurance commitments and running costs are having on the industry. Adding to this is the fact sections of the industry cannot pass on all of the extra costs... Her call for concrete action to be done to address fuel prices comes amid pressure from the Opposition to cut the fuel excise by 5 cents per litre...

* Rising fuel prices means no new roads should be built

Forrest, ACT (Australia's Capital Territory), Australia -ATN -22 May 2008: -- Greens’ spokeswoman on transport Lee Rhiannon is advocating an immediate moratorium on road spending after the price of oil hit a record high $133.58 barrel... According to Rhiannon, spiralling fuel costs demand urgent action, such as scrapping road transport infrastructure projects like new motorways. The money saved from scrapping road projects, Rhiannon says, should be invested in public transport infrastructure as well having rail carry the bulk of freight... This is despite the fact road is the most viable option for freight... In tabling the bill Rhiannon also took a swipe at the diesel excise, saying reducing petrol taxes is a short term solution to a long term problem... In other words, the Greens risk being caught in a contradictory position, because it argues for more to be done to keep food prices down but simultaneously wants the excise scrapped which keeps the price of everyday goods from spiralling even higher... Rhiannon did say a plan to deal with the excise needed to be implemented, yet failed to mention what such a plan needs to entail...

Labels: fuel costs troubles

26.5.08

CLEAN TRUCKS DISCUSSION * USA - Ports Facing 5-Week Wait For

Long Beach and Los Angeles and members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement could begin to discuss the Clean Trucks program

Long Beach,CA,USA -The Cunningham Report -25 May 2008: -- Sunday, June 29 is the first date that the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement could begin to discuss the Clean Trucks program, security initiatives and other matters with antitrust immunity... The operative word is "could." That's if no additional questions or issues arise that cause the Federal Maritime Commission to delay or seek to prevent the agreement from taking effect. The latter, which the FMC has not done in recent memory, involves seeking a court order to stop an agreement... The ports have questioned the FMC's delay in the matter and its jurisdiction to hold up the discussions with the terminal operators... June 29 will be 45 days after the ports and the terminal operators filed their responses to the FMC's request for details about the pending agreement. The FMC's list of questions stopped the clock on the original 45-day review period, which would have ended March 30...

Labels: Clean Trucks Program

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* France - Renault Trucks transfers Short Series activity into new subsidiary

Limoges,France -Easier/motoring (UK) -26 May 2008: -- On June 1st 2008, Renault Trucks Short Series unit (PRPS) will be re-classified as a subsidiary under the name “TEXELIS”... This is a crucial stage in the development of this activity, which delivers drive axles, transmissions and other mechanical assemblies to the commercial vehicle and rail sectors... Renault Trucks, one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, continues the process of refocusing on its strategic activities. Having sold off some of its non-core activities in the past (gearboxes, coaches and buses, drives axles / axles, foundry, etc…), Renault Trucks today announces the subsidiarisation of its “Short Series” business... Texelis is already into the next phase of its development, which will focus on the search for an industrial partner to take over the reigns from Renault Trucks… probably at some time in 2009...

* France - Renault Trucks doing its all to simplify life for employees

Lyon,France -Easier/motoring (UK) -26 May 2008: -- On its Lyon site, in partnership with the company Bien-Etre à la Carte, Renault Trucks is launching a company concierge programme to help employees get the right balance between their private and working lives: the first stage of an overall approach to improved employee well-being. The Renault Trucks concierge service will open its doors on May 23rd for a test period over the year 2008... As the first step in an overall approach begun by Renault Trucks in 2005 to improve the well-being of its employees at work, the company concierge will relieve employees of all the burdens of daily life. Set up in partnership with Bien-Etre à la Carte, a subsidiary of Accor Services the world leader issuer of prepaid services, the concierge service will offer a very broad panel of services in five specific areas:

1. Multi-services in the workplace - 2. “Family” services - 3. “Administrative, legal and fiscal” services - 4. “Leisure and travel” services - 5. “Home and living” services...

To benefit, employees will just have to go to the concierge service centre on the Saint-Priest site near the canteen where they will be welcomed by a professional concierge from 7am to 10.30am and from 11.30am to 3pm, Monday to Friday... Access to the concierge services is free for all employees: they only pay for the service provided by the concierge at competitive tariffs negotiated by Bien-Etre à la Carte from their referenced service provider list...

Labels: truckmakers' news worldwide

FUEL COST TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Trucks run dry

The spiralling cost of fuel is hitting motorists hard, but it's hitting the 47,000 companies in the trucking industry even harder

Melbourne,Australia -The Melbourne Herald Sun, by Stuart St Clair -May 27, 2008: -- ... Last week I spoke to one owner-driver who runs a B-double - one of the articulated trucks with two trailers you see on the Hume Freeway... He is now spending $17,000 a month on fuel, compared with $12,000 in October last year, but he hasn't been able to increase his freight rates... Many small operators and owner drivers have been trying to absorb the rising cost of fuel. Many are locked into fixed-price contracts, so imposing a fuel surcharge as the airlines or the major trucking companies are doing is not an option... Many of these companies will go out of business in the next few months unless they can get their customers to renegotiate their contracts... There are companies that will need to increase their freight rates by more than 10 per cent just to start breaking even again... Some freight forwarders will argue they shouldn't have to pay more, but they face a stark alternative... They can either pay higher rates to the companies they deal with now, or watch them go out of business and try to negotiate new contracts with the trucking companies that survive... (Video from YouTube, by mrsbugga - April 26, 2008: "Big Truck, Little Driveway!" - B Double Argosy coming in a single gate)

* France - Truckers stranded at French port

Cherbourg,France -The Press Association (UK) -26 May 2008: -- Up to 20 Irish truck drivers have been stranded in Cherbourg for four days after French fishermen angry at high fuel costs blockaded the port... It is one of a number hit by the nationwide protest which has seen the trucks, loaded with meat, vegetables and other produce, unable to leave... Freight operator Derek Lenehan, who has a lorry with 40,000 euro worth of potatoes bound for Dublin stuck at the port, said he is concerned they will perish if left any longer... Ferry company Celtic Link transported a number of trucks from Rosslare to Cherbourg last Thursday.. The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) is urging the Department of Transport to pressure the French government into resolving the bitter row... The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was liaising with French authorities over the dispute...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

STOCKWATCH * WORLDWIDE - Transportation Highlights

* India - Eicher Motors up 17 pct after signing jv pact with Volvo
Mumbai,India -Thomson Financial -26 May 2008: -- Shares of India's Eicher Motors Ltd. surged 17 percent after the company said it has signed agreements with Swedish automaker AB Volvo to set up commercial vehicles, components, and engineering design services businesses in India...

* India - Ashok Leyland, Nissan sign 3 jv deals
Mumbai,India -Thomson Financial -26 May 2008: -- ... to make LCVs, power trains in India...

* Japan - Toyota, Hino to help develop road-rail vehicle
Tokyo,Japan - Thomson Financial -26 May 2008: -- Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and its truck-making affiliate have joined a project to develop an environmentally friendly vehicle capable of moving both on roads and railways, an official said Monday...

Labels: trucks markets worldwide

Security Net * USA - Unease as truckers not included in

Washington,DC,USA -Cargonews Asia (V/Toronto,Ont,CAN), by Ian Putzger -26 May 2008: -- With a deadline of having to screen all bellyhold air cargo by the summer of 2010 looming, the US Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has begun to flesh out details of its air freight security strategy. Some of the elements, plus the absence of any government funding for operators' efforts to comply, have forwarders worried... At first glance, the TSA's strategy came as a relief for industry executives who had warned about bottlenecks at airports as a result of mandatory screening... At this point, forwarders are understandably hesitant because there are still no clear indications how much the new security regime will cost. The TSA currently has no cost estimates for companies considering CCSF registration... According to estimates from the Congressional Research Service, the full screening mandate could cost the industry up to US$3.7 billion. Experts on the airline side consider that figure conservative...

Labels: borders security

FUEL COSTS SOLUTION * Philippines - Villar backs public transport subsidies amid oil crisis

Senate President Manuel Villar asked the government to subsidize transportation costs

Manila,Philippines -The Philippine Daily Inquirer, by Dona Pazzibugan -26 May 2008: -- Senate President Manuel Villar has joined calls for government to ease the impact of skyrocketing prices of petroleum products by subsidizing transportation costs... Instead of calling for a suspension of the 12 per cent value added tax (VAT) imposed on petroleum products, Villar asked the government to subsidize transportation costs by making use of proceeds from the expanded value-added tax... He said the government could afford to give such a subsidy since it stood to earn in 2008 an additional P18 billion from VAT due to the surge in oil prices in the world market... Oil firms have announced they would increase their pump prices weekly to recover their losses... (Video from YouTube, by PogimonXp - January 27, 2008: "Truck Moving Backwards! No Camera Tricks" - Truck Moving Backwards! No Camera Tricks captured at Carmenville Angeles City Philippines)

Labels: fuel cost solutions

TRUCKERS' STRIKE * South Korea - Diesel Prices Burden Truck Drivers

Drivers are lining up their trucks in front of major ports, saying that the more you drive, the more you lose

Seoul,S. Korea -dongA -26 May 2008: -- The recent surge in diesel prices is threatening the livelihood of cargo truck and small delivery truck drivers. Some of them even stay up all night in their trucks to scare off oil thieves or risk their lives for break-free night-driving to save oil. Furthermore, drivers are lining up their trucks in front of major ports, saying that the more you drive, the more you lose... Diesel prices have surpassed the 2,000 won per liter mark, posting a tenfold increase over the past 18 years in contrast to a fivefold rise in gasoline prices during the same period. Despite the relatively low tax rates imposed on diesel, which is mostly imported for industrial use, diesel prices exceeded those of gasoline due to the soaring demand in newly-emerging economies such as China and India. The unpredictability of the price hike left many truck drivers in utter bewilderment... The Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union announced that it will go on strike unless the government comes up with follow-up measures to the diesel price hike, such as the introduction of a standard rate system or tax reduction. Specifically, it demanded the government to reduce tax on diesel used in 1-ton trucks for cargo transportation or other businesses for livelihood, just as the government exempts taxes on gasoline used in fishing ships and agricultural machinery... The government has reiterated its pledge to maintain its ratio of diesel to gasoline in prices 85:100. Keeping that promise alone would contribute greatly to lifting the burden on truck drivers. Another effective way of helping them is to raise the cost of using cargo trucks to offset the rise in diesel prices, which will then split the burden between consignors and drivers...

