trucks world news: April 2009

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Briefing Weekly News

from Freight Forwarding

* Germany - K+N's margins rise despite plummeting revenue
Kuehne + Nagel has published its results for the first quarter of 2009, providing an insight into the extent of the global economic slowdown. Read Full Brief Here

* Saudi Arabia - Saudi JV logistics company Wared launches operations
Wared Logistics, a new Saudi Arabia-based provider of logistics services for the Middle East and North Africa region, has formally launched its “comprehensive” offerings. Read Full News Here

* Germany - Deutsche Post DHL previews Q1 2009 results
Deutsche Post DHL yesterday (April 22) reported it had seen volume declines increase across all products and divisions in the first quarter of this year compared with the fourth quarter of 2008. Read Full News Here

from Contract Logistics

* USA - Harsh downturn in logistics profits as UPS searches for recovery
Memphis-based rival FedEx may think the US and global economies have hit the bottom but there is little sign yet of recovery in UPS’s latest figures announced yesterday (April 23). Read Full Brief Here

* USA - Menlo launches programme for Bayer MaterialScience
Menlo Worldwide Logistics has reported the launch of an integrated transportation planning, optimisation and management programme for Bayer MaterialScience. Read Full News Here

* UK - Retailer BHS selects K+N for furniture deliveries
Kuehne + Nagel announced last week that it had been chosen by UK retailer BHS to handle furniture deliveries to customers’ homes. Read Full News Here

* USA - Boeing expands supply chain management contract with Ryder
Ryder System this week announced that The Boeing Company had selected it to manage the global aerospace group’s freight bill payment and audit process. Read Full News Here

from Express & Mail

* Germany - DHL and UPS fail to agree on US air express co-operation
Talks between DHL and UPS over using UPS aircraft for DHL’s US express business have been terminated and DHL is to move its main hub back to Cincinnati. Read Full Brief Here

* Germany - DHL spotlights "significant growth" in SE Asia road express services
DHL has reported that businesses in South East Asia are widely embracing road-based express services, encouraged by a requirement for reliable but cost-effective transport solutions. Read Full News Here

* The Netherlands - TNT Post workers reject proposed labour agreement
Trade union members have rejected an in-principle agreement on a new three-year collective labour deal for TNT Post operations staff in the Netherlands. Read Full News Here

from Road Freight

* USA - Ryder reports 22% drop in total revenue
US-based freight transport, logistics and supply chain management solutions provider Ryder System has published its results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2009. Read Full News Here

from Air Cargo

* Germany - DHL notifies ATSG of intent to reactivate Cincinnati facility
DHL Express has informed ATSG subsidiary ABX Air that the express company is to move its US gateway from Wilmington, Ohio, to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Read Full News Here

* Switzerland - ATA reports continued decline in air cargo traffic
The Air Transport Association of America has reported a 21% year-on-year decline in cargo traffic, measured in revenue ton miles, for February. Read Full News Here

* Italy - Reborn Cargoitalia confirms planned start-up next month
Cargoitalia - an Italian all-cargo airline being relaunched under new ownership - has finalised its initial management line-up and confirmed plans to start operations in late May. Read Full News Here

from Shipping/Ports

* China - Southern China shippers protest over planned new shipping line charge
Shipper organisations in the southern China region have joined forces to fight plans by Hong Kong-based global container shipping line OOCL to implement a new charge. Read Full News Here

from Intermodal

* Australia - Asciano provides update on sell-off plans
Leading Australian rail and port operator Asciano yesterday (April 21) issued an update on progress with the group’s previously-announced plans to sell off some or all of its businesses. Read Full News Here

Labels: transport and logistics news

Toll Roads * USA - Bills filed to stop ‘double dipping’ on private toll roads ones

U.S. senators have filed a pair of bills to stop private-sector toll operators from double dipping into the pockets of taxpayers

Washingtron,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 27, 2009: -- Bills benefit highway users by eliminating subsidies for private toll roads... Senators: Bingaman, and Grassley, both members of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced bills to eliminate subsidies for privatized highways... The bill, S884, would stop states from receiving federal tax funding and private-sector money for the same toll road... The other bill, S885, would put a limit on the toll operator’s current ability to write off the cost of the asset over the long term. This would make it more difficult in the future for private investors to profit from subsidies, as happened with the privatization of the Chicago Skyway in Illinois. Private toll operator Cintra-Macquarie, a Spanish-Australian bank partnership, was allowed a 99-year tax write-off as part of the Skyway lease... The Bingaman-Grassley legislation urges Congress to tighten up the tax write-off criteria... (Photo: Chicago Skyway)

Labels: toll roads debate

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Port of LA solar power project finally gets moving

City officials estimate the 10-megawatt project will produce several hundred jobs in construction, engineering and maintenance

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Press-Telegram Long Beach by Kristopher Hanson -27 April 2009: -- With more than 300 days of annual sunshine and enough open space to park tens of thousands of unsold cars, the world's largest megaships and more than a few shipping containers, the port seems to be a perfect place for a solar power plant... So far, workers have installed about half of the 71,000 square-feet of solar panels destined for the cruise ship terminal rooftop in the Port of Los Angeles. That installation marks the beginning stage of an ambitious project to provide enough clean energy to power 2,500 homes within six years... The port's solar initiative takes advantage of vast expanses of open space - including warehouse rooftops, terminal parking lots and empty road shoulders - to install 1.15-million square-feet of solar panels in coming years... The sun's energy will be used to power electric cranes and recharge electric container trucks and yard hostlers in coming years. Electricity will also be funneled to ships capable of plugging into dockside outlets while in port - cutting pollution levels from auxiliary engines... (Photo, by Daniel Figueroa)

Labels: "green" infrastructures

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Australia

* Isuzu revs up for stationary engines

Brooklyn,Victoria,Australia -ATN -28 April 2009: -- Isuzu Australia is preparing for a change of pace as it enters the stationary engine market... The new division, to be known as Isuzu Diesel, will offer a range of 50 different engines, from a base 14 horsepower unit through to the top of the range 530 horsepower model, available from 35 specialist dealers... Isuzu Industrial and Marine Engines Manager Dean Whitford says the new venture is already attracting plenty of attention from the market...

* Financial crisis hits MaxiTrans

Derrimut,Vic,Australia -ATN, by Michael House -28 April 2009: -- Trailer manufacturer MaxiTrans will be forced to cut jobs, slash salaries and reduce its operations as its profits plummet in the face of the worldwide recession... MaxiTrans is expecting a 75 percent drop in profits by June as a result of the global financial crisis, leading the company to institute a number of radical measures in an attempt to offset the loss... While some analysts saying the financial crisis has created a “window of opportunity” for operators to purchase equipment at lower prices, MaxiTrans is still struggling... It has been a rapid reversal in fortunes for the manufacturer, with MaxiTrans this time last year announcing record order intakes and sales...

Labels: truckmakers news Australia

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia

* Police told to target 'illegal' B-doubles

Greenthorpe,NSW,Australia -ATN -28 April 2009: -- There are calls for NSW police officers to increase on-road enforcement activities after allegations surfaced of B-doubles speeding and operating on illegal routes... Greens spokeswoman on transport, Lee Rhiannon. has fired a shot at truck drivers carrying grain through the NSW region of Greenthorpe, saying they are putting lives at risk through reckless driving... Speaking to locals today, Rhiannon called on police to take immediate action in the central-west of NSW, saying “it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident”...

* Stevo's Haulage dissolved

Melbourne,VIC,Australia -ATN, by Samantha Freestone -28 April 2009: -- Stevo’s Haulage in Melbourne has gone into liquidation after a personal matter and declining freight levels forced directors to shut down the company last week... A representative from the company says “the industry and with the way freight is at the moment” was the final straw in leading to the company's demise... However, it is not yet known whether Stevo's will be split up or sold as a singular asset... A well known presence on Australian roads, Stevo’s Haulage has worked primarily for Concord Park for some time...

* No extension for investment allowance

Canberra,Australia -ATN, by Michael House -28 April 2009: -- The Federal Government will not extend the timeframe for its 30 percent investment allowance despite pleas from manufacturers... Sections of the trucking industry called for the deadline to be revised, saying trucking operators needed more time to gain finance to purchase new equipment... But a spokesman for Treasurer, Wayne Swan, says the Government will not budge on the June 30 phase-out date...

Labels: trucking industry news Australia

Higher charges * Australia - will push industry 'over the edge'

“It is going to push people over the edge,” Williams says

Sydney,Australia -ATN, by Brad Gardner -28 April 2009: -- The Rudd Government is being urged to abandon plans to increase heavy vehicle charges or risk sending already struggling trucking operators to breaking point... The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has slammed the proposed 3.2 percent increase in registration fees and the road user charge from July 1 this year... Hughie Williams from the TWU’s Queensland branch claims the charges will have serious ramifications on the industry, which is struggling under the weight of the global financial crisis... B-double operators will be hit with an almost $3,000 increase in registration fees, while a 0.7 percent increase in the road user charge will reduce the fuel tax credit to 16.4 cents... Williams has questioned the reason for the increase, saying governments may be overcharging the industry... The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has backed the 3.2 percent in registration fees, with ATA Chairman, Trevor Martyn, saying it is justified because governments are investing more funds in the road network... The ATA, however, has so far remained silent on whether it supports the increase in the road user charge... ATA Chief Executive, Stuart St Clair, says the peak lobby group has not yet looked at the reasoning for the proposed increase and will make its position known once it determines if the 0.7 cent increase is necessary.. (Video from YouTube, from eads90 - 29 de noviembre de 2006: "Trucks in Aus": Just some of the trucks in outback Australia)

Labels: truck charges

Employee Incentives * USA- Can help fleets meet an array of objectives

Washington,DC,USA -Truck News -27 April 2009: -- 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%... Traditionally, fleets pay safety bonuses equivalent to a cent per mile, but some will pay more than two or three cents, says Ray Barton, co-author of Incentive Programs for Enhancing Truck Safety and Productivity, a Canadian study into the issue...