Labels: truckers' strikes

ACCIDENTS * Canada - Fatigue, inexperience fingered in crashes

London,ONT,Canada -The London Free Press -May 25, 2008: -- Driver fatigue and inadequate training are fingered by some Highway 401 motorists as the likely culprits in truck crashes such as Friday's in London between two Michigan-bound garbage trucks... One driver was killed in the flaming collision between the two Toronto trash rigs, both driven by Brampton drivers... At the Flying J Truck Stop along the 401 in London, motorists had mixed thoughts about the trucking problems... Just last week the pair, moving to Guelph, followed a regular transport truck east from London, near Woodstock, that was weaving across three lanes of traffic and nearly sideswiped another truck... It was only about 8 p.m., and Warmuth and Henderson said they were so concerned they called police... The driver was impaired by fatigue, they believe... (Video from YouTube, by gndarklight - April 02, 2008: "Truck Crash Head On Edmonton" - This happened March 31st 2008 in Edmonton It is beleived he crashed because of diabetes)

Labels: trucking accidents

FUEL COSTS SOLUTIONS * USA - Truckers go for gas-saving tech

Route planning. Stramlined designs. Better tires. Can Boost a Semi's Mileage

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Ken Bensinger -25 May 2008: -- ... Engineers and manufacturers furiously are developing new fuel-friendly technology. And commercial fleets are using high-tech software to calculate every aspect of their drivers' routes, down to where they should fill up and where they should stop for the night... Because of short supply, the price of diesel has risen more than twice as much as gasoline in the past year, selling at well over $4 a gallon. With little hope of a near-term decline - oil hit a record $135.09 a barrel Thursday - the run-up is causing panic and prompting radical cultural and technological shifts in the struggling trucking industry... Instead of obsessing over chrome trim or the latest cab amenities to ease life on the road, truck owners and operators fed up with getting 5 mpg are delving into long-ignored subjects like aerodynamics, slower cruising speeds and more efficient tires... Several manufacturers are making hybrid trucks, which capture braking energy to boost mileage, making them perfect for vehicles like garbage trucks that make frequent stops. Earlier this month, the Port of Los Angeles unveiled a fully electric truck it helped develop that's capable of towing shipping containers as far as 30 miles on a single charge... Kambiz Salari, a fluid dynamics engineer at California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has spent the past decade developing inventions that increase fuel economy - including a giant fan behind the cab that reduces drag-creating turbulence. None has been adopted commercially, but this year the U.S. Department of Energy is offering grants to trucking companies that will test those devices on their fleet. "Fuel costs are bringing attention to our research," he said... "This industry is changing," said Bob Weber, the International engineer. "Ten mpg is now feasible."...

Labels: fuel cost solutions

LORRY DRIVERS RALLY * UK - Haulage firms in protest over fuel prices

Haulage firms in Northamptonshire are to throw their support behind a protest against the record fuel prices which is expected to bring central London to a standstill on Tuesday

Northampton,England,UK -The Northampton Chronicle & Echo, by Callum Jones -22 May 2008: -- ... Led by hauliers from Kent, hundreds of lorry drivers from different parts of the country will take part in what organisers hope will be the largest-ever fuel duty protest in the capital... Wreford's Transport, based in Far Cotton, Northampton, said it was looking to send a truck to the demonstration, while three other Northamptonshire haulage firms, RJC Lowloaders Ltd, Mainland Group Ltd in Northampton, and Gibson's Haulage, said they sympathised with the protestors but would not be able to send a lorry driver... The protest comes at a time when diesel has soared past 120p a litre and follows a similar London protest involving dozens of hauliers a few weeks ago... A delegation will hand in a letter to 10 Downing Street demanding the introduction of an essential user rebate which would allow heavy goods vehicle operators to claim some of the fuel duty back... A member of Transaction 2007 who is helping to organise the protest, Mike Presneill, said: "Hundreds of UK transport firms are being driven to the wall. Thousands of UK jobs are being lost... (Picture: Hauliers have been hit by rising fuel prices)

Labels: truckers' protests

25.5.08

BILLS * Australia - Blame for speeding truckies to be shared

Truckies who speed and take drugs to stay awake will no longer be the scapegoats for big companies setting unrealistic deadlines

Sydney,New South Wales,Australia -The Sydney Morning Herald, by Lisa Carty -May 25, 2008: -- ... New laws to be introduced in NSW mean businesses sending and receiving goods on the road can also be charged and fined if truckies break speed and fatigue laws... Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal will extend "chain of responsibility" laws, introduced in 2005 to cover overloading, to ensure all players cop the rap if truckies are pushed beyond their limits... The fines were yet to be set but under the overloading laws, penalties of up to $220,000 apply for the most serious, repeat offences... A 2006 study found one in five long-haul truckies used illegal drugs to stay awake in order to meet unrealistic deadlines; another study in the same year found one in four truck drivers is pressured to break the speed limit to meet deadlines... Transport Workers' Union state secretary Tony Sheldon welcomed the new laws, saying truckies were the least powerful people in the transport chain... Australia Trucking Association CEO Stuart St Clair said the changes meant responsibility would be shared... The legislation will be introduced to parliament next month... (Video from YouTube, by daz72m - March 09, 2008: "Australian Roadtrains" - Australian Roadtrains including Kenworths, Macks & Western Stars)

Labels: trucks speed

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * USA - Pricey diesel fuel drives up trucking companies' costs

National average at $4.65; San Diego County's far higher

San Diego,CAL,USA -The San Diego Union Tribune by Bruce V. Bigelow -May 24, 2008: -- A new characteristic in the latest unrelenting run-up in crude-oil costs became apparent yesterday in San Diego and across the nation: Retail fuel prices don't sleep... In San Diego County, for example, motorists awakened yesterday to discover that the average cost of a gallon of diesel fuel increased 13 cents overnight to $5.06, according to the Utility Consumers' Action Network. The average price for regular gasoline rose 3 cents to $4.07...Nationally, the price of a gallon of regular gas rose 4.4 cents overnight to a record average of $3.88, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel prices in the United States rose 5.9 cents to a record national average of $4.65... The effect of escalating diesel prices was acute at a Unocal 76 truck stop near the Otay Mesa border crossing that advertised a cash price of $5.25 a gallon for No. 2 diesel... (Photos by EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune - 1 · Trucker Francisco Sepulveda filled his big rig's tank at a truck stop near the Otay Mesa border crossing yesterday. An industry group projects that trucking companies will spend almost 38 percent more on diesel fuel this year than in 2007 - 2 · A sign at the truck stop advertised the soaring price of diesel fuel)

* Trucking shifts to crisis gear - Nearly 1,000 U.S. trucking companies filed bankruptcy petitions in the first quarter, up 21 percent from a year earlier

Tulsa,OK,USA -Tulsa World, by ROBERT S. CROSS by D.R. STEWART -25 May 2008: -- ... High fuel prices are crippling the airline industry and chopping into household budgets, but no sector of the economy has been hit harder than the trucking industry, executives and analysts say... Record high diesel prices are driving trucking companies into bankruptcy at rates not seen since the 2000-2001 recession, but they also are spurring a host of fuel conservation initiatives, industry officials said... How bad is it for truckers and trucking companies?... The rising price of diesel fuel for the 3 million commercial Class 8 trucks and 3.4 million commercial drivers in the United States is not only causing significant bankruptcies. It is increasing the price of everything trucks haul, which is 70 percent of everything Americans use or consume... But down the road, Donald Broughton, who follows the trucking industry for Avondale Partners LLC in Nashville, Tenn, said, the economy could be in for significant inflation aftershocks because during this industry downturn, unlike 2000-2001, truck capacity is being eliminated, not just idled. That means increased pricing power for trucking industry survivors — and further price increases for consumer goods... In theory, truckers can recover higher fuel bills through fuel surcharges. Surcharges are assessed shippers based on the national average diesel fuel price published by the U.S. Department of Energy each Monday... But when diesel prices rise each day, as they have in recent weeks, independent drivers and trucking companies end up with fuel bills not fully covered by the fuel surcharges... And, when it costs upwards of $1,300 to fill a truck's fuel tank, fuel costs mount rapidly... To withstand rising fuel bills, trucking companies are adopting a host of fuel-saving measures, from reducing highway speeds and minimizing engine idling to adopting fuel-saving software, single wide-base tires and aerodynamic fairings on trucks... EPA estimates that a commercial truck can save 400 gallons of diesel fuel per year by using wide-base tires... Companies also are retrofitting trucks with aerodynamic options such as roof fairings, which deflect air on the cab roof; cab extenders, which reduce the gap between the cab and the trailer; and front bumper air dams, which reduce air flow beneath the truck... Improving aerodynamics can increase fuel economy 15 percent, which would result in fuel savings of $3,644 a year, according to the EPA... Soaring diesel prices will spur additional innovations in the trucking industry, officials say... "It's like a forest fire that cleans out the underbrush and smaller trees and allows the stronger trees to grow," said Dan Taylor, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Melton Truck Lines Inc.... (Photo: An eastbound truck rolls through Tulsa on Interstate 44 near Lewis Avenue)

Labels: fuel costs troubles

TAX * Canada - Carbon Crunch

You think there’s already too much tax built into the price of fuel? Well, truckers you ain’t seen nothin’ yet

BC,CAN -rbmcarriers/Today's Trucking, by Steve Macleod -17 May 2008: -- ... specially those of you in B.C., anyway... When B.C.’s Finance Minister released the 2008-2009 provincial budget this year, however, some mutterings became a bit more audible and still show no signs of quieting down... The province has become the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a carbon tax directed at consumers. It will apply to pretty much all fossil fuels, including gasoline, natural gas, coal, propane, home heating fuel, and of course — diesel. If the budget passes, beginning this year, gasoline will increase by 2.5 cents per liter and diesel by 2.7 cents per liter this year. After the five-year phase-in period in 2012, the prices will be 7.3 cents more per liter and 8.3 cents per liter, respectively... Designed to encourage consumers to make more environmentally friendly buying decisions, B.C.’s carbon tax is being billed as revenue-neutral and will supposedly be given back to citizens in the form of tax cuts... Even though the carbon tax could put the price of fuel in B.C. at nearly three times what it will cost in neighboring provinces, Carole Taylor, B.C.’s Finance Minister, is confident the new measure will not make B.C. uncompetitive... There may be benefits for the average citizen, admits B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) CEO Paul Landry. But for truckers who already voluntarily invest in fuel saving technologies, the tax plan provides very little return. “What’s missing in this budget for the trucking industry is the balance. We see the stick, but where’s the carrot?”... (The BCTA says the carbon tax is all stick,no carrot, for trucking companies)