Labels: Trucker incentives

Fatal Crashes * USA - Involving Large Trucks, Lowest In 10 Years

Tallahassee,FL,USA -WJHG -Apr 27, 2009: -- Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary, Stephanie Kopelousos, announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) indicates that the number of fatal crashes in Florida involving large trucks, greater than 10,000 lbs., is the lowest since 1997... This is the first time in recent history the fatal crash rate for Florida is below the national average... Said Rose A. McMurray, Acting Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), “We are encouraged by the significant reduction in truck-related fatalities in Florida and applaud the FDOT for their tireless efforts to ensure the safety of our nation’s highways. It is vitally important that federal and state governments continue to work closely with the motor carrier industry to improve truck and bus safety and save lives.”... FDOT’s Office of Motor Carrier Compliance (OMCC) credits the substantial reduction in large truck crashes to the four E’s of Traffic Safety — Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Everyone else, including the drivers of these big rigs and other motorists...

Labels: crash rates

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

* DuraStar, Workstar add Bendix Electronic Stability system

Warrenville,ILL,USA -Fleet Owner -Apr 27, 2009: -- International DuraStar and WorkStar medium-duty and severe service trucks now include the Bendix ESP Electronic Stability system to mitigate rollover and vehicle under- and over-steer driving situations... ESP monitors the vehicle and if it determines a critical stability threshold is about to occur, the system will intervene to assist the driver by selectively applying the brakes or de-throttling the engine... (Photo: firehouse.com - ReedCity Michigan Large Chassis: International DuraStar)

* Kenworth adds new medium-duty rear suspensions

Kirkland,WA,USA -Fleet Owner -Apr 24, 2009: -- Kenworth Truck Co. has announced that its AG210L single-axle and AG400L tandem-axle rear suspensions are available for ordering on its medium-duty truck models... The 21,000-lb. rated AG210L is a highway rear suspension for T270 Class 6 and T370 Class 7 models. The two-bag, rear air suspension is available for straight trucks in dry van, flatbed, service body, utility crane and van applications, and for tractors in dry van and flatbed applications... The 40,000-lb. rated AG400L is a four-bag suspension for highway rear air suspension systems, is disc brake compatible and suited for over-the-road and P&D applications. It is also available in a variety of straight truck and tractor applications... (Photo from djc.com: Coke's Kenworth truck big)

* Mack SCR garbage trucks in field testing

Phoenix,AZ,USA -Fleet Owner -Apr 27, 2009: -- Republic Services, a commercial, industrial and municipal waste hauler operating in 40 states, is field testing four Mack Trucks diesel SCR-equipped, pre-production, garbage truck. The company is also testing a hybrid truck... The SCR trucks are in operation in Denver, Eden Prairie, MN, Lakeland, FL, and Ft. Lauderdale, FL... The hybrid truck, the first American-built hybrid garbage truck, according to Mack, uses diesel-electric technology that can boost fuel economy by 20% while cutting greenhouse emissions. The engine also charges an onboard energy storage system that powers an electric motor and energy is also captured during braking using regenerative braking... (Photo from mackvenca.com: Mack's green sunset garbage)

Labels: truckmakers news USA

Trucking Industry's Analysis * USA - Hard times aren't hard enough?

Things are bad in the trucking industry, but they're not bad enough, an analyst said

New York,NY,USA -Associated Press/Forbes -27 April 2009: -- Donald Broughton, an analyst with Avondale Partners, said 480 trucking companies went out of business in the first quarter. While that seems like a big number, Broughton said that many more truckers still need to fail to improve demand for the remaining players... Those companies held a total of less than 1 percent of the country's total trucking capacity... And even the remaining truckers are idling less of their fleets. Less than one-third the number of trucks were turned off in the first three months of the year than in the same period a year ago. Broughton believes that lower fuel prices saved many companies from going under... Some trucking companies have been forced to slash their prices because there are still too many trucks going after too little freight... Broughton estimates that more than 5 percent of trucks need to be plucked off the road before prices will stabilize, and trucking companies can see business get better...

* Recession rocks trucking earnings

Atlanta,GA,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -Apr 27, 2009: -- It's not much of a surprise that the ongoing economic turmoil – globally and domestically – is hurting both the revenues and earnings of a wide variety of freight transportation companies. What is interesting is that many are managing to stay in the black, albeit by making large cost cuts in operations, capital spending, and a myriad of other areas... Scott Davis, chairman & CEO of United Parcel Service noted that UPS is maintaining its small package margins, has expanded its market share both domestically and overseas, and continues to generate strong cash flow. However, it is scaling back 2009 capital spending by an additional $200 million, bringing the total to just below $2 billion, he said... (Photo from ecolosfera.com: UPS-hybrid)

Labels: trucking industry analysis USA

STRIKE * Canada - Truckers Threaten Strike at Vancouver

Two companies balk at trip rates; 140 drivers set to walk out next Monday

Vancouver,BC,CAN -The Journal of Commerce (USA), by Courtney Tower -Apr 27, 2009: -- Approximately 140 owner-operator container truck drivers are threatening a strike as early as May 4 at Port Metro Vancouver, as contract negotiations with two trucking companies have broken off, the Canadian Auto Workers union said today... A strike removing that many trucks could cause a major slowdown at Port Metro Vancouver, the first serious labor issue since a crippling six-week walkout in mid-2005 by independent operators. That breakdown led to licensing of trucking companies under terms setting out pay and benefits requirements for truck drivers, and banding of independent operators into the CAW and other unions... The 140 owner-operators at Port-Team Transport and Pacific Truckings, two companies owned and operated by veteran trucking company operator Bob Simpson, voted Sunday to “strike if necessary,” said Stu Shields, CAW national representative, in Vancouver...

Labels: truckers' strikes

Clean Truck Program * USA - Federal judge overrules parts of ports' one

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Press-Telegram Long Beach, by Kristopher Hanson -27 April 2009: -- A federal judge has shot down portions of the ports' landmark clean-truck program, ruling that provisions like an employee-driver mandate and restrictions on where trucks can be parked cannot be enforced until a full court hearing is held... U.S. District Court Judge, Christina Snyder, said Monday that while environmental mandates on truck emissions may stand, other provisions embedded in the plan will need to be argued in court in coming months... The ruling upends protections sought by labor and environmental groups and provides a victory to trucking groups and independent truck drivers whose long-standing business model had been threatened under the plan... The American Trucking Association, backed by retailers and exporters, Sued the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in August, saying certain provisions - but not the environmental mandates - violated Federal law and placed an unfair burden on their industry... The elements that would probably be enjoined according to her preliminary ruling are:

The Los Angeles requirement that all drivers be employees.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach requirements regarding preferential hiring, financial capability, routes and parking, and concession fees.
The Long Beach requirements for companies to advise drivers about health insurance opportunities.

Labels: Clean Truck Program debate

OPINION * USA - Trucks don't need shortcuts

Auburn,NY,USA -The Citizen/Auburn Pub, by Carole Estabrook -April 27, 2009: -- Finger Lakes region residents will have one last opportunity to officially voice their opinion as part of an ongoing effort to establish regulations that would limit long-distance truckers from using seven specific rural, upstate routes, including 41A between Homer and Skaneateles, as shortcuts... And why shouldn't people come out in support of these regulations?... Research from Cornell University has shown that long-haul truck traffic on rural roads doesn't save the trucking companies any money. In fact, studies show that rural routes slow drive time and can sometimes add as much as an hour to a trucker's journey. Even avoiding tolls doesn't compensate for an extra hour of travel, especially considering fluctuations in fuel costs... The study also addresses the literal impact that truck traffic has on state roads that were not designed to handle the weight, speed and size of these vehicles. Big rigs also pose a threat to motorists and pedestrians, as large trucks can't maneuver adequately on narrow state streets, whereas the interstate was designed to handle heavy trucks and heavy truck volume... And then there's the noise and unpleasant odors, which are mild offenses in comparison... (Photo from cnycentral.com: TRUCKER RALLEY)

Labels: clean air opinion

INFRASTRUCTURES FUNDS * Australia - Governments agree on $30bn transport investment

Canberra,Australia -ATN -28 April 2009: -- More than $30 billion will be injected into vital road and rail projects, after the nation’s governments agreed on a massive infrastructure program to boost productivity and meet demand... Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, says the agreement is a vital step in ensuring Australia’s transport network continues to play an important part in strengthening the economy...

* New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria will be the big winners from the scheme, with each receiving $8.6 billion, $6.8 billion and $4.4 billion respectively. * Western Australia will collect $2.8 billion, South Australia $1.7 billion, Tasmania $800 million, the Northern Territory $590 million and the ACT $200 million. * The largest investment will be in the Pacific Highway, where $2.5 billion will be spent... (Photo: outback-australia-travel-secrets: Red Roads)

Labels: infrastructures funds

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Truck Tonnage Drops 12.2% in March

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Truck tonnage decreased 12.2% in March compared with a year ago, falling to the lowest level since March 2002, American Trucking Associations said late Monday... The decline in the group’s for-hire seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index was the second-worst year-over-year decrease of the current cycle... The index fell 4.5% from the previous month, erasing the 4.5% increase it had made in the two months prior... ATA Chief Economist, Bob Costello, said he wasn’t too surprised about the March index. “Many fleets were telling us during March that freight was getting a little better,” he said...

* Celadon Reports Fiscal Third-Quarter Loss - Loss Is First in More Than Seven Years

Indianapolis,IN,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Truckload carrier Celadon Group lost $2.1 million, or 10 cents a share, in its fiscal third-quarter, compared with a profit of $100,000, or 1 cent, a year ago... The loss was the carrier’s first in more than seven years, said Chief Executive Officer, Steve Russell...

* Universal Truckload Services’ Income Drops

Warren,MI,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Universal Truckload Services said its net income plunged 95.8% to $100,000, or 1 cent per share, from $3.3 million, 21 cents, a year ago... Revenue fell 32.4% to $115 million, the company said in a statement...