Labels: tax policys

AFTER SHUTDOWN * USA - Agencies work to find new jobs after shutdown

Trucking industry and government officials have been working to get displaced workers back on the road following announcement that Jevic Transportation Inc. was closing

Mount Holly,NJ,USA -phillyBurbs.com (Philadelphia,PA)/The Burlington County Times (Burlington, VER), by DANIELLE CAMILLI -23 May 2008: -- ... The Burlington County Board of Freeholders announced yesterday it would hold an information workshop with former employees of the Delanco-based trucking company at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Human Services Facility on Woodlane Road in Westampton... State and county representatives will be available to help residents file for unemployment benefits and provide information on job searches, placement and other services... More than 1,000 Jevic workers in the county lost their jobs and health insurance when the company made its announcement Monday that it was closing that day... The New Jersey Motor Truck Association also is assisting former Jevic employees. The East Brunswick-based group reached out to its 1,000 trucking industry members to locate job openings throughout the state. It has posted the job opportunities on its Web site at www.njmta.org...

Labels: shutdown

Clean Truck Plan * USA - Losing Traction. Confusion and threat of lawsuits block progress

Opinion: “It’s definitely a recipe for disaster”

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Business Journal, by RICHARD CLOUGH -26 May 2008: -- Despite the fast-approaching October start date for a massive truck replacement program at the local ports, motor carriers are largely sitting idle, making it unlikely that it can be smoothly implemented in the coming months... Los Angeles and Long Beach port officials have worked for more than a year on a clean-air initiative that will reduce emissions by funding the replacement of about 16,000 short-haul diesel trucks in San Pedro Bay. But with just a few months left before the ports will require motor carriers to scrap their oldest rigs, few local trucking companies have begun making plans to turn over their fleets, despite the fact that new trucks often take months to procure... While some trucking executives cite a general confusion about the program for their lack of movement, many others are expecting a possible lawsuit by the American Trucking Association, an industry trade group, to mire the ports in a legal battle that could derail the program for months, or even years... The most controversial provision in the clean-air plan has been adopted only by the Los Angeles port; it will force trucking companies to end the practice of contracting with independent drivers and instead hire employees to operate company trucks... A lawsuit could delay key elements of the program, and if a lawsuit does not materialize or is quickly dismissed, many motor carriers would be unprepared when the program begins... “It’s definitely a recipe for disaster,” said Kristen Monaco, a trucking expert and professor at California State University Long Beach. “Everyone’s anticipating that the lawsuit will hold everything up for a while. If there’s no lawsuit I think everyone will be shocked and a little unprepared.”...

Labels: Clean Truck Program debate

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Large Truckers Haul Past Industry Stress

Though record fuel costs hurt the prospects for trucking companies, investors have poured money into the larger names, partly based on the returns derived from higher manufacturing demand and potential consolidation in the industry

New York,NY,USA -Today Share Market Tips -23 May 2008: -- ... While the Standard & Poor’s 500 has fallen 5% so far this year, a group of major ruck stocks monitored by Goldman Sachs rose 18% over the same period. Though it would seem rising oil prices would damp these stocks, many investors expect the large truck companies to benefit from industry consolidation, as record high fuel costs push many small players over the edge. Companies such as J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT), Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX), Werner Enterprises Inc. (WERN), Landstar Systems Inc. (LSTR), Con-Way Inc. (CNW) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) are among those favored by Wall Street...

* A day at Cowan

I was so busy making a living that I didn’t have time to make a fortune.” –Ted Griller

Baltimore,MD,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -May 23, 2008: --... Ted is a veteran truck driver, who has spent 24 of his 32 years on the road with Cowan Systems and its predecessor, W.T. Cowan Inc... Cowan Systems LLC, it's a regional truckload carrier, that operates primarily east of the Mississippi River, north to Maine, and south to Florida... Cowan specializes in providing dedicated fleet service, mainly for beverage and other retail customers. Its fleet consists of 800 three-year-old and newer trucks, predominantly Volvo VN tractors (making up about 80% of the fleet), along with 450 owner-operator trucks – all pulling some 2,600 new 53-ft. lightweight plate trailers, most equipped with wide-base tires on their axles...

Dennis Morgan, Cowan’s COO, noted that, for the last year and the 20 years prior to it, drivers were the carrier’s number one cost. “This year, however, it is fuel,” he said. “You never cover the entire added cost of fuel, even with surcharges: you never recoup the cost of empty or deadhead miles. The spread between what is covered and what’s not continues to grow as the price of fuel rises … and it eats materially into our margins. While our business volume is the same versus last year, our costs are a lot greater. On average, we get a fuel surcharge of 50 cents a mile and $1.50 average rate per mile. That’s still not enough to pay for the higher price of fuel.”... It’s tough, that’s for sure, but Cowan is getting by – and by working with its drivers, saving fuel and improving productivity where they can. That’s a good thing to see, all in spite the tough times this industry is facing...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

FUNDS * New Zealand - Truckers say shipping funding unfair

The organisation representing the trucking industry says taking money from road users and throwing it into coastal shipping is unacceptable

Auckland,New Zealand -Newstalk ZB -21 May 2008: -- ... The Government has announced it will put $36 million over the next four years into coastal shipping, as part of its Sea Change strategy... But Simon Tapper, director of the Road Transport Forum, says the funding was paid in good faith by road users and is urgently needed to improve roads. He says it is unfair to expect family-owned trucking companies to subsidise a competing mode of transport through road user charges when it could end up taking their business away... Mr Tapper believes the shipping funding means roading projects will be put on the back burner because there will be less money available to fund them...

Labels: roading proyects discussions

24.5.08

AWARD * USA - Ventura Transfer Company Wins First Place in California Trucking Association Fleet Saftey Awards For Intermodal Safety

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -PRNewswire -May 22, 2008: -- Ventura Transfer Company (VTC), a pioneer in the bulk transloading and distribution of products shipped throughout the United States, was awarded First Place for Intermodal Safety by the California Trucking Association (CTA)... Judging is done by an independent panel that looks at how the company organizes its safety programs, conducts training, driver supervision, preventive maintenance, and their record of accident reduction. A field audit is then performed by CTA safety staff to insure the accuracy of all winning entries...

Labels: awards

Trucking Regulators * USA - WARN ON USE of "Chantix"

New York,NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal, by Alicia Mundy & Avery Johnson/Today's Trucking -23 May 2008: -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a warning Thursday on the anti-smoking drug Chantix, advising medical examiners "to not qualify anyone currently using this medication for commercial motor vehicle licenses."... The FMCSA oversees the interstate trucking and bus industry. Chantix, made by Pfizer, Inc., was attacked in a study by a non-profit group on Wednesday ... The warnings come on the heels of a new study by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, which found that the drug, could be linked to seizures and heart trouble. The medication has also been linked to severe side effects such as suicidal thoughts...

Labels: Truckers' Health

FUEL COST TROUBLES * STRIKES WORLDWIDE

* Greece - Truckers ON STRIKE

Athens,Greece -The Sofia Echo (Bulgaria), by Spasena Baramova -23 May 2008: -- The increase in fuel prices over the past months triggered a series of strikes by those employed in transportation around the Balkans... The Greeks were the first to start action with a 10-day truckers’ strike that led to considerable fuel and goods shortage and caused rising tension around the country before it ended on May 15. Romanian road carriers followed suit on May 12, passing on the torch to Bulgarian transport companies, who started protests on May 19... In Greece, tanker truck owners together with owners of public-use trucks demanded a 13 per cent increase in their haulage charges instead of the five per cent agreed by the Greek government the previous month. They also sought permission to use the national highways on weekends and had demands relating to pensions and social insurance... Meanwhile, the ongoing protest actions had an immediate impact on fuel supply in Greece... There were also shortages in some food markets caused by producers’ inability to transport goods... The truckers’ protest also hit shipping as several ferries failed to leave ports for lack of fuel, Athens News Agency reported. At 5am on May 12, taxi drivers joined the truckers’ protest, staging a 24-hour strike... Finally, on May 14, tanker truck owners decided to stop protesting. They were followed by the owners of public-use trucks on May 15...

* Romania - Truckers ON STRIKE

In the meantime, Romania faced similar actions on the part of truck drivers. On May 12 about a hundred trucks drove along Bucharest’s ring road protesting against the national roads toll. They demanded that this toll should only be charged on motorways... Other requests included providing more transparency when collecting fuel excises and improving rest sites... However, the Romanian transport ministry claimed that the revenue from motorway tolls alone could not provide enough funding for the upkeep and expansion of national roads, so necessitating the levying of tolls on the latter... The truckers’ protest continued on May 13 when more than 300 trucks drove along Bucharest’s ring road... It ended at midnight the same day after government representatives assured the protesting truckers they would meet prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu the following week... (Photo: REUTERS)

* Canada - Gas prices squeezing truckers

Dieppe,Nova Scotia,Canada -The Chronicle Herald (Halifax,Nova Scotia), by MARK TAYLOR -May 23, 2008: -- The New Brunswick government should help the province’s truckers deal with rising fuel costs, the head of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association says... Pump prices for regular self-serve gasoline in New Brunswick rose only 0.1 cents on Thursday but the price of self-serve diesel rose from a maximum price of $1.50 a litre last week to $1.54... Long-haul trucks use diesel fuel... "When you are a region like ours, we are apart from the main markets you would think of. We are not a high-volume area or an area of high population and certainly when you are looking at things like the Atlantic Gateway, Atlantica and self-sufficiency, the rising price of fuel is really going to have an impact on all of these initiatives and on the economy," said Peter Nelson, executive director of the New Brunswick Association... He said Atlantic Canada relies heavily on trucking, so both truckers and consumers feel the impact of higher fuel prices... To add to the headache for truckers, many trucking companies are also dealing with tighter credit terms. He said lending institutions are also making credit terms more difficult...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

EVENT * USA - The American Truck Historical Society’s annual show

Trucking history – It’s a family affair

Hutchinson,KS,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Mark H. Reddig -May 23, 2008: -- At first glance, the American Truck Historical Society’s annual show is all about the trucks... But when you talk to the people who own the trucks, a very different picture emerges. This show is about families... A significant percentage of the vehicles on display this weekend in Hutchinson, KS, are vehicles driven by the parents and grandparents of the truckers now displaying them... Ed Rocha is a good example. A longtime member of the society, Rocha has several rigs at the show. And those trucks are directly connected to his family’s history in the business... "Well, the company started in 1924 by my father,” Rocha said. “I came aboard in 1952, and I have a son now who came in 1992, 1993, and he’s kind of running the show now.”...