Labels: trucking industry nerws USA

Corruption * Kenya - Lack of trucks ensure axle load limit headed for failure

A year after Uganda joined Kenya in banning four-axle trucks on its roads, the policy is headed for failure as corruption and bribery take their toll

Nairobi,Kenya -The East African, by DAVID MALINGHA DOYA -April 26 2009: -- Industry sources and officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport say low trucking capacity in the country and feeble supervision has created a large bribery industry... Overloading benefits both freight companies and their clients as lower transport costs result in significant profit margins and lower prices... Sources in the Ministry of Works, and in private transport companies, confirmed that overloading is prevalent in sectors in which transport is a significant cost factor, particularly cement, steel and beverages... Transport and Works Minister, John Nasasira, says intelligence information indicates that corrupt officials wait for trucks a kilometre or so before the weighbridge to negotiate a bribe... Thereafter, they call their partners at the weighbridge with registration numbers and details of who has “co-operated”. “A truck that has paid a bribe will have no difficulty in driving past the weighbridge,” he said... Sources familiar with the racket said discriminatory enforcement of load limits is not just about roadside extortion but is a “organised and institutionalised corruption” involving prominent business people and highly placed bureaucrats in the ministry. They are paid hundreds of millions of shillings for their “co-operation.”... (Photo by ANTHONY KAMAU - A lorry at a weighbridge in Athi River, Nairobi. Many vehicles cross from Kenya into Uganda when they are already overloaded)

Labels: fraud and corruption

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia - Lindsay Australia to grow despite recession

Brisbane,QNLD,AUST -QBR, by Michael House -28 April 2009: -- Queensland trucking, logistics and supply chain operator Lindsay Australia has announced it expects a massive rise in profits of over 50 percent at the end of the financial year... The company has projected a full year consolidated after tax profit of between $3.6 million and $4.1 million, thumbing its nose at the global financial crisis... Despite sections of the industry experiencing a credit shortage and a fall in growth, Lindsay expects to build upon its $2 million profit announced for the same period last year... Lindsay Chief Financial Officer Graham Johnston says while it is difficult to forecast such a prediction given the global financial crisis, it is based on the businesses trends over the last nine months...

* Government cuts speed limit on highway

Brisbane,QNLD,AUST -ATN -28 April 2009: -- The Queensland Government will reduce the speed limit on a key road freight route in an effort to slash the number of accidents... As part of a number of safety initiatives being undertaken by the Department of Main Roads, the speed limit on the Mount Lindesay Highway will be revised from 100km/h to 90km/h... The 10km/h drop follows an analysis of the highway, which determined a drop in speed would cut the likelihood of accidents...(Picture from 4.bp.blogspot.com)

Labels: trucking industry news Australia and N Zealand

TRUCKING ANALYSIS * Australia - Truckers advised to lower speeds, maximise capacity

Logistics is facing further obstacles this year following a particularly tough 2008...

Queensland,Australia -Queensland Business Review -27 April 2009: -- Logistics is ranked seventh in the IBISWorld report of top-10 sectors feeling the pinch of the financial crisis... Freight volumes are falling sharply, resulting in an overly competitive market and tight margins... Trucking industry revenue is expected to fall a further 3.4 percent, while profit remains at around 0.2 percent... In addition, the report says approximately 5,500 jobs will be slashed... However, clamping down on trucking costs is listed as a top suggestion to protect margins... Operators should also aim to lower average speeds, follow less-congested alternate routes and reduce braking and acceleration... Taking advantage of capacity will ensure that costs per unit are reduced, while cutting back on the number of trucks in operation will also reduce excess capacity... (Photo from transportcafe.co.uk: Australian Truck: Melbourne, Adelaide)

Labels: trucking industry analysis worldwide

TRUCKMAKER'S COMMENT * USA - Trucking Faces Core Changes

The entire North American trucking industry is in the midst of a fundamental reshaping, which will lead to flat tonnage levels for fleets and fewer truck manufacturers producing much more expensive vehicles and mostly in Mexico...

Oxon Hill,MD,USA -Transport Topics, by Jonathan S. Reiskin -27 April 2009: -- ... Said James Hebe, Navistar Inc.’s senior vice president for North American sales operations, at the American Truck Dealers’ annual meeting here on April 20 that, although the current recession started in late 2007, trucking’s downturn began a year earlier... He anticipates something of a truck sales surge during the second half of this year, but only so buyers can avoid more expensive 2010 trucks equipped with new emissions controls... Carrier managers, he said, are ever more selective about the freight they haul. Furthermore, he said, there might be fewer loads to haul... Hebe predicted higher federal taxes will cut consumers’ discretionary spending, resulting in slow growth or no growth in demand for trucking services... Owner-operators, Hebe said, will vanish because of high fuel and equipment prices and the anticipated rise of electronic onboard recorders. EOBRs are noteworthy, Hebe said, in that a key strategy for some owner-operators has been to run longer than federal hours-of-service rules permit... “That is the death knell for owner-operators. They can’t survive by running legal,” he said... As for the trucks being sold today, Hebe said they are of far higher quality than those made years ago, which means they last longer. Coupled with less freight and shorter routes, the result will be lower truck sales and production, leading to a contraction in truck manufacturing... “We will be a smaller industry"... Less production means fewer economies of scale and, therefore, higher per-unit costs. Adding in a prediction for a return of high inflation, Hebe said truck prices will rise sharply...

* Navistar Says Trucks Qualify for More CARB Vouchers

Warrenville,ILL,USA -Transport Topics -27 April 2009: -- Navistar International Corp. said Monday that it has received total hybrid vehicle certification from the California Air Resources Board, becoming the the first truck and bus manufacturer to do so... Under a program CARB approved Friday, purchases of commercial hybrid vehicles can receive incentives ranging from $10,000 to $35,000 per vehicle. But purchasers of Navistar hybrid trucks and buses will receive addition $5,000 vouchers, Navistar said... The CARB program sets aside $25 million for the incentive program, which is part of a California assembly bill aimed at deploying hybrid commercial vehicles, Navistar said...

* Wabash National Looks to Uncertain Future

Lafayette,IN,USA -Trailer Body Builders -Apr 20, 2009: -- Wabash National has expressed concerns about its viability in documents the company has filed with the Security and Exchange Commission... Wabash did not file the report until mid-April, a delay caused in part by efforts to renegotiate financial commitments... The trailer manufacturer said that it has limited liquidity and may need to arrange for additional liquidity on terms described as “unfavorable.”... The company also said that it likely will need to issue new equity or obtain additional sources debt...

Labels: truckmakers' comments

Truck Safety * USA - From one passenger’s perspective

The take-away was this: truck drivers are subject to extensive scrutiny by law enforcement

Houston,TX,USA -The Houston Chronicle, by CAROLYN FEIBEL -April 26, 2009: -- But one of the most interesting days was the one I spent riding along with truck safety officers in East Harris County. Since then, I haven’t looked at an 18-wheeler in the same way... Unlike cars, commercial trucks can be pulled over at any time, without cause, to have their brake lines checked and their loads poked and prodded. Major companies turn somersaults to keep their loads secured and their drivers in line, in order to avoid delays and keep insurance rates down. But a few rogue companies and truck drivers have given the public a poor perception of how commercial truckers operate... I heard stories about truckers failing to strap down pipes, chains and giant industrial generators. In a wreck, those items could become fatal missiles. So can the tractor-trailer itself. Truck inspection officers for Houston and other municipalities write hundreds of tickets a month, and most of them are for poorly secured cargo and bad brakes, said Sgt. Teresa Curry, who heads the Houston Police Department’s truck safety unit... Scary stories aside, most wrecks involving trucks are caused by cars, Curry said. Cars often swerve or stop suddenly in front of 18-wheelers. Car drivers need to give trucks a wide berth and also stay out of a trucker’s blind spot. If you can’t see the driver’s face in the truck’s side mirrors, the driver can’t see your car... You may be reassured to know that many truck companies have safety officials who spend a lot of time driving the roads and spying on their drivers. The local group of such officials, the Houston Council of Safety Professionals, even sponsors an annual safety championship for local drivers, a sort of trucking rodeo. Yours truly will definitely fill you in from that event, next month... (Photo truck-accident-lawyer-blog: TruckSafety)

Labels: trucks safety

Analysis * USA - Economy keeps truck drivers idled

New York,NY,USA -Associated Press/Forbes, by MARK ZARETSKY -26 April 2009: -- At 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night - or just about anytime - there are 75 giant, exhaust-belching monsters parked at the TravelCenters of America truck stop off Interstate 95's Exit 56... Many have their engines running and truckers inside sleeping or watching TV; cooking or talking on unlimited cell phone plans; playing videod games or working on laptops to set up the next load... As the nation slogs its way through a recession, truckers find themselves spending more time parked at the TA - as well as at Milford's Pilot and Secondi Brothers truck stops and hundreds of others - and less time making money on the road... On Wednesday, there were trucks at the TA with license plates from at least 32 states and two Canadian provinces... Manufacturing has slowed. Fewer people and fewer goods are moving. That means more trucks than ever are parked for longer periods of time between loads... (Photo: hankstruckpictures: Beach Travel Centers of America)

Labels: trucking industry analysis USA

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

* Spain - Fiat's Iveco truck unit to cut 1,000 jobs in

Milan,Italy -Reuters, by Gilles Castonguay & Karen Foster -Apr 26, 2009: -- Fiat's Iveco unit plans to cut about 1,000 jobs at a plant in Spain to reduce costs in the face of a severe sales slump, a spokesman for the truck division said on Sunday... Iveco will cut the jobs at a plant in Madrid, one of three it has in the country, he said... Plant chief Piero Bordesan, was quoted in Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday as saying that the number of jobs to be cut was less than half of the roughly 2,800 workers at the plant, which makes trucks for transport and construction... Bordesan said the other workers would be off work for extended periods of time throughout the rest of the year to keep operating costs down... The global economic crisis has hurt sales so much that the plant is making 28 units a day rather than the usual 110, he said... Like other industrial groups, Fiat has been cutting costs in all of its divisions... (Photo by i32.tinypic: Ibeco's plant in Madrid)

* Sweden - Scania profit slumps 93%, sees no near-term recovery - Orders tumble, with Central and Eastern Europe hardest hit

Stockholm,Sweden -MarketWatch (London,UK), by Simon Kennedy -April 27, 2009: -- Swedish truck maker Scania on Monday reported a 93% slump in its first-quarter net profit and said it doesn't expect any improvement in demand in the coming quarters as practically all its markets were hit by the economic downturn... The group said profit in the quarter tumbled to 179 million Swedish kronor ($21.8 million) from 2.51 billion kronor a year earlier. The result was below the consensus forecast of 201 million kronor, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey... Scania said transport companies have slashed investment in new vehicles and that truck makers are now in the downturn phases of their 10-year demand cycle...