Labels: events

MARKETS * Europe - UK trucks driven out of the international market

London,UK -Easier Motoring -23 May 2008: -- New figures from the Department for Transport show what the haulage industry has known but could not prove – that official statistics under-estimated the dominance of foreign trucks between the UK and mainland Europe... The new stats also show that UK trucks are being driven further out of the market. The revised estimates show a decline in market share of one percentage point, down from 20% in 2006 to 19% in 2007... Meanwhile, the European Parliament this week voted to press ahead as fast as possible to open up the domestic haulage markets of member states to foreign trucks. A new Regulation governing what work foreign trucks can do in other countries is going through the EU process at present...

Labels: markets

23.5.08

FAREWELL TO THE INDEPENDENT TRUCKER

Ah but who cares anyway !!... With the price of fuel completely out of control there is little to no profits to glean since the oil companies have it all

USA -NAMoments -22 May 2008: -- ... When we are all safe and cozy in our warm beds with our children asleep in the next room independent truckers were burning up the diesel on long and lonely highways struggling to make appointments at warehouses. Through the harsh winter months trucks kept on rolling so the rest of the population could wake up to a fresh bowl of fruit and a glass of milk. The paper on the news paper was delivered by these independents as well as the ink. Dare we mention the toiletries as well as the cloth on the bedroom slippers we wear?... Clearly 80% of all goods shipped via truck were delivered by independents. But this will soon come to an end as soaring fuels prices and the cost of operation eliminates this industry. There are other hidden costs to the American trucker many of you don’t know about. Whence these trucks get to the warehouse they are hit with fee’s to load and unload their freight... If they miss an appointment at warehouse they have to reschedule regardless of the circumstances such as weather or traffic... Regulators, local and state officials have made trucks a target for revenue as they impose more and more rules and regulations in an attempt to cash in on these struggling small businesses. Regulators on the federal level have imposed unreasonable time constraints on drivers almost making it impossible for them to make appointments. Some warehouses simply take their time unloading trucks causing untimely delays forcing drivers to miss other appointments. The rules and regs have cost drivers their family time since they had to keep moving in order to make a profit. Delays on both ends of a trip cost them dearly... Rail Road owned trucking firms simply wait for the moment to take over... They have taken over the lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. and have dealt a fatal blow to the independent trucker with unreasonable regulations... These railroad owned trucking firms have begun recruiting drivers from other countries... Of course they work for a fraction the American and Canadian drivers worked for... More and more trucks are burning up their brakes on mountain passes as this trend goes unchecked. But it’s all about the corporate bottom line and there is no doubt the quality of the driver on our interstates will diminish as inexperienced drivers take over the roads. As for the independents that’ve driven these roads with safety, well they will be nothing more than a statistic and a fond memory fore they will have been priced out of existence. It is a sad ending for the rugged individualist who helped forger a prosperous nation. Their sacrifice will have been for not. And another piece of Americana will die from corporate greed. Farewell Big Strapper...

Labels: independent truckers

LIQUID NATURAL GAS * Australia - Trucks should convert to natural gas

Perth,Australia -Transport & Logistic News -22 May 2008: -- Big truck fleets should take the lead and convert from diesel to natural gas, says Perth-based independent petroleum industry analyst Peter Strachan. “With natural gas (methane) less than a quarter of the price of diesel, there are massive savings to be made,” he says... Mr Strachan says Australia is sitting on abundant reserves of natural gas – estimated to be more than 140 trillion cubic feet – which are earning big export dollars in the form of liquid natural gas (LNG)... Western Australia relies heavily on gas for power generation and there are significant plants in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. However, with escalating crude oil prices, there is a clear case for extending the use of gas in motor vehicles, says Mr Strachan... However, methane-based natural gas is cheaper and burns even more cleanly... “Providing natural gas as an alternative fuel choice for cars would require an enormous investment in fuelling infrastructure. However it’s not such a big problem for trucks and buses equipped with long-range tanks and access to fuelling depots, where they can use either compressed natural gas or LNG. The conversion technology is available and some buses and trucks are using LNG in Western Australia"...

Labels: LNG trucks

TRANSPORT STATISTICS * USA - Truck Tonnage Jumps 2%

April Gain Marks Sixth Straight Upturn

Arlington,VA,USA -Tranport Topics -23 May 2008: -- April truck tonnage jumped 2% from a year ago, marking the sixth consecutive increase, American Trucking Associations said... April’s tonnage declined 1.1% from March, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index... ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said while the upward revision to March’s tonnage was a positive sign, the outlook for truck freight remains mixed...

Labels: transport statistics

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* Navistar Suspending Production at Pickup-Engine Plant

Indianapolis,IND,USA -Transport Topics -23 May 2008: -- Navistar International Corp. said it is suspending production at its Indianapolis engine plant beginning starting Friday for at least eight weeks because of Ford Motor Co.’s cutback in pickup truck production... The Indianapolis plant produces engines for the Ford’s s Super Duty pickup series, which includes the F-250 through the F-550... Navistar also makes heavy-duty trucks and engines, including International brand trucks... Ford said this week it would cut production this year of primarily heavier vehicles including pickups, to cut costs...

Labels: truckmakers' news USA

FUEL COST DEBATES * USA - House vote targets OPEC

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to let the Justice Department pursue antitrust and price-fixing cases against OPEC members, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iran

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -May 22, 2008: -- ... The bill passed by a 324-to-84 margin. Even if the Senate approves, President Bush is expected to veto the measure... A White House press release stated that the measure would discourage investment in the U.S. economy and possibly drive fuel prices higher... However, Rep. Steve Kagen, D-WI, who sponsored the bill, said it’s time to stand up to an oil cartel that openly manipulates production to influence prices... The United States imports nearly 6 million barrels of crude oil per day from Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries. American consumers remain at the mercy of OPEC nations in how much they pay to fill up their tanks, Kagen said...

* Michigan Republicans offer sales tax holiday on fuel purchases

Mich,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -May 22, 2008: -- Michigan is one of only nine states that collect a general sales tax on fuel purchases. With prices at the pump inching closer to the $5 per gallon mark in the state, Republicans at the statehouse say they have a plan to help consumers... Two House Republicans unveiled an initiative to temporarily eliminate the 6 percent sales tax on fuel. The state’s fuel excise tax would not be affected... A suspension of the sales tax would cost the state as much as $300 million through Labor Day. How a tax break or suspension would affect the status of the International Fuel Tax Agreement in Michigan is uncertain...

Labels: fuel costs solution

'HOT FUEL' * USA - Costs consumers more when prices rise

Summer temperatures and a continuing surge in fuel prices will amount to a double whammy for consumers this year, advocates say

Washington, DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -May 22, 2008: -- ... The issue of “hot fuel” is of greater concern in times of rising prices, said Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer group Public Citizen, during a press conference.... Hot fuel is defined as retail diesel or gasoline sold to consumers when the fuel temperature is higher than 60 degrees. Retailers and refiners use a century-old 60-degree standard to buy and sell fuel at the wholesale level, but there is no requirement for temperature compensation at the retail pump.... The “extra gallons” created by expansion of fuel in summer heat could cost consumers more than $2.8 billion this year, which is $500 million more than the estimated cost to consumers in 2007, Claybrook and others said... Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, filed legislation in August 2007 to phase in temperature-compensation devices on fuel pumps. That bill is currently in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation... U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Vratil is currently presiding over more than two dozen consolidated into a class action lawsuits filed by consumers seeking similar reforms. Those lawsuits also demand that the companies pay damages for what the plaintiffs say are ill-gotten gains from hot fuel...

Labels: hot fuel

SAFETY * USA - ATA Urges Congressional Action on Drug, Alcohol Testing

VA,USA -The Dallas Morning News/ Transport Topics -21 May 2008: -- American Trucking Associations Wednesday called on Congress to help the trucking industry to improve highway safety by supporting efforts to enhance drug and alcohol testing for the nation’s 3.4 million truck drivers... The move came in conjunction with the release of a 74-page Government Accountability Office report Wednesday, showing a flawed oversight system that allows truckers to fail a drug test and yet move on to driving for another company, reported... The report found that some trucking companies do not conduct required pre-employment and random drug tests and have limited incentives to do so, the paper said... Only about 2% of all trucking companies undergo checks each year by state agencies and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, GAO found... ATA is asking Congress to ban the manufacture, sale and distribution of products that help some drivers evade drug tests; for penalties for those who use them; and to provide the Transportation Department with additional authority to improve oversight of specimen collection facilities and practices... ATA also urged Congress to direct the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and DOT to allow the testing of alternative specimens such as hair, which allows illegal drug use to be detected for a longer period of time...

Labels: driving safety

All hands on deck * USA - Traffic speed study will reveal a lot

GrainValley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -May 21, 2008: -- ... Professor of industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas, Steven Johnson spends his usual working hours being one of the most highly sought-after traffic gurus in the transportation industry... Johnson’s latest offering is set to show that speed differentials between trucks and automobiles exist no matter what the posted speed limits are... The large majority of trucks, on the other hand, had a tendency to travel at speeds at or below the speed limit, rarely topping 70 mph, even when the speed limit was 75 mph... Johnson’s data are expected to start people thinking because the number of fleets rolling back their speed limiters to 65 mph, or 62 mph, is increasing because of higher diesel prices... The Technology & Maintenance Council estimates that rolling back the speed limiter on a truck equates to a savings of 0.1 mile per gallon for each mph decreased... Johnson is the first to admit that speed and fuel consumption are closely related, but he also points out that vehicles interacting with slower trucks will burn more fuel...