Labels: truckmakers news worldwide

Trailer Trucks VS Big Wind * USA - Moving Big Rig Fail

Clip of big rig blown over by strong winds captured by Nevada Highway Patrol

NEV,USA -Video from YouTube, by DailyVsNews -24 April 2009: Caught on camera. High winds flip highway truck on side while a highway patrol followed behind! The YouTube video which was shot by the Nevada Highway patrol as it followed this truck won the road...

And another one: "Truck overthrown on its left side by strong wind"

USA -Video from YouTube, by AccidentPointCOM -4 Sept 2008: A video camera capture how easy a tractor trailer was overthrown by wind. If i saw right, in the beginning of this video there is another truck flipped... -P.N.: Finally winds 2 vs. trucks 0 -

Labels: weather troubles

BUSINESS MARKET * USA -Recession to end in H2 but unemployment to rise

Washington,DC,USA -Reuters/Portfolio -Apr 10 2009: -- The U.S. economy is set to emerge from recession in the second half of this year as consumer spending and the housing sector recover, but unemployment will rise well into 2010, according to a survey... The Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey of private economists released on Friday showed that 86 percent of respondents believed that the economic downturn would be declared to have ended in the second half... Much of the anticipated turnaround in the economy, now in its 16th month of recession, would be driven by some improvement in consumer spending, housing, business inventories and exports. Yet, above-trend growth was not expected until the second half of 2010... (Photo: March 15, 2009. REUTERS, by Max Whittaker - A campsite at a homeless tent city in Sacramento California)

Labels: market prognosis

TRUCKING MARKETS * Canada - Continued challenges, but some glimmers of hope in latest OTA fleet survey

Is the Ontario trucking industry beginning to stabilize?

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News -24 April 2009: -- The Ontario Trucking Association’s (OTA) second quarter 2009 Business Pulse e-Survey shows continued tough times, but also glimmers of hope... Seventy-four trucking companies took part in the survey, with 43% reporting they were “pessimistic” about overall industry prospects for the next three months. But that’s down from 52% in the first quarter survey. Perhaps more importantly, the number of those saying they were “optimistic” about industry prospects rose from 17% last quarter to 27% in the second quarter. Thirty per cent of respondents said they were “unsure” where the industry is headed... (Photo: mooseyscountrygarden: Trucks canadian freeway)

Labels: trucking markets prognosis

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Briefing Weekly News

from Express & Mail

* USA - Harsh downturn in logistics profits as UPS searches for recovery
Memphis-based rival FedEx may think the US and global economies have hit the bottom but there is little sign yet of recovery in UPS’s latest figures announced yesterday (April 23). Read Full Brief Here

* The Nehterlands - TNT Post workers reject proposed labour agreement
Trade union members have rejected an in-principle agreement on a new three-year collective labour deal for TNT Post operations staff in the Netherlands. Read Full News Here

from Shipping/Ports

* China - Southern China shippers protest over planned new shipping line charge
Shipper organisations in the southern China region have joined forces to fight plans by Hong Kong-based global container shipping line OOCL to implement a new charge. Read Full News Here

from Contract Logistics

* USA - Ryder reports 22% drop in total revenue
US-based freight transport, logistics and supply chain management solutions provider Ryder System has published its results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2009. Read Full News Here

from Air Cargo

* Italy - Reborn Cargoitalia confirms planned start-up next month
Cargoitalia - an Italian all-cargo airline being relaunched under new ownership - has finalised its initial management line-up and confirmed plans to start operations in late May. Read Full News Here

Labels: transport and logistics news

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS, Mergers & Acquisitions * WORLDWIDE

Strategic Buyers - International Transactions

* France - 10 April: Keolis SA announced the acquisition of Alphacars... Alphacars provides school transportation services in central France. Terms were not disclosed.

* Sweden . 16 April: Alltransport I Östergötland Ab announced the acquisition of J.A. Is Åkeri AB, a provider of trucking and warehousing services from its base in Motala, Sweden. Terms were not disclosed.

US Domestic Transactions

* USA - 14 April: Railcar Management, LLC announced the acquisition of 10
East Corp... 10East provides software solutions for the railroad industry from its base in Jacksonville, FL. Terms were not disclosed.

Labels: Mergers and Acquisitions worldwide

Maintaining Trucks * Australia - New brake technology to cut operating costs

Melbourne,Victoria,AUST -ATN -20 April 2009: -- The cost of maintaining truck fleets may soon be slashed, with a Victorian company being awarded $64,000 to develop a device which reduces the wear in truck braking systems... Martin James will receive the grant under the Federal Government’s Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) scheme to introduce its ‘torque diverter’ system nationwide... The system works by stabilising the brake calliper, thereby spreading the wear and tear more evenly on disc rotors and pads. Torque, or braking force, is also diverted to the axle... The invention is expected to allow operators to save the money spent on replacing truck brakes every year...

Labels: R and D

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Germany - Sprinter goes cross country

Stuttgart,Germany -ATN (Australia) -20 April 2009: -- In a move that strengthens the Mercedes-Benz light commercial line-up, the popular Sprinter van and cab-chassis range is now available in 4x4 configuration... Using a system called 4ETS, or 4-wheel Electronic Traction System, the Sprinter models electronic control to direct torque to the wheels with the greatest amount of grip, and to reduce wheel slip to those with less traction... The revised Sprinter retains its choice of turbo-diesel engines, with either a 2.2-litre four cylinder or a 3-litre V6 available, offering 110kW/330Nm and 135kW/400Nm respectively... (Photo from media.photobucket: Mercedes Sprinter 4)

* India - Tata Motors Raises More Than 20 Billion Rupees From Public

Mumbai,India -Bloomberg, by Vipin Nair -April 23, 2009: -- Tata Motors Ltd., the Indian truckmaker that owns Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands, said it raised more than 20 billion rupees ($397 million) from the public through term deposits... Tata Motors can raise up to 27 billion rupees thorough these deposits, Debasis Ray, a company spokesman, said... -1 India - Rupee = 0.01995 US Dólar- (Photo from cubiccapacity.com: Tata Motors' world truck)

* Japan - Truck maker Hino forecasting US$625 mln loss

Tokyo,Japan -Trading Markets/Asia In Focus via COMTEX -April 22, 2009: -- HINO MOTORS LTD., said Tuesday that it now expects to log a group net loss of 61.8 billion yen (US$625.97 million) for the year ended March 31, downgrading an earlier forecast calling for 33 billion yen in red ink. The truck maker, which has trimmed its fiscal 2008 forecast four times, is facing its biggest net loss since it adopted consolidated financial statements in fiscal 1994... Sales are estimated to have fallen 22 per cent on the year to 1.06 trillion yen at the TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. affiliate... Global sales of commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses, slumped 11 per cent to about 97,000 units, falling roughly 3,500 short of its targets...

* Sweden - Volvo CEO: More Help For Autos, Please

Stockholm,Sweden -Forbes (USA), by Javier Espinoza -24 April 2009: -- Governments need to launch more initiatives to help automakers survive the crisis, Volvo's chief executive tells Forbes... Despite granting big loan packages to carmakers and launching scrap schemes to kick-start demand, Leif Johansson, the chief executive of Swedish truck maker Volvo, says European leaders need to come up with more coordinated actions to deal with the sharp fall in demand in the auto industry... "The more harmonized the response we could get, the better"...

Labels: truckmakers' news worldwide

Bill & Laws * Australia - Union raids to rise

The Rudd Government introduced the Fair Work Bill to supersede the previous government’s WorkChoices regime, which curtailed union access to workplaces

Sydney, Australia -fullyloaded/ATN, by Brad Gardner -27 April 2008: -- Businesses are being told to prepare for a massive increase in union raids from July this year when new industrial relations laws take effect... In a warning to businesses, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers’, Heinz Lepahe, says “unions are starting to ramp up now a campaign of workplace visitations” in anticipation of the Fair Work Bill’s introduction... Lepahe says the Bill’s provisions will result in greater union presence because union delegates will be able to access non-union employees and demand company records on the basis of a suspected breach... Hughie Williams from the Queensland branch of the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) says he will be paying close attention to non-unionised businesses, claiming they often pay poor rates and have a poor approach to health and safety...