Labels: speed limits

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * WORLDWIDE - Industry Pressured by Conflicting Energy Mandates

US population increases will put more pressure on roads by 2032. Adding an estimated 49M drivers and 58M vehicles to America's highways

USA -Associated Press/Automotive Digest (Manhattan Beach,CAL,USA) -21 May 2008: -- Pressure on transportation industry, government agencies to reduce energy consumption, cut pollution, fight climate change while also making systems more efficient... International Transport Forum holding online debates in prep for its global meeting in Germany May 28-30. Transport ministers from about 50 countries will gather w/ industry leaders, researchers to discuss problems and solutions... Transport sector activity and emissions will double or more in next 30 years, said ITF secretary general . While political objectives have set goal for global emission reductions of 50% by about 2050... Rapid rise of oil prices to over $120 / barrel affecting US trucking industry's ability to sustain itself from business perspective... American Trucking Assn officer called on Congress for more incentives to speed intro of auxiliary power units to reduce main engine idling, establish 65 MPH national speed limit... ATA says trucking companies will spend $141.5B on fuel this year - $29B more than 2007... Portland Cement Association report says US traffic congestion wastes 3B gallons of fuel, contributes 27.2M tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year ... US population increases will put more pressure on roads by 2032. Adding an estimated 49M drivers and 58M vehicles to America's highways. Means wasted fuel from traffic delays will more than double ...

Labels: trucking industry news worldwide

'Green Fleet' * USA - AT&T Introduces More Than 100 Alternative-Fuel Vehicles

San Antonio,TX,USA -Trailer Body Builders -May 21, 2008: -- AT&T Inc. today announced plans to add 105 alternative-fuel vehicles to the corporate fleet of its operating companies... After carefully evaluating several alternative-fuel technologies, AT&T will deploy three types of alternative-fuel vehicles... The alternative-fuel vehicles consist of 25 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vans, 65 electric hybrid Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) vehicles -- Ford Escapes and Toyota Priuses -- and 15 electric hybrid conversion work trucks. The vehicles, which will be deployed in cities in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas, join four Ford Escape hybrids that were deployed in California in late 2007...

Labels: green fleets trucks

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS * USA

* Bosch Rexroth unveils regenerative braking system

USA -Fleet Owner -May 21, 2008: -- Bosch Rexroth has announced a hydrostatic regenerative braking (HRB) system it said includes a hydrostatic hybrid drive to deliver reduced fuel consumption and higher performance... According to the company, a hydraulic unit integrated in the drivetrain presses hydraulic fluid into a high-pressure reservoir when a driver presses the brake pedal, decelerating the vehicle through resistance and storing energy that otherwise would be lost... The company also announced its HRB parallel hydraulic hybrid system has been selected by Calstart’s Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) Refuse Working Group to test the use of hybrid vehicle technology in refuse trucks. The field tests will take place in New York City...

* WABCO Wins New Business in Beijing Bus Aftermarket

Piscataway,NJ,USA -Trailer BodyBuilders -May 21, 2008: -- WABCO Holdings Inc. today announced that the Beijing Public Transport Corporation (BPTC) has awarded the company a new contract to provide braking products and aftermarket services for BPTC's fleet of more than 20,000 buses before and during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in August and the Beijing Paralympics Games in September, the sport movement for disabled persons... As operator of the world's largest municipal bus service, BPTC has chosen WABCO to supply a range of braking products including customized solutions for foot brake valves, air dryers and cartridges, and multi-functional air processing units as well as electronically controlled air suspension products...

Labels: trucks' products USA

Independent Truck Drivers * USA - Bans from the Port of Los Angeles?

A plan to completely ban independent truck drivers from the Port of Los Angeles by the end of 2013 was approved Thursday night

Mechanicsville,VA,USA -Masslogics Trucking News, by LiberalTrucker -21 May 2008: -- America has been a world leader in providing opportunities for everyone... The ongoing turmoil over the trucks on LA roads finally led the port authority of LA to ban all independent truckers. Numerous organizations have supported the port authority in their bid to develop a clean and safe port. The port authority says they are not discriminating against independent truckers, but they in fact claim that their actions will hopefully require trucking companies to use port based trucks driven by employee drivers... This will hopefully led to an improvement in wages, limit pollution, lead to reliable short haul trucking system and assign due to labor law rights to all drivers... Port officials have said that the plan will hold trucking companies accountable for maintaining big rigs, while also employing properly credentialed drivers... This does not sit well with the trucking companies who claim that this will lead to higher salaries, increased cost of labor and in the end, additional cost to the average consumer...

Labels: drivers' ban

OPTIMIST PROGNOSIS * USA - Truckload carriers looking for freight rebound

Tough times for truckload carriers may be coming to an end

NewYork,NY,USA -Fleet Owner, by Jim Mele -May 21, 2008: -- ... According to fleet executives addressing financial analysts at a transportation conference here yesterday... Although they differed on specifics, chief executives from some of the country’s largest carriers indicated that stronger freight activity in April and the beginning of May coupled with significant decreases in truckload capacity have laid the groundwork for rate recovery, if not now, then in the next few months... Fuel price pressure, however, will keep revenue-per-mile growth below 1.5% until the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2009, according to predictions from the fleet executives... The analyst transportation conference was held by Wolfe Research, a new company created by former Bear Stearns transportation group director Edward Wolfe. For the past 15 years, Wolfe had hosted a similar meeting for Bear Stearns... Despite the upbeat mood, none of the truckload carriers at the Wolfe conference predicted large rate increases in the near future. Echoing his fellow fleet executives, Jerry Moyes, chairman & CEO of Swift Transportation said, “We could use 10%, but we’ll probably get 3%.”...

Labels: markets prognosis

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - TRUCKING PROTEST ... a waste of time (P.N: ... ?? ...)

Adelaide,SA,Australia -ABC On Line -22/05/2008: -- Plans for a national trucking shutdown have been dismissed by South Australian truckers as a stunt... Up to 1000 people from the transport industry will meet in Townsville this weekend, to plan a mid-July industry shutdown, because of the planned introduction of work diaries... The diaries replace existing log books, and introduce more severe penalties for anyone breaching fatigue management rules... Steven Shearer, from South Australia's Road Transport Association, says the new regulations are the result of seven years of negotiations with the Federal Government, and a protest now will achieve nothing... "In the past, when they've tried blockades and things, it gets a little bit of media coverage for about a day and that's it," he said... "These guys need to really get serious about getting involved properly and actually finding out what's going on in the early stages, instead of trying to pull a stunt for a few hours that is really going to achieve nothing other than give a bit of a boost to the media."...

* Truck industry warns freight rates on the rise

The trucking industry’s customers will have to pay higher freight rates to reflect the spiralling price of diesel

Fairfax,Australia -Stock and Land -22 May 2008: -- ... the Chairman of the Australian Trucking Association, Trevor Martyn, warned today... Mr Martyn said the retail price of diesel was now more than 180 cents a litre in some capital cities, compared to about 134 cents per litre in October last year – an increase of almost 35 per cent... He warned the price of diesel could go above $2 per litre in the next few months... "Some trucking companies impose fuel levies and adjust them regularly, but many companies have been trying to absorb the rising cost of fuel," Mr Martyn said. "Those companies will go out of business unless their customers pay freight rates that reflect their real costs"... "Our customers have got to understand they face a stark alternative. They can either pay freight rates that reflect the cost of fuel, or a large number of trucking companies will have to close down. Once that happens, our customers won’t be able to find operators to move their goods in a timely way."... Mr Martyn said there was nothing the Australian Government could do to reduce diesel prices... "The Government has already made the important decision to retain the fuel tax credit scheme, which means that trucking companies pay 19 cents per litre in fuel tax rather than 38 cents per litre"...

* Philippines - Solon seeks removal of EVAT on oil for public transport

Manila,Philippines -GMANews.TV -22 May 2008: -- A senator on Thursday called for the removal of the 12 percent expanded value added tax (EVAT) on oil products... However, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the removal of the EVAT would only be limited to vehicles being used as public transport like jeepneys, taxis, buses and cargo trucks... Sen. Pia Cayetano, said the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP) has already made headway in developing 44 Philippine-made electric jeepneys or e-jeeps... The e-jeep runs entirely on electricity and can cover a maximum distance of 100 km to 120 km on a single charge of eight hours...

* Kenya - Truckers Feel the Pinch of Rising Prices of Crude

Thika,Kenya -All Africa.com(Washington,DC,USA), by Abyssinia Lati -22 May 2008: -- Mr Sam Wanyoike of Thika has been in the truck transport business for the last three years, but profit margins have fallen to the lowest ebb ever... "My profit has reduced by 10 per cent," he says, blaming the rising cost of diesel for the turn of events. Mr Wanyoike ferries cargo from Mombasa to Kampala in Uganda. His two 36-tonne trucks make four trips per month, when there are no delays at the port or breakdowns along the way... A surge in demand for oil and instability in the Middle East are among factors behind the rise in fuel costs...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

FUEL FRUSTRATION * USA - Fuel costs more than people.

The price of diesel fuel rises daily and it’s now the highest expense for local trucking companies, surpassing even personnel costs

Pottsville,PA,USA -Republican Herald, by STEPHANIE LASOTA -May 22, 2008: -- ... Nationally, the trucking industry will spend an anticipated $135 billion for fuel this year, compared to $112 billion last year, according to Kristin Vasey, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association... Pennsylvania has the second-highest state average for diesel fuel costs, right after California, she said. In 2005, a gallon of diesel fuel surpassed the cost of a gallon of gasoline, according to statistics from the Energy Information Administration... Jonathan Cogan, EIA energy information specialist, said the price comes down to simple supply and demand issues... The Federal excise tax on on-highway diesel fuel, 63.6 cents a gallon, is also 6 cents higher than the tax on gasoline. Crude oil spiked to $128.93 a barrel Tuesday, according to the most recent EIA statistics... “The U.S. is somewhat unusual in that gasoline by far is the predominant form of petroleum used, whereas in the rest of the world, diesel is the predominant petroleum product used. That leads to that tighter world supply- demand balance that we see,” Cogan said... Alan Felty, owner of Harold M. Felty Inc., Pine Grove, a 50-year-old family business with 11 trucks, said he recently bought six used vehicles, including two Dodge Neons and a Ford Focus, to help soften the economic blow of diesel fuel... “We used to bring our trucks home here and fuel up at the shop, but with the price of fuel, we went and bought some small cars and keep the trucks at Shoemakersville and the drivers come back in cars,” Felty said... Cash and debit price for a gallon of diesel fuel was $4.71 Wednesday at Raceway Truck Stop, Pine Grove. It was $4.77 for credit card users. Gary S. Brar, manager of the truck stop said, credit card surcharges and fuel surcharges for product shipments to his store are also a problem he faces.“There are two people making money: credit card companies and oil companies,” Brar said... (PHOTO, by ANDY MATSKO: Truckers drive through the rain and fog on Interstate 81 near the MInersville exit)

* Truckers rally against high diesel prices

Albany,NY,USA -The Albany Times Union, by Eric Anderson -May 22, 2008: -- Horns blaring, dozens of trucks made their way south on the Northway this afternoon to the Wilton Truck Plaza at Exit 16, where drivers held a rally to protest high fuel prices... On a day when diesel prices at the pump were surging past $5 a gallon, the truckers listened to several elected officials assail everything from oil company profits to those who opposed a summer gas-tax holiday... One rally organizer, Charles Claburn, said truckers would stop hauling goods and produce into New York City if relief from fuel and other taxes wasn’t forthcoming. He also put some of the blame for truckers’ financial woes on commodities speculators... Drivers say they’re hurting... Bill Sutton, a trucker from Batavia in western New York, said his truck gets 5 to 5 1/2 miles per gallon. The 300-mile trip to the Capital Region costs him $300 in fuel alone... While many of the participants in today’s rally are independent truckers, the fuel prices and economic slowdown are taking a toll on larger trucking companies, too...

Labels: fuel cost troubles

Today's Truck * Australia - THIS is a paint job !!!!

Kenworth trucks down-under - How about this for a paint job?

Brisbane,Australia -BigLorryBlog (UK) -18 May 2008: -- ... Martin 'Keeper of the Flame' is back with us after his trucking travels down-under and has sent me this picture and this message: "Hello Brian, I thought you might like a photo of this rather garish KW van spotted in a Brisbane suburb a few weeks ago. It is a promotional vehicle for a company specializing in exotic paint finishes, fancy sign-writing and so forth. Sorry the picture isn't better but the KW was residing behind a fence when we saw it and the only way to grab a picture was by using the little digital camera rather than the ususal 35-mm beast."... Well as the saying goes Martin...we get the picture.

Labels: artistics trucks pictures

Antiques * Skiing in the 1920s in a Saurer

London,UK -BigLorryBlog -22 May 2008: -- "Up the mountainside in char-a-bancs" was the caption that accompanied this old Motor Transport picture... The bus on the left is clearly a Swiss-built Saurer, but does anyone recognise the other one?... Apparently this 1920s photo was taken at the "new winter sports centre" in Bad Gurnigel, Switzerland. The article went on to explain that the skiing party are leaving the hotel for Mount Gurnigel, for skiing down the mountain...
Check out this odd-looking bloke I spotted sitting in the back of the Saurer. High blood pressure or what?...

Labels: older trucks

22.5.08

Roadcheck * North America - CVSA's one, set for June 3-5; seat belts a top priority

Washington,DC,USA -TruckStop Canada -22 May 2008: -- When 10,000 inspectors deploy to 1,000 inspection sites this summer for the CVSA’s annual Roadcheck enforcement blitz, seat belt usage will be among their top priorities... The 72-hour Roadcheck is scheduled for June 3, 4 and 5 and will take place in the USA, Canada and Mexico...

Labels: roadchecks

STUDY * Canada - Carbon taxes have little impact on environment

A Carbon tax added to drivers' and truckers' fuel bills would hardly influence consumption

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -22 May 2008: -- ... The firm is a left-leaning think tank, but even it had to conclude that there's little evidence increasing the price of already-costly fuel would alter consumers' transportation habits, rendering carbon-based taxes ineffective in cutting emissions significantly... Statistical evidence shows that demand for fossil fuels hasn't calmed as the price for fuel has skyrocketed over the last couple years... The Pembina Institute's Matthew Bramley told, that about half of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions comes from large industry, not road transportation... However, the study showed that businesses are more likely to change energy-consumption habits because decisions are made on "hard numbers" and cost increases can lead toward "cleaner energy choices."...

Labels: carbon taxes

HEAVIER TRUCKS * USA - Bill counters push for

Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, lobbied Congress to adopt pilot projects in the upcoming highway reauthorization bill

Washington,DC,USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -22 May 2008: -- ... They are advocating that Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, South Carolina, Wisconsin and possibly Texas pilot a study allowing 97,000 pounds tractor-trailers and requiring a sixth axle (a third trailer axle) for these trucks... The current highway bill expires in September 2009, but deliberations already have started on the next bill... The group notes Canada and Mexico copies Europe in using heavier tractor-trailers, but loads entering the U.S. must get special permits or be broken up among smaller trucks, worsening congestion, pollution, cost and fuel use... Tests by the U.S. Department of Transportation indicate that a six-axle 97,000-pound truck is almost as safe as a five-axle 80,000-pound truck, ASET argues... Transportation Research Board's 2000 study recommended pilot projects on heavier trucks... Opponents of the increase include the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association, the Teamsters, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president, said the increase could negatively affect safety and structural integrity of some federal aid highways... (Photo from BigLorryBlog (UK): Scheuerle trailers)

Labels: biggest trucks

CORPORATIVE NEWS * USA - ATA loses federal Highway Watch grant

Washington,DC,USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -22 May 2008: -- The American Trucking Associations’ Highway Watch program did not receive a Department of Homeland Security grant for the first time since the department began funding the program in 2004... As a result of Congressional direction in the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the DHS trucking security $15.5 million grant was awarded as a competitive grant for the first time this year... The contract went to HMS Company, headquartered in Washington D.C., it provides management, technical, security, training and administrative services to government, non-profit and private sector clients... Funding awards are meant to strengthen security at ports, transit, trucking and intercity bus systems. Money provided will be used to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies...

Labels: corporative news

HYBRID TRUCKS *USA - Hydraulic hybrid truck tested by courier trio

Washington,DC,USA -Today's Trucking -22 May 2008: -- A government-corporate partnership led by Calstart's Hybrid Truck Users Forum has selected Hybra-Drive Systems LLC to build three Class 6 trucks for real-world testing by UPS, FedEx Ground and Canada's Purolator... Hybra-Drive hopes the evaluations will demonstrate up to a 60 percent cut in fuel use along with an accompanying reduction in emissions.In a hydraulic hybrid truck, a high-efficiency diesel engine is combined with a unique hydraulic propulsion system, replacing the conventional drivetrain and transmission... The vehicle uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to store energy, similar to what is done with electric motors and batteries in hybrid electric vehicles. Fuel economy is increased in three ways: vehicle braking energy is recovered that normally is wasted; the engine is operated more efficiently; and the engine can be shut off when stopped or decelerating...

Labels: hybrids trucks

AUTO MARKETS * Russia - Booming Russia offers risks and rewards for automakers

GM, other carmakers find partnerships there a challenge

St. Petersburg,Russia -The Detroit News, by Christine Tierney -May 22, 2008: -- When Renault SA Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn and the owners of Russian automaker OAO AvtoVAZ sealed their $1 billion partnership on Feb. 29, the smiles and warm handshakes evoked a similar scene from just a few years earlier... In 2001, General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner and a different set of AvtoVAZ bosses also embarked on a project to build vehicles together with high hopes... When it came time to form a full-fledged equity partnership, AvtoVAZ turned to Renault. GM is now in talks with Russia's No. 2 automaker, GAZ, after a bumpy relationship with AvtoVAZ that showed the risks of doing business in Russia. In addition to the dramatic ups and downs and the tedious bureaucracy that characterize emerging economies, corruption is rife, and the Russian government intrudes with a heavy hand in the energy, media, auto and other sectors it considers critical... According to people familiar with the venture, GM suspected AvtoVAZ's affiliated suppliers of inflating their prices, while AvtoVAZ managers grumbled that the venture wasn't making the kind of modern cars they wanted... GM and AvtoVAZ muddled along until December 2005, when events took a bizarre turn: Executives from a Russian state arms exporter run by an ex-KGB colleague of then-President Vladimir Putin descended on AvtoVAZ's Togliatti headquarters with 300 federal police and seized management control. AvtoVAZ executives were as baffled as their GM counterparts and couldn't explain what was happening... But such rough tactics were commonplace in Russia, a country that has lurched from Communism to chaos to a new, undemocratic order in the past two decades. When the powers-that-be want to restructure industries, they can seize assets and arrest businessmen... Seasoned Russia experts assumed that the Kremlin had run out of patience with AvtoVAZ's modernization efforts and effectively renationalized the carmaker by putting in its own people... After the dust settled, GM managers found themselves facing new and openly hostile counterparts. The conflict erupted two months later, in February 2006, when production at the venture was halted for 10 days as GM and AvtoVAZ's bosses argued over what the Russian suppliers should be paid... That summer, after Moscow appointed more conciliatory directors to the venture's board, the partners seemed to have resolved their differences... But the damage was deep. AvtoVAZ already was in talks with Renault... (Russian automakers look for partners as foreign brands dominate their market. Here, a motorist parks his BMW in front of a Hummer on Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg)

Labels: market news

TAILPIPE RULE * USA - Senate committee OKs bill

Legislation not likely to be law this year, gives 14 states waiver to force higher mileage standard

Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -May 22, 2008: -- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a bill to allow California and 13 other states the right to impose a 30-percent reduction in vehicle tailpipe emissions by 2016... By a 10-9 vote, the committee approved a bill to reverse a Dec. 19 decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to deny California a waiver under the Clean Air Act to impose its own limits on vehicle tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide... Even its supporters, however, concede the bill, which is opposed by the Bush administration, is unlikely to become law this year... The bill is vigorously opposed by automakers and the United Auto Workers, saying it would create an untenable regulatory framework, requiring automakers to meet state by state standards. General Motors Corp. has said the tougher limits would require about an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2016 and force it to stop selling 80 percent of its vehicles in those states that adopted the limits...