* Registration fees and road user charge to rise from July 1

Canberra,AUST -ATN, by Brad Gardner -22 April 2009: -- Trucking operators will be slugged with higher registration fees from July 1, as the Rudd Government pushes for an increase in the road user charge at the same time... The National Transport Commission (NTC) has recommended a 3.2 percent increase in registration fees, claiming it is justified on the basis of increased government expenditure on the road network... B-double operators will be most affected by the increase, with fees rising almost $3,000, from $9,330 to $12,214. Semi-trailer fees will jump $240, from $5,070 last financial year to $5,310 this year... These increases will coincide with a hike in the road user charge from 21 cents a litre to 21.7 cents, leading to a drop in the fuel tax credit from 17.1 cents per litre to 16.4 cents per litre... (Exchange: 1 Dollar AUST = 0.71870 US Dólar)

Labels: drivers unionization

ATA CONVENTION * Australia - 2009 'Ugliest' year for trucking sector

Trucking operators reliant on international trade will suffer the most due to the expected downturn in international markets

Sydney,Australia -ATN/fullyloaded -26 April 2006: -- A leading economist has told the trucking industry to brace for the ‘ugliest’ year since the Great Depression, but says there are still upsides to a declining economy... According to Access Economics’, Chris Richardson, trucking operators reliant on international trade will suffer the most due to the expected downturn in international markets... However, Richardson says the recession means fuel prices are likely to remain lower “for some years to come”, helping to reduce operating costs. He says the Federal Government’s stimulus payments and road infrastructure investment will also help businesses... Despite industry concerns over the impact the recession is having on trucking operators, Richardson expects the sector will be one of the first to benefit once the economy begins to recover... (Photo by hjarsaas- Shell's Rotella)

Labels: trucking markets prognosis

EPA Ruling * USA - Great News For Cleantech

Greentech investors and entrepreneurs are guardedly optimistic that the Environmental Protection Agency's ruling that greenhouse gases are harmful to human health will provide a boost to their industry

Washington,DC,USA -Forbes, by Andy Stone -18 April 2009: -- EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, signed the agency's 133-page endangerment finding, legally obligating the agency to regulate carbon dioxide and related greenhouse gas emissions... The landmark decision could force the automotive industry and electric utilities, which together account for one-half of such U.S. emissions, to take drastic steps to cut emissions... If the EPA's endangerment finding is upheld following a 60-day public comment period, the agency is likely to begin the process of requiring automakers, utilities and a vast swath of U.S. industry to spend billions of dollars on technologies to slash C02 emissions that many scientists say contribute to global warming...

Labels: automakers green news

Engine Brakes * Canada - Ontario municipalities target noisy ones

Propose annual inspections

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News -24 April 2009: -- Most modern engine brakes are barely audible, yet an Ontario coalition of municipalities is pushing the province to implement a costly mandatory engine brake inspection program to reduce noise... The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) has responded by claiming the program would place a costly burden on carriers, which would need to purchase new, expensive noise testing equipment... The Ontario Traffic Conference (OTC), which acts on behalf of Ontario municipalities, is calling on the province to implement the program under existing Sec. 71 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act, which requires all vehicles to have a properly-functioning muffler... (Photo from desktopwallpapers: Iveco's trucks)

Labels: engine testing

BORDER TROUBLES * Canada / USA - Atlantic truckers frustrated by Homeland Security secretary

Dieppe,NB,Canada -CBC News -April 22, 2009: -- The Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association is frustrated with its attempts to lobby the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ease the crippling costs of border administration fees... Peter Nelson, executive director of the association, said it's costing too much for truckers in the region to cross the American border, and he spent two days in Washington pleading his case... Nelson said the U.S. government maintains that Canada should assume the administrative costs of managing the border instead of U.S. taxpayers... He said it cost the Canadian trucking industry about a $100 million a year back then, but that has now risen to about a billion dollars a year... Nelson said those increases will have a devastating effect on the industry and consumers... (Photo from cleveland.com: Canada's cross-border truck traffic)

Labels: broder troubles

Trucking Incentives * USA - Federal proposal offers, to increase truck safety

Pasadena,CAL,USA -The Pasadena Star News, by Dan Abendschein -24 April 2009: -- A recently introduced federal bill would offer tax incentives for truckers to install GPS and other high-tech devices that could prevent accidents like the one that killed a father and daughter earlier this month, the bill's sponsor said... Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, said the big rig crash in La Canada Flintridge on April 1 inspired the legislation... The bill would provide up to a $3,500-per-truck tax deduction - up to $350,000 a year - for trucking companies to purchase updatable GPS equipment that reflects new road closures and rule changes, automated systems that shut down trucks with overloaded brake system, and warning systems that alert truckers when their vehicles leave the lanes... Companies also could deduct the cost of buying systems that slow down trucks driving too fast around curves - like the winding Angeles Crest Highway, also known as State Route 2... Clayton Boyce, spokesman of the American Trucking Associations, said trucking companies would support Dreier's bill, because it does not force companies to incur new expenses and offers the chance of tax breaks... (Photo from: goodtruck.info)

* Trucking Insurance Premiums

USA -The Best International News, by Steve Turner -25 April 2009: -- All truck drivers and fleet owners must purchase Trucking Insurance coverage to be legal in the United States. Since there are a number of factors that are used to calculate the premium they can realize savings by understanding how these factors are considered... The insurance provider will evaluate the road infrastructure and the seasonal weather in the region where the truck is to be utilized. Premiums will be based upon how these conditions will affect the truck... Cargo insurance is an option to add to your trucking insurance policy. The price of this option will depend on the type of cargo being transported such as hazardous, time sensitive, and value... The DOT or Department of Transportation requires trucks to pass a safety inspection to drive legally in the United States. Insurance providers will evaluate the DOT safety records when computing the rate being offered for coverage... The safer the truck and driver are the less risk they are to the insurance provider. Safety features such as warning stickers should be implemented. Drivers should enroll in safety programs offered through their company or state departments.

Labels: trucking incentives

CARMAKERS' CRISIS * USA

* General Motors to dump Pontiac - Carmaker to reveal more cuts Monday; More factory closures loom

Detroit,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Robert Snell & David Shepardson -April 25, 2009: -- General Motors Corp., surviving on $15.4 billion in federal loans, is expected to announce Monday that it will kill the Pontiac brand but keep GMC as part of a tougher restructuring plan being overseen by the government, sources familiar with the automaker's plan said Friday... GM has started reaching out to Pontiac dealers ahead of a public announcement about the brand's future, when the automaker likely will also outline permanent plant closures, more job cuts and a tougher offer to bondholders to slash the automaker's $28 billion in unsecured debt... The Detroit News has learned GM plans to notify members of Congress on Monday morning -- and has scheduled meetings with a few members of Michigan's delegation -- about plants to be shuttered... Pontiac's demise could hurt Orion Township, which is home to a GM assembly plant that produces the Pontiac G6 and Chevrolet Malibu..

* Italy - Fiat defends pursuit of deals

Turin,Italy -The Detroit News (USA), by Christine Tierney -April 25, 2009: -- Fiat SpA has neither confirmed nor denied its interest in General Motors Corp.'s German subsidiary Adam Opel, but on Friday the Italian automaker bristled when a top European official said he was surprised to see a company as indebted as Fiat entertain deals with Opel as well as with Chrysler LLC... Guenter Verheugen, the European Union's industry commissioner, said in a radio interview Friday that he wondered where Fiat would find the money to pursue two deals at a time like this... Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said he was "astounded" by Verheugen's remarks, noting it was the second time the commissioner had suggested that not all of Europe's carmakers would survive this downturn... In the proposed deal with Chrysler, Fiat is offering technology and expertise but no cash in exchange for an initial 20 percent equity stake... He said Fiat and Opel were not in direct talks, but a source familiar with the situation said Marchionne had broached GM directly about a deal for Opel... Fiat issued another statement Friday saying that, "except as already announced in relation to the strategic alliance with Chrysler, no offer has been made to acquire an interest in Opel"...

Labels: automakers' crisis

Study * USA - Finds HOS exemptions led to crashes

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner -Apr 23, 2009: -- A recent study by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center found trucking carriers that received hours-of-service (HOS) regulations exemptions (as part of the last round of highway reauthorization legislation) reported higher crash rates than those that didn’t obtain waivers from the rules... The Volpe study found that agricultural carrier operating exclusively within a 100-mile radius had a 19% higher crash rate than agricultural carriers operating outside a 100-mile radius between 2005 and 2007, while utility service motor carrier crash rates jumped by 40% during the same period... The study also showed that in 2007 agricultural carriers as a whole had higher violation and out-of-service rates than the rest of the trucking industry in the categories of unsafe driver, driver fitness, vehicle maintenance, and improper loading – with a 32% overall average increase... (Photo: Agricultural Carrier)

Labels: studies

TRUCKING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS * WORLDWIDE

* Europe Examines Economic Impact on Truckers

Geneva,Switzerland -Outsourced Logistics (Cleveland,OH,USA) -Apr 23, 2009: -- Nearly 100 industry and government representatives attended a hearing to discuss what measures might be needed to help the European motor carrier industry survive the economic crisis. The meeting provided a view of the severity of the economic impact on trucking, but has yet to offer solutions... The economic downturn is already having a dramatic impact on HGV traffic. Traffic volumes on motorways have dropped by between 5% (France) and 34% (Spain) in December 2008 compared to the same month in 2007. First figures for 2009 show that this trend is expected to worsen in the near future. Traffic (measured in vehicle per kilometre) dropped 8.27% in December 2008 in Austria compared to the same month a year before, while the decrease recorded in January 2009 reached 20.27%. The fall in traffic is also visible when measured in terms of Average Daily Traffic (ADT). ADT in the Liefkenshoek tunnel in Belgium was reportedly 5% lower in December 2008 than it was the same month the year before, and 22% lower in January. International road traffic, which was set to grow rapidly before the crisis, also appears to be affected by the recession. The latest statistics from German motorways (Mautstatistik) show that the number of HGV crossing borders on toll roads in Germany in February 2009 had decreased 17.3% compared to the previous year... Moving through a list of consequences and indicators of the severity of the market situation, the group noted, limited access to credit is a major concern for capital intensive operators such as logistic operators investing in and employing costly equipment. In cases where transport equipment is leased, operators may be protected by long term contracts, and in these cases it is the equipment owners that are suffering the economic consequences. The road transport sector also depends on a large number of labor-intensive small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are economically more fragile...