Labels: tailpipe rules

OPINION * USA - California rule on tailpipe emissions is bad politics

Nine Senate Democrats and one Republican on Wednesday voted a bill out of committee that would grant California and 13 other states permission to set emissions rules that are stricter than the federal standards

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Manny Lopez -May 22, 2008: -- ... California's elected officials desperately want to control the domestic auto industry but they're not interested in seriously considering the damage that will be done if their efforts are successful... but the most notable is that California's demands apply different rules to different automakers. Companies that sell fewer than 60,000 vehicles in California are exempt from the rule as written in the state's air regulations for which the Environmental Protection Agency's waiver is needed... That's quite a nod to Kia Motors Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and Subaru Motors, among others... It should come as no surprise that Detroit's automakers get no favors from the left coast. But it's offensive to see that they're building in protections that intentionally penalize the biggest and most successful car companies... The nonsense isn't likely to stop and it likely will get worse, but there is a solution... Offer counter legislation that forces California to eliminate a third of its vehicles. Conservatively, there are more than 30 million registered vehicles in California... Let's get some legislation going that arbitrarily adjusts that number. Wipe 10 million California cars off the road. And do the same for the other 13 states tagging along. After all, if the goal is emissions reductions, the solutions should start at home... Otherwise, California's officials are just full of hot air...

Labels: tailpipe rules debate

TRUCKERS' PROTEST * USA - Independent group to hold protest at Wilton Truck Plaza

Against high fuel prices

Moreau,NY,USA -The Post/Star, by MAURY THOMPSON -May 21, 2008: -- A coalition of independent truckers is organizing a convoy on the Northway on Thursday to protest high fuel prices... About 20 truckers will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday at Fitzgerald’s Steakhouse (formerly Ardee’s diner) in Moreau, off Exit 17 of the Northway, said Megghan Stark, an organizer with the group Truckers and Citizens United... Truckers will travel in a convoy to the Wilton Truck Plaza off Exit 16... State legislators will join truckers at the plaza for a rally at 2 p.m...

Labels: truckers' protests

LEASING ROADS * USA - Truckers React to Turnpike Plans

A leading trucker organization in the state is speaking out against leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike

Altoona,Blair County,PA,USA -WTAJ, by Ben Manning -May 21, 2008: -- ... They say the deal isn't in the best interest of Pennsylvanians and area trucking companies agree... Officials with Ward Trucking in Altoona don't like either of the big plans to fund transportation in the commonwealth... He says it's also not fair to pin all the responsibility for fixing the state infrastructure solely on the people who use those two major highways... Ward also feels like a 75 year deal is much too long, because no one knows what transportation needs will be that far in the future...

Labels: leasing roads

SPEED LIMIT * Canada - Provinces at odds over plan to force truckers to stay below 105 kmh

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -The Canadian Press -21 May 2008: -- The provinces are in a political traffic jam over plans to force transport trucks to carry electronic speed limiters... While Ontario and Quebec are poised to mandate the use of microchips that prevent trucks from travelling faster than 105 kilometres an hour, other provinces are balking at the idea, saying it could actually make roads less safe... Ottawa cannot impose a nationwide law, since transportation falls under provincial jurisdiction. In an attempt to find a consensus, the federal government hired consultants last year to study how mandatory speed limiters would affect road safety, costs for trucking companies and other issues... Those studies are still unfinished, and Manitoba Transportation Minister, Ron Lemieux, is not taking a position until he sees them...

Labels: speed limits

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Trucking Company Barr-Nunn Increases Owner Operator pay again

Granger,IA,USA -Truck Net, by Craig Zwiener -May 21, 2008: -- Barr-Nunn Transportation, a leader in the industry, is proud to announce yet another outstanding recognition of the hard work its Owner Operators put forth... Beginning on June 23rd, 2008, Barr-Nunn’s Owner Operators will receive a pay raise. This comes just six short months after Barr-Nunn last issued its Owner Operators a raise. On top of their new base pay, Owner Operator’s also earn a fuel surcharge on all loaded and empty miles and receive 100% of Barr-Nunn’s fuel discounts from their vendors...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

ELECTRIC TRUCK * USA - World's most powerful heavy-duty one introduced

North Olmsted,OH,USA -Search-Autoparts.com -21 May 2008: -- In 2007, the Port of Los Angeles and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) partnered to fund the prototype of the world's most powerful short-range heavy-duty electric truck... The agencies split the $527,000 investment to develop and test a heavy-duty truck capable of hauling a fully loaded 40-foot cargo container... The heavy-duty electric short-haul drayage truck -- the first of its kind at any port worldwide -- can pull a 60,000-pound cargo container, has a top speed of 40 mph, and has a range between 30 to 60 miles per battery charge. The battery power plants on up to four electric trucks can be simultaneously charged within four hours... In April 2008, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the production of 20 electric yard trucks, or "hostlers," following the successful completion of the cargo terminal tests. The 20 hostlers will be deployed in the Port as part of a "green terminal" program. The program will also include the production of five on-road electric models. Santa Ana-based Balqon Corporation will work with the Port and Department of Transportation to obtain the appropriate certification for on-road use... (Video From YouTube, by PRPOLA- May 15, 2008: "Heavy Duty Electric Truck")

Labels: electric trucks

TRUCKS' PRODUCTS * USA - The idling truck solution

Big rigs get lousy mileage, even when they're parked - Small power unit runs quiet and helps trucking companies save big on diesel

Central Point.OR,USA -Mail Tribune (Medford,OR), by Greg Stiles -May 21, 2008: -- ... Cross Creek drivers — like other long-haul operators — spend hours parked en route to their destinations... Now, with incentives from the state, Cross Creek Trucking is refitting its fleet of 115 semi-trucks with a Thermo King Tri Pac hybrid auxiliary power unit. The device allows truckers to shut down their main engines for enormous savings in fuel, dollars and emissions... While even the new 14-liter diesel engines burn a gallon an hour, the auxiliary units burn 8 to 10 ounces an hour... The device, which shares the fuel tank with the tractor, charges batteries and preheats the main engine as well as heats and cools the cab... (Photo by Bob Pennell - A fuel-saving auxiliary power unit is mounted behind the cab of a Cross Creek truck. The units cost nearly $7,000 each, but by saving up to 13 hours of idling time each day on the truck’s main engine, the savings in diesel are tremendous)

Labels: trucks' products USA

21.5.08

Fuel Tax Scam * Canada - Trucking companies targeted by suspected ones

Several Ontario trucking companies have been targeted by a suspected fuel tax scam which has cost some victims tens of thousands of dollars

Hamilton,Ont,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -21 May 2008: -- ... According to Helen Pelton, a lawyer with Cummins Seto Pelton, the alleged scam works this way: A company representing itself as an accounting firm approaches a Canadian trucking company and suggests the carrier may be entitled to a refund of the excise tax paid on fuel purchased in the US. The company says it charges only a percentage of the refund obtained, so there's no risk for the carrier. The trucking company provides information such as the amount of fuel purchased in the US, and the accounting firm then files for the refund on their behalf... However, the refund that is applied for is intended for US-based farmers purchasing dyed, off-road diesel fuel - not for Canadian trucking companies. While Canadian companies do not qualify for the refund, the IRS generally issues the refund upon receiving the application, and then verifies the validity of the application at a later date. By then, the Canadian trucking company has likely paid a percentage of the refund (anywhere from 18-50%, according to Pelton) to the accounting firm... With four of her own clients having been caught up in the scheme, Pelton is concerned the case may be much more widespread. If you think you've been approached by the perpetrators of the scam. You can contact her via e-mail at hpelton@cumminsseto.com.

Labels: fuel taxes

TECHNO-NEWS * UK - 3663 fits wide-angle cameras to fleet

London,UK -Road Transport/Motor Transport, by Paul Howard -16 May 2008: -- Nationwide food supplier 3663 has taken delivery of more than 100 wide-angle camera viewing systems from Recognix to help drivers when reversing. "The type of deliveries we make, all in city centres with people everywhere, means you need to see what's behind you," says Graham Rennie, 3663's director of fleet... Originally the company fitted distance sensors to its fleet and then supplemented them with conventional rear-view cameras. Now it has moved to the Recognix system... The software has been modified for 3663 to include safety lines that indicate the edge of the vehicle and distance lines to help work out the remaining distance between a vehicle and an object...

Labels: technonews

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* UK - Today in Road Transport

London,UK -Road Transport -21 May 2008: -- The price of fuel continues to dominate the news today, with bulk diesel passing through the £1.05/litre barrier (shockingly, up 39% in just one year)... Regarding the next round of protests, the RHA and FTA insist they will not lead Tuesday's Park Lane demonstration despite overwhelming support for such a move from operators, and a group of Scottish hauliers are planning their own go-slow protest in Edinburgh... Unsurprisingly, fuel prices are dominating the discussion among the users of driver forum TruckNet UK, with the possibility of a minimum rate of haulage also coming up for debate... However it seems that rising costs are not preventing a number of operators from posting strong financial results or expanding their operations. Among this number are Corby-based RCS Logistics, which has returned to profitability after two years of losses and is in discussion with two potential acquisition targets; Davies Turner, which is opening a multi-million-pound extension to its Bristol hub; Eddie Stobart, which is looking to launch another six train services this year for retailer Tesco; and airfreight specialist Circle Express, which has won a £12m, three-year contract with Panalpina World Transport... (Picture & Comments from BigLorryBlog, by John Henderson: "... Please find attached a couple of old Scottish Guys taken by the camera of my old friend, the late Joe Donaldson from Edinburgh")

* UK - Hauliers call for longer lorries

London,UK -BBC -21 May 2008: -- The UK's road hauliers are calling for longer and heavier lorries to be trialled for certain types of freight... The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is keen to help the industry reduce transport costs that have shot up with rising fuel prices... But it also says that the move would have an environmental benefit, reducing carbon emissions... Other groups argue that bigger lorries would see more cargo sent by road than rail and could cause more congestion... (Picture: The high cost of diesel is eating into the road freight industry's profits)

* Holland - Dutch LHVs back up to 60 tonnes

Amsterdam,Holland -Road Transport (London,UK)/Commercial Motor, by Tim de Jong -20 May 2008: -- The Dutch government has increased its weight limit for longer, heavier vehicles (LHVs) to sixty tonnes. Last autumn, it removed the limits on the number of LHVs on Dutch roads, but cut their maximum gross vehicle weight from 60 to 50 tonnes, the country's weight limit for regular heavy trucks... Dutch operator associations TLN and EVO strongly protested, forcing the Dutch transport minister to initiate an investigation by independent research organisation TNO. Around 100 Dutch LHVs were unable to use public roads during this investigation... Last week, TNO concluded that LHVs did not damage the bridges and the Dutch government immediately allowed the 60 tonne LHVs back on the road. TLN and EVO expect the number of LHVs on Dutch roads to increase again, possibly up to 300 or more...(Photo & Comment, from BigLorryBlog (UK): Niels Jansen who the latest news on the Longer Heavier Vehicle (LHV) front from Holland--and it's good news too. Niels tells me "...Where your Government recently announced that 'supertrucks' of 25.25m will not be allowed on British roads, the Dutch Minister of Transport has lifted the maximum GCW for LHV's again to 60 tonnes as of immediately!")