* USA - Trucking Sector Prices Pressured Despite Signs Of Bottom

New York,NY,USA -Dow Jones Newswires, by Bob Sechler -24 April 2009: -- Prices to ship freight by truck have been coming down as truckers fight over fewer customers amid the soft economy, a trend that may continue despite some industry optimism that steep volume declines are stabilizing... "Pricing is more competitive than I've ever seen it," Con-way Inc. (CNW) Chief Executive Douglas W. Stotlar said ... Stotlar, who estimates the less-than-truckload freight sector has about 15% to 20% too much capacity, said he sees little chance for the pressure on prices to abate this year even if freight volumes have stabilized... Less-than-truckload shippers consolidate freight from multiple customers onto single trucks... LTL shipping company YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW)'s national division ticked up about 1%, although the company noted the figure was helped by its decision to concentrate on the most profitable customers... YRC, which has been wrestling with a substantial debt load, reported a 30% slide in per-day tonnage at its national segment and a 22% slide at its regional business. The company said it was hurt both by the poor economy and by concerns by some customers regarding its financial position...

Labels: trucking industry analysis worldwide

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Midwestern trucking firm ends 20-yr. run

Aurora,ILL,USA -Fleet Owner, by David Cullen -Apr 24, 2009: -- Mid-States Express, an Aurora- IL, based regional carrier, has closed its doors after 20 years in business. The company said it had provided LTL and TL services throughout 11 Midwestern states and was founded by the Hartmann family, which has been in the trucking business since 1948... According to the NewRichmondNews.com, Mid-States is currently in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, having filed for Chapter 11 protection. The news item noted that "Former employees of the company across the country lament they haven't been paid their earned wages"...

* Saia loses $6.3M on low demand, pricing pressure

Johns Creek,GA,USA -Associated Press/Forbes -24 April 2009: -- Trucking company Saia Inc. said it lost $6.3 million in the first quarter as shipping tonnage and pricing pressure more than offset savings from cheaper fuel... The company's revenue fell 17 percent to $206.1 million, from $249.3 million a year ago... Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 6 cents per share on revenue of $219 million... SAIA said its less-than-truckload yield was down 8.9 percent because of the decline in fuel surcharges...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

* Trucking in China ... This could only happen therein

Never mind Africa... (reckons Biglorryblog!)

China -BigLorryBlog (UK) -April 22, 2009: -- From Queensland ,Australia, Cam McFadyen has sent these shots... Of various scence from Chinese road transport. starting with the truck that doesn't neeed a cab... Just as well really and heaven kinows how he steers that thing as the wheel appears to have been punched out of alignment in the original smash...

Still plenty more where that one came from...

Shhhh... He's trying to get some kip...

And thanks Cam...

Labels: rare trucks shots

No Jaking Around * Canada - Truckers reject mandatory engine brake testing

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -24 April 2009: -- Ontario should do a better job of enforcing the existing noise pollution laws rather than make carrier inspections of engine brakes mandatory... According to the province's largest trucking group, the Ontario Traffic Conference (OTC) -- an organization that acts on behalf of municipalities to co-ordinate traffic management -- is working with the government on a proposal that would require carriers to conduct annual noise level testing for all trucks... The Ontario Trucking Association takes the position that such an inspection program would be ineffective and too costly as it would force carriers to buy new, expensive, noise testing equipment...

Labels: engine testing

Passport Deadline * USA - For all land border crossings

In other words, the verbal declaration of citizenship will no longer be accepted...

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 23, 2009: -- If you cross into the U.S. from Canada or Mexico for any reason, you will be required to have a passport or other approved documentation as of June 1, 2009 – regardless of your North American citizenship... U.S. citizens returning to the states by land will be required to produce a valid U.S. passport, passport card, a valid FAST, NEXUS or SENTRI credential, enhanced driver’s license, military identification with travel orders, or a Merchant Mariner document... Canadian citizens have been required since 2008 to show a valid passport, FAST, NEXUS or SENTRI card, or an enhanced driver’s license... Travelers from the U.S. and Canada under the age of 16 can use a birth certificate...

Labels: border crossings

TRUCKING NEWS * USA - Long Beach day-pass OKed

OOIDA efforts pay off

Long Beach,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 23, 2009: -- The Port of Long Beach approved a day-pass provision Monday, April 20, that will allow long-haulers to visit the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach complex 24 times annually. Drivers will need one pass per visit, and each pass will cost $30... The day-pass allows long-haul truckers to avoid a lengthy and expensive process to become port concessionaires as part of each port’s Clean Trucks Program. The Port of Los Angeles concessionaire program requires motor carriers to pay $2,500 annually, in addition to $100 per truck. By 2012, all trucks will be banned from the ports unless approved as concessionaires, an application process that includes weighting carriers by total financial assets and other considerations... The ports are working to make day-pass purchases available online to make the process smooth when long-haul drivers arrive at port gates... Several ports in the Pacific Northwest, and some on the East Coast, have begun considering L.A.-style port programs that could pose problems for long-haul truckers. Laura O’Neill, OOIDA government affairs counsel said it’s unclear how other environmentally based port programs will proceed, but said OOIDA will be closely watching... (Photo from daylife.com: Trucks cross the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles)

* VDOT reviews two-hour rule at rest areas after hearing truckers’ input

VA,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 23, 2009: -- Even before the Virginia Department of Transportation announced its rest area closure plan in February, truckers had been troubled by the state’s two-hour maximum parking rule at rest areas... However, this rule may soon change as VDOT reviews its restrictive time limit, which doesn’t allow truckers to take their full 10-hour mandatory breaks... VDOT Chief of Communications Jeff Caldwell told the agency is taking a “serious look” at revising its two-hour rule... This is good news for OOIDA members who run through the state. Several have been ticketed by the Virginia State Police in recent months for exceeding the two-hour rule because they couldn’t find other long-term parking options to pull off and rest...

Labels: trucking news

Carbon Emissions * USA - California adopts landmark low-carbon fuel rule

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Reuters, by Suzanne Hurt -Apr 23, 2009: -- California on Thursday adopted a first-ever rule to slash carbon emissions in automotive fuels, and spur the market for cleaner gasoline alternatives, after a last-ditch appeal to ethanol advocates who fought the plan... The low-carbon fuel standard approved by the state's influential air-quality regulators was hailed by backers as an historic initiative that the rest of the United States and other countries were likely to emulate... It marks the first attempt by government anywhere in the world to subject transportation fuels -- as opposed to the cars and trucks they power -- to limits on their potential for releasing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming... The measure, if it works as designed, will hasten the transformation of vehicles and the supporting transportation network built for more than a century around refined petroleum products and the internal combustion engine... (Photo REUTERS, by Phil McCarten - Traffic is backed up as residents return to town after being evacuated during wildfires in the Ramona area of San Diego County October 26, 2007)

Labels: low carbon rules

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

* Sweden - Volvo Q1 loss worse than feared; industry data bleak

Stockholm,Sweden -Reuters, by Niklas Pollard & Victoria Klesty; and Johannes Hellstrom & Mike Nesbit -Apr 24, 2009: -- World number two truck maker Volvo posted a deeper-than-expected first-quarter operating loss on Friday and cut its market outlook, forecasting a huge contraction in demand on both sides of the Atlantic... The weakness of Volvo's European home market, which it said it saw being cut in half or worse this year, was also in evidence as industry data showed separately that new commercial vehicle registrations fell 32.9 percent in March alone... The Swedish company reported a quarterly operating loss of 4.53 billion Swedish crowns ($536 million) versus a year-ago profit of 6.49 billion and the mean forecast for a loss of 2.90 billion seen in a Reuters poll of 18 analysts... In a stunning reversal from years of robust demand, the global financial crisis and ensuing collapse in demand for heavy-duty trucks has left Volvo and its peers in the European truck industry struggling to slash capacity and costs...

* USA - Analyst Predicts Iveco Sale... And so it begins - again

New York,NY,USA -Road Transport (UK) -23 April 2009: -- Sanford Bernstein analyst Max Warburton suggests today that Fiat may be forced to sell both Iveco and CNH in order to pursue its grand design - namely the proposed alliance with Chrysler... But Iveco would play a significant role within any Fiat excursion into North America, not least through the Daily range, which has to rank as a highly appropriate product for a market that has been quick to embrace european van designs... As such, losing the Daily would be a big minus in the overall equation. And, if Fiat decided to keep Iveco's LCV range, then what would it actually be selling? Not very much would have to bd the answer; a - in global terms - small heavy truck business, with an outsourced driveline and a sales network that remains very much focussed on Southern Europe... We remain cautious about Iveco's role in the truck business post Euro VI, but the scenario that Bernstein suggests - along with the pricetag - a cool $6.5 billion - seems to be rather far-fetched...

* Europe - Truck sales fall 32.9 pct in March

Paris,France -Reuters -Apr 24, 2009: -- European new commercial vehicle registrations fell 35.6 percent in the first quarter as a whole, as the economic downturn pummelled demand, industry association ACEA said on Friday. March had three more working days this year than in 2008, ACEA said, but demand for commercial vehicles, which reflects the state of the wider economy, fell 32.9 percent across Europe, including the 27 EU member states plus the European Free Trade Association countries, but not Malta and Cyprus... In Western Europe, March registrations fell 31.1 percent, while new EU member states posted a much steeper drop of 48.7 percent...

Labels: truckmakers' news worldwide

MEXICANS' TRUCKS * USA - Mexico sees U.S. acting quickly on truck dispute

Washington,DC,USA -Reuters, by Doug Palmer -Apr 23, 2009: -- U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to move quickly to open U.S. roads to Mexican trucks in order to halt Mexico's retaliation on $2.4 billion of U.S. exports, a Mexican official said on Thursday... "Obama was very clear he wants to solve the issue as soon as possible," when he met last week with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, said Jose Luis Paz, head of the trade office at Mexico's embassy in Washington...