Labels: trucking industry news worldwide

HIGHER FUEL COSTS PROTESTS * WORLDWIDE

* Europe - Protests Over Soaring Fuel Costs Spread In

New York,NY,USA -Dow Jones Newswires, by Emma Charlton & Christopher Emsden -May 21 2008: -- ... The protests create seismic conflicts for European policymakers who have used every tool available to governments - taxes, congestion charges, and public transport incentives - and even bicycle rentals - to reduce their countries' reliance on cars and trucks to protect the environment... France's politically powerful fishing unions want the government to better a $480 million rescue plan aimed at offsetting a doubling in the cost of diesel fuel since November. The fishing fleet also has been blockading French ports and oil terminals on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts for more than a week... The Paris clashes came as Brent crude oil futures for July delivery, the benchmark product for Europe, jumped more than $1.00 Wednesday to hit an all-time high of $129.70, driven up by apparently robust demand and evident reluctance among oil producers to increase output... European governments are under pressure to cut excise taxes on fuel to provide relief. Rising oil and gas prices already pose an inflation conundrum for central banks and impose higher costs for businesses and commuters that could put economic growth at risk. Now fuel prices risk triggering strikes and roadblocks that could wreak havoc in Europe's largely fragmented transport industry... Governments have so far been reluctant to cut these taxes, seeking instead to shift the blame on oil producers... Germany's some analysts lobby group for car drivers, say lower fuel taxes would only magnify demand... Enrico D'Elia, a senior economist at Italian think-tank ISAE noted, excise taxes are levied on volume, not price, and so actually dampen price volatility... Italy's new industry minister, Claudio Scajola, called the price Italians pay for fuel "intolerable"... He met with oil-industry leaders last Friday and warned he might take "structural measures" if the companies didn't bring their prices more in line with the rest of Europe... Roman Smidbersky, head of sales at the Czech Republic's largest trucking and logistics operator, CS Cargo AS, estimated that logistics companies will have to lift their rates by as much as 10% just to keep their trucks on the road... In Bulgaria, around 1,000 truckers besieged roads leading into Sofia earlier this week to protest the rise in diesel prices. They are particularly incensed that the price of diesel is now above that of regular gasoline, and note excises taxes on diesel have been hiked fourfold in only a few years. Those tax hikes were largely designed to comply with European Union rules and eliminate previous subsidy schemes... Up to a thousand British truckers coordinated by protest group TransAction 2007 plan to drive their rigs into London next Tuesday, snarling traffic as they deliver demands for relief on fuel taxes to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street... Brown, the U.K. prime minister, hardened his anti-OPEC rhetoric this week, denouncing the cartel as a "scandal" and calling on the E.U. and G8 to break down its control...

* UK - No backing for protesters

London,UK -Road Transport/Motor Transport, by Dominic Perry -21 May 2008: -- The RHA and FTA insist they will not lead next Tuesday's Park Lane fuel protest despite overwhelming support for such a move in last week's MT poll... But Roger King, RHA chief executive, insists that another Park Lane protest does not fit in with the association's strategy. Instead it is focusing on a mass lobby of parliament "on a date yet to be announced". This is in response to an amendment to the Finance Bill proposed by the SNP, which would introduce a fuel duty regulator... Mike Presneill, co-organiser of TransAction, says that he has been promised support by a large number of major haulage firms. He adds: "People are telling us that they are ashamed of the RHA because it is not heading the protest."...

* UK - Scots hauliers plan their own demonstration

London,UK -Road Transport/Motor Transport,by Laura Hailstone -21 May 2008: -- A group of Scottish hauliers are planning to hold their own fuel protest next week in solidarity with the plan-ned protest by TransAction in London. Cameron Young, managing director of Cameron Young Transport, says: "I'll be sending a truck down to London to support TransAction's protest, but myself and several other hauliers also want to stage something up here on the same day."... This time last year Young ran around 25 trucks, but over the past couple of months has been gradually downsizing his fleet due to escalating fuel prices. "I've just sold another nine vehicles, so I'm down to 12. If the government does something soon about diesel prices, then I just might survive."...

Labels: truckers' protest worldwide

TIRE MAKERS NEWS * USA

* Continental to hike prices of OE truck tires

Charlotte,NC,USA - CCJ -20 May 2008: -- Continental Tire North America Inc. recently announced a price increase of up to 8 percent on all Continental and General Tire brand original equipment truck tires in the NAFTA region. The price increase, effective Aug. 1, will vary by market line and/or tire size... This price increase is a result of the continued escalation of transportation, energy and raw material costs that we are unable to compensate with increased manufacturing efficiencies,” says Tom Fanning, the director of original equipment truck tires for the Americas...

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31.5.08

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

"GREN" NEWS * USA - UDOT Truck Technology Project

TRUCKERS' PROTEST * USA - New York plan June 19 convoy to statehouse in Albany

TRUCKERS' STRIKES WORLDWIDE

FUTURE - Holland - Overlooked Tram Offers Revolutionary Transportation Solution

HIGHER FUEL COSTS * USA - Fill it up, lose your shirt

CHEAP FUEL * USA - Slippery slope from trash to treasure

AWARDS * USA - Clean Air Honor Ports

30.5.08

HIGH FUEL COSTS * USA - Take Toll On Trucking Industry

* Japan - Dekotora Trucks

ENVIROMENTAL REGULATIONS * Canada - Delta port refuses 250 trucks for not meeting new ones

FUEL COST SOLUTIONS WORLDWIDE * Indonesia - It would withdraw from OPEC

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - Frozen Food Express Lowers Top Speed of Its Trucks

BUREAUCRATIC AFFAIR * USA - CARB drops sticker rule for port trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA - Daimler Trucks set to open in S.C.

TRUCKERS' STRIKES WORLDWIDE * S. Korea - High oil prices forcing truck drivers out of business

"CLEAN TRUCKS" PLAN * USA - Ports of LA/Long Beach put discussion on hold

29.5.08

Environmental Groups * USA - To sue over Calif. emissions

STORY: This Old Truck * USA - One driver, 28 years, 3.75 million miles

TRUCKERS' STRIKES * WORLDWIDE - Because higher fuel costs

GREEN FLEET * Canada - Coke launches fleet of hybrid trucks that are nicer to the environment

STUDY * Sweden - Not all noise from trucks is bad

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

FUEL SAVING * USA - Georgia Man Uses Tractor Engines in Regular Trucks

WORLD OIL MARKET * Luxembourg - Challenges OPEC

28.5.08

TRUCKERS' PROTEST * UK - Lorry drivers flex their muscles

WASHROOM ROADS * Canada - Urine bottles found along N.B. highways

FUEL COST, ONE SOLUTION * USA - Bill advances to close loophole blamed for energy speculation

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA - DHL to partner with UPS in US

TRUCKING INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE * Mergers & Acquisitions

27.5.08

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE - Soaring fuel prices have yet to dent demand for freight transport

Benefit from incentives * Canada - Truckers' & Employee incentives can help fleets meet an array of objectives

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Canada & USA

Govt Ignoring Call * Australia - For upgraded stops as fatigue regs approach

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * Australia - ATA NSW wants investigation into diesel prices

26.5.08

CLEAN TRUCKS DISCUSSION * USA - Ports Facing 5-Week Wait For

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

FUEL COST TROUBLES * WORLDWIDE

STOCKWATCH * WORLDWIDE - Transportation Highlights

Security Net * USA - Unease as truckers not included in

FUEL COSTS SOLUTION * Philippines - Villar backs public transport subsidies amid oil crisis

TRUCKERS' STRIKE * South Korea - Diesel Prices Burden Truck Drivers

ACCIDENTS * Canada - Fatigue, inexperience fingered in crashes

FUEL COSTS SOLUTIONS * USA - Truckers go for gas-saving tech

LORRY DRIVERS RALLY * UK - Haulage firms in protest over fuel prices

25.5.08

BILLS * Australia - Blame for speeding truckies to be shared

FUEL COSTS TROUBLES * USA - Pricey diesel fuel drives up trucking companies' costs

TAX * Canada - Carbon Crunch

AFTER SHUTDOWN * USA - Agencies work to find new jobs after shutdown

Clean Truck Plan * USA - Losing Traction. Confusion and threat of lawsuits block progress

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Large Truckers Haul Past Industry Stress

FUNDS * New Zealand - Truckers say shipping funding unfair

24.5.08

AWARD * USA - Ventura Transfer Company Wins First Place in California Trucking Association Fleet Saftey Awards For Intermodal Safety

Trucking Regulators * USA - WARN ON USE of "Chantix"

FUEL COST TROUBLES * STRIKES WORLDWIDE

EVENT * USA - The American Truck Historical Society’s annual show

MARKETS * Europe - UK trucks driven out of the international market

23.5.08

FAREWELL TO THE INDEPENDENT TRUCKER

LIQUID NATURAL GAS * Australia - Trucks should convert to natural gas

TRANSPORT STATISTICS * USA - Truck Tonnage Jumps 2%

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

FUEL COST DEBATES * USA - House vote targets OPEC

'HOT FUEL' * USA - Costs consumers more when prices rise

SAFETY * USA - ATA Urges Congressional Action on Drug, Alcohol Testing

All hands on deck * USA - Traffic speed study will reveal a lot

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * WORLDWIDE - Industry Pressured by Conflicting Energy Mandates