Labels: mexicans' trucks

TRUCKING MARKETS * Ghana - Delays at ports affect importers, exporters

A 2008 World Bank study reported that each day of delays along an export corridor reduces a country’s export volumes by about one percent

Accra,Ghana -GBN -23 April, 2009: -- Of all costs aside from taxes that importers and exporters pay, delays at various ports plague the movement of goods and people with negative consequences and account for the largest chunk representing as much as 70 percent, a new research has shown... A sub-regional study conducted last year by the Hub identifies overloading trucks as a common problem which prompts checkpoint officials like policemen and custom officials to extort bribes from truckers... Additionally, the trucks carrying goods across the region are mostly old and break down too often, decreasing efficiency and contributing to road accidents and fatalities... Truck drivers in the informal sector are also often illiterate. This adds to delays of imports and exports which take place in a bureaucratic environment of documentation... A 2008 World Bank study partly blamed the region’s high costs for road transportation on the lack of competition within the sector... The study said that agreement between coastal countries and landlocked countries that allocate one-third of cargo to trucking companies in the coastal country and two-thirds to those in the landlocked country had allowed monopolies to develop. Experts urged African governments to consider dismantling the systems that cause the monopolies... (Photo from wikipedia, by Stig Nygaard -Copenhagen,Denmark-: High load truck Ghana 2006)

* Zimbabwe - Export Competitiveness Gains World Popularity

Harare,Zimbabwe -All Africa -24 April 2009: -- Export competitiveness has become the buzzword in the new thrust for rapid economic growth and development in the world's less developed countries. Landlocked countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, DRC and other Sadc states remain encumbered by the high transport costs for their major exports due to poor infrastructure and facilities on their trade routes... It takes two to three for a single cargo of copper from the Zambian Copperbelt to reach Durban at present, for example, compared with 48 hours in Europe over the same distance. With the price of copper plummeting on the world markets, the loss of income to Zambia becomes phenomenal when you take into account the transport costs... This is exacerbated further by the inefficiency of the North-South Corridor, linking the Southern African hinterland to Durban, and which carries the highest volumes and freight in the region. This indeed makes the cost of trading and transport in the region rank amongst the highest in the world. It is estimated that, on average, transport costs in Southern Africa are more than 70 percent higher than in Europe and the United States. Competitiveness for exports is thus compromised... (Photo hill-delamain.co.zm: Hill & Delamain -Zambia- Road Freight)

Labels: trucking industry markets comments

Study * USA - Drivers at risk behind wheel

Grand Haven,Mich,USA -eTrucker -23 April 2009: -- A significant percentage of risk for truck drivers comes from the physical toll of sitting in and operating the vehicle, according to a recent Atlas Ergonomics study that shows long hours behind the wheel put certain drivers at especially high risk of developing musculoskeletal injuries... Of all workers, truck drivers lose the most work days per musculoskeletal disorder incident, Atlas says; this lost time can have a devastating effect on the income of individual drivers, as well as their health, and on their employers’ bottom line... Atlas says the analysis shows clear relationships between injury risk and the physical characteristics of both the driver and the cab; for example, drivers taller than 6’3’’ and shorter than 5’7” have the highest levels of physical discomfort. According to Atlas, the analysis also reviewed relationships between drivers’ discomfort and their age, seniority, weight and gender — with results that sometimes were surprising... Fortunately, as the Atlas study shows, drivers at highest risk can be identified and protected, simply and cost-efficiently... (Photo atlasergo: Healthcare Ergonomics)

Labels: truckers health

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * North America - Truck border crossings decline

Washington,DC,USA -eTrucker -23 April 2009: -- The number of truck crossings into the United States from Canada and Mexico was 10.8 million in 2008, 6 percent fewer than in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration... Almost 5.9 million truck crossings were into the United States from Canada, down 10.1 percent from 2007, and almost 4.9 million crossings were from Mexico, down 0.3 percent from 2007... Border-crossing data posted on the BTS website include numbers of incoming trucks, trains, buses, containers, personal vehicles and pedestrians entering the United States through land ports and ferry crossings on the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico border... (Photo: Robert Harrison Entrance to the El Paso Border Safety Inspection Facility)

Labels: trucking industry news USA and CAN

Trucking Report * UK - So whats it like to be a British Trucker?

Hi all !! As with everything in life, there are good and bad things on a truckers life over here...

London,UK -Grumpy Old Trucker, by Ian -23 April 2009: -- To be honest, it's a thoroughly thankless task. Crowded roads, impatient drivers, inconsiderate employers and draconian legislation all add up to stress, tiredness and misery. British road are very busy. Rush hours are, as you'd imagine the worst time to travel - but they seem to be getting longer. Morning rush is between 6.30 and 9.30, and the afternoon peak seems to be from 3 to 6. There are no roads over here that you can just get on and drive for hours and hours. The longest single road in the UK is a little under 400 miles, but to travel the length of it would be considered a full days work. Along the way you're sure to encounter road works, road hogs and road rage. One thing you won't find is good food or places to park for the night. The days of the family owned truckstop are long gone, so now all you'll find are service areas that cater for all road users, and are owned by large "hospitality" companies. As a result, they are totally focused on separating you from your hard earned cash, and giving as little as possible in return... Life tends to be easier if you travel out of the UK and into Europe, but not always... Most of the European bound traffic travels from here to France, and the bulk of that travels by ferry or tunnel from Dover in south-west England to Calais in north-east France. As this is a very busy route, it has become a focal point for French strikers, so whenever the French farmers or truck drivers have some sort of greivance, the first course of action is to block the roads approaching Calais... However, if you're lucky enough to get over unscathed, Driving in Europe is a much more relaxed and pleasureable experience, and drivers seem to be treated with a lot more respect... So your deliveries in Europe are done, and you've got your collection and you're heading home - but your problems aren't over yet! Believe it or not, there is a massive movement of people out of Africa, and they all think that England is the promised land. They pay all thier savings to people traffickers and make epic journeys up through the Sahara desert to Libya, across the Mediteranean sea to Italy, then up through Italy into France where they all converge on Calais. Here, at the final hurdle, they're looking for an England bound truck on which to stowaway... You must check your vehicle VERY carefully, as there is an automatic fine of £2,000 for every illegal immigrant that comes in to the country in your vehicle, even if you can prove you didn't know they were there. Drivers used to report any stowaways they found, but now are more likely to let them go free to avoid the fines....(Picture from dickydrew.co.uk: Across the channel, Folkestone to Boulogne...)

Labels: truckers' stories

TRUCKING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS * USA - Truckers report demand declines, capacity cutbacks

Carriers, 3PLs continue to take trucking capacity out of the market

Newton,MA,USA -Purchasing, by Dave Hannon -22 April 2009: -- It’s not a big surprise, but most trucking firms that have released first-quarter earnings continue to report lower freight volumes and plunging rates as demand slumps and freight buyers continue to look to reduce costs. Freight buyers, however, may be more concerned with the carriers’ efforts to pull capacity off the roads—a strategy that may impact shippers when demand picks up... The first-quarter trend “is much weaker than the 18% decline we expected,” based upon recent data from other trucking companies, J.P. Morgan analyst Thomas Wadewitz said in a research note...(Photo from joinwaggoners: LTL truck)

* Slump Persists for Freight Haulers

New York,NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal, by ALEX ROTH -April 23, 2009: -- The first updates of the year on freight volumes at some of America's biggest trucking and rail haulers, due out Thursday, are expected to show the transportation industry remains mired in a deep slump... Shipment volumes are followed closely because a rebound in transportation usually precedes by several months a larger economic recovery. In recent days, executives at several major transportation companies said cargo levels remain depressed despite signs of life in other areas. A dour outlook by the freight haulers would signal continued economic troubles... But still, some executives in the trucking industry, which has been battered by a collapse in pricing, insist the news isn't all bad. They say volumes seem to have stabilized from the cataclysmic final months of 2008. In February, U.S. truck-tonnage volumes dropped at a 9.5% year-to-year pace, compared with a 10.8% drop in January and 12.5% decline in December. The volume drop in December represented the biggest year-to-year decline of the economic downturn... "November, December, January and February were so lousy there was only one way to go," said Stephen O'Kane, president of A. Duie Pyle, a West Chester, Pa., trucking firm...

* Truck freight still looking for bottom

Princeton,NJ,USA -Fleet Owner, by Jim Mele -Apr 22, 2009: -- While conditions will eventually turn around for the trucking industry, the growth experienced by for-hire carriers in 2005 and 2006 "may never come again," according to John White, president of U.S. Xpress Inc. Delivering an industry outlook to the 2009 ALK Technology Summit being held here, he called current economic conditions "a broad-based recession" and "the worst in the postwar era."... Freight tonnage has dropped 13.4% from its peak in 2007, "and personally I don't think we've seen the bottom yet," he said... Looking at trucking, the for-hire portion of the industry lost 79,600 jobs in 2008, and another 45,000 were axed in just the first quarter of this year, White said. After 3,000 trucking companies failed in 2008, that rate slowed to just 375 failures in the first quarter on 2009, largely due to sharply falling fuel prices, he said. "But I expect bankruptcies to pick up again now that fuel prices have stabilized," he added... One positive development driven by the economy has been a significant decrease in driver turnover. Citing numbers from a recent American Trucking Assns. study, White said the rate for large TL carriers had dropped from 130% in 2007 to 79% in 2008, while smaller fleets saw their turnover fall from 96% to 67% over the same period... "However, it won't take much of an uptick in the economy to re-ignite driver issues," he predicted. "Also the aging (of the driver population) means we'll need 50,000 new entrants just to meet existing demand levels," he said...

Labels: trucking industry analysis USA

Minivan * USA - Chrysler unveils fleet-intent electric minivan

Auburn Hills,Mich,USA -Left Lane, by Drew Johnson -22 April 2009: -- In celebration of Earth Day, Chrysler today unveiled an all-electric version of its Town and Country minivan in Washington, D.C. The electric minivan – which represents Chrysler’s ENVI division’s first EV intended for fleet production – was developed in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service...

Although Chrysler and the USPS have yet to ink an official contract for the use of the EV minivan, Chrysler is currently working to secure federal funding to support electric vehicle fleet programs. Ford has already committed to offering an electric version of its Transit Connect, so an electrified minivan from Chrysler would seem to make sense... Chrysler failed to mention the EV minivan’s range, but did reveal its batteries were produced by A123Systems – Chrysler’s product EV battery partner...

Labels: truckmakers news USA

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Sweden - Volvo Slashes 1,500 More Jobs

Stockholm,Sweden -The Wall Street Journal (NY,USA), by OLA KINNANDER -23 April 2009: -- Sweden's AB Volvo, which in recent months has dismissed thousands of workers in a bid to cut costs, Wednesday said it was laying off 1,543 more workers in Sweden... The truck maker -- which since September has laid off about 15,000 workers, about half of those in Sweden -- cited a "sharp decline on world markets for heavy vehicles"... Volvo's truck division, the world's largest truck maker by sales after Daimler AG, is giving notice to 655 employees. The construction-equipment unit is laying off 125 workers and 100 consultants...

Labels: news w, truckmakers' news worldwide

CLEAN PORTS PROGRAM * USA - LA/LB Programs Drive Shippers to Other Ports

PortCheck, PierPass compliance seen as cumbersome

LA/LB,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by Bill Mongelluzzo -Apr 22, 2009: -- Complying with the PortCheck and PierPass programs in Los Angeles-Long Beach is a cumbersome task that is motivating shippers and freight intermediaries to look to other gateways for their discretionary cargo... While most transportation companies support the goal of the ports' clean truck program, which is to expeditiously retire old, polluting trucks from the harbor, complying with the PortCheck mechanism is costly and burdensome for cargo interests... Lisa Waller, vice president-import at BDG International in Chicago, told at the annual conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America that dozens of her containers are drayed from the harbor to rail transfer yards by trucks that comply with the ports' strict emission standards... Nevertheless, Waller has to "claim" the shipments via PortCheck and pay a $35 per-TEU fee. However, since clean trucks are used, PortCheck refunds the payment about 30 days later... Waller said the process costs her company thousands of dollars in employee wages, wasted time and reduced cash flow, all because PortCheck is not equipped to simply waive the fee for intermodal shipments that are trucked to a rail yard... She is so upset that she is checking out Vancouver, Canada, as an alternate gateway. Vancouver does not charge clean-truck fees, and there is no harbor maintenance fee in Canada as there is at U.S. ports. "We can save $85 a container," Waller said... (Photo: logisticscareers - The Port of Long Beach )

Labels: clean ports

Stimulus Fund * USA - Caterpillar Disappointed about

Says U.S. infrastructure spending remains weak, lags far behind China

Peoria,Ill,USA -The Journal of Commerce -Apr 23, 2009: -- Construction equipment giant Caterpillar says the scale of the federal economic stimulus package is “disappointing” and will have little impact on construction business this year... Caterpillar, in a written series of questions and answers issued with the company’s first quarter earnings report, criticized the $787 billion package as slight compared to spending by other countries aimed at giving a jump-start to sagging economies... Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar lost $112 million in the first three months of this year as sales fell 22 percent, to $9.2 billion... The company should benefit from the extra money flowing toward states for work on highways and other infrastructure, but Caterpillar said it expects the impact on overall construction spending to be “fairly limited.” About $70 billion in the federal funds will go toward construction this year, it said...

Labels: governments stimulus funds

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Con-way Loses $154 million in First Quarter. Impairment charges pile on operating loss due to low demand

Ann Arbor,MI,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by John Gallagher -Apr 23, 2009: -- Transportation and logistics giant Con-way lost $154 million in the first quarter, including a goodwill impairment charge of $134.8 million, as a result of intense price competition and plummeting demand... The weak economy caused a decline in truckload market value in the quarter and triggered the impairment charge at Con-way Truckload, formerly Contract Freighters, which Con-way bought in 2007... Revenue of $962.9 million for the quarter was down 19.9 percent from first quarter 2008. Con-way posted an operating loss of $150.3 million during the period -- $15.5 million after accounting for the goodwill write down. This compared to operating income of $54 million during the same period a year ago...

* UPS Freight Profit Takes Hit - Demand nosedives at LTL division, profit plunges 65 percent

Atlanta,GA,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by John Gallagher -Apr 23, 2009: -- Profit at UPS Supply Chain and Freight, which includes the express parcel carrier’s heavy package, less-than-truckload division, plunged 64.6 percent to $40 million in the first quarter as transportation demand nosedived during the period... Revenue at the division was off 19.8 percent, falling to $1.7 billion in the first quarter. Freight revenue alone dropped 11.5 percent year-over-year to $454 million...

* Knight Increases Profit in First Quarter

Phoenix,AZ,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by John Gallagher -Apr 23, 2009: -- Strong brokerage, refrigerated business offsets decline in trucking... Truckload carrier Knight Transportation increased its profit 2.9 percent in the first quarter to $11.7 million, with strong brokerage and refrigerated business offsetting steep declines in core trucking volume... Phoenix-based Knight said revenue fell 15.7 percent to $148.7 million, but the company said business also improved late in the quarter ending March 31...

* USF Holland Shuts Down Five More Terminals. LTL carrier consolidates operations due to weak freight demand

Holland,MI,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by John Gallagher -Apr 22, 2009: -- YRC Worldwide regional less-than-truckload carrier USF Holland closed terminals, including its Holland, Mich. terminal, due to weak freight demand. USF Holland closed 11 terminals in the northeast in March... In a continuing effort to “improve service performance, reduce costs and maintain competitiveness,” said a YRC spokeswoman, USF Holland will close terminals in Bensenville, Ill.; Erie, Pa.; Mansfield, Ohio, and in Holland and Pontiac, Mich.... The carrier will continue to serve the same customers by consolidating operations at regional service centers...

* Hub Group Profit Plunges 52.6 Percent: Volumes decrease, costs remain high

Downers Grove,IL,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by Thomas L. Gallagher -Apr 23, 2009: -- Hub Group profits in the first quarter plunged 52.6 percent to $6.2 million as volumes decreased and costs remained high... Revenue for the asset-light freight transportation management company decreased 17 percent to $352 million. After transportation costs, gross margin fell 21 percent to $45.2 million... First quarter intermodal revenue decreased 19 percent to $246 million, attributable to a 5 percent volume decrease and a 14 percent decrease related mostly to fuel, the company said. Truck brokerage revenue decreased 24 percent to $68 million. Logistics revenue increased 18 percent to $38 million... Costs came down just 5.5 percent or $2 million, approximately the same amount by which salaries were cut. Total costs and expenses after transportation were $34.5 million...

* Old Dominion Profit Dives 62 Percent: Severe pricing pressure, deep cuts in volume take a toll

Thomasville,NC,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by Marcy Frank -Apr 23, 2009: -- First-quarter profit at Old Dominion Freight Line dropped nearly 62 percent as weakening demand and lower prices took their toll on the multi-regional LTL carrier’s profits... Old Dominion earned $4 million in the first quarter, compared with $10.4 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 19.8 percent to $295.1 million... Total tons hauled in the quarter slipped 12.4 percent from a year ago; total shipments dropped 17.5 percent. Revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel charges, declined 1 percent to $11.53..

Labels: trucking industry news USA

Liquefied Natural Gas trucks * USA - Ports Take LNG View

With clean-trucks plan under way, next step could put thousands of liquefied natural gas trucks on roads

Los Angeles/Long Beach,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Magazine, by BILL MONGELLUZZO -Apr 20, 2009: -- Harbor truckers in Southern California are proving resilient, purchasing more than 3,500 clean-diesel vehicles since the Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-trucks programs were launched last October. The motor carriers now are being asked to do still more by investing in costly trucks powered by liquefied natural gas... Motor carriers by Jan. 1, 2010, must replace about 8,000 aging trucks with new vehicles that meet the ports’ 2007 model-year standards... According to the ports, and the local clean-air agency, clean-diesel fuel is good, but LNG contains fewer toxic pollutants and therefore presents less of a health risk to the local population... (Photo from cleanenergyfuels: Truck and Tanks)

Labels: LNG trucks

Truckers' Strikes * USA - Halts border traffic for 4 hours

A four-hour strike by Mexican truckers protesting slow processing times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Mariposa Port of Entry ended at about 4 p.m. Tuesday

Nogales,AZ,USA -The Nogales International -April 21, 2009: -- Acting Nogales Port Director, Armando Goncalvez, met with the local administrator for Servicio de Administracion Tributaria (SAT), the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Treasury, and designated leaders for commercial trucking operators in Mexico in an effort to find a resolution for a strike that started at about noon... Before noon, the SAT administrator crossed the border to advise CBP that Mexico commercial cargo drivers were upset at increased inspections and enforcement efforts resulting in fewer trips than they would like to accomplish daily... At about 12:30 p.m., U.S. officials noticed a significant decrease in the amount of commercial trucks crossing the border... Goncalvez made contact with SAT and was notified of a driver initiated the strike about three kilometers south of the international border, affecting both north and south bound travel of commercial and some passenger vehicles... The strike ended at about 4 p.m., Arellano said, when the first truck crossed into the United States and entered the Mariposa commercial facility... (Photo from watersecretsblog: Boeder Wall at Nogales,AZ)

Labels: truckers' strikes

Pirates in tow trucks * USA - Excessive city-approved fees give companies a license to print money

Motorists who return to where they parked only to find their cars have been hauled away by a towing company that will charge them hundreds of dollars to get their vehicle back are understandably apt to feel as if they've been robbed

Baltimore,MD,USA -The Baltimore Sun -April 19, 2009: -- No wonder Baltimore City Councilman Robert W. Curran has called the towing business "legalized vehicular piracy." ... People whose cars are towed usually have little choice but to pay up or lose their vehicle, regardless of whether they were legally parked or not... Until last week, companies could request fees of up to $410 for so-called trespass tows that remove vehicles parked on private property. For violations that occurred on public property, the city's tow board, which approves towing fees, had set rates ranging from $250 to $350. But those already stiff fees went up on Wednesday under a new towing contract approved by the city Board of Estimates. Under the contract, "trespass" towers can ask for fees up to $460 per tow - all of which is pocketed by the towing companies, not the city...

Labels: fees and taxes

NEW TRUCKS * USA - Bright Automotive Unveils 100 MPG Commercial Truck

Anderson,Ind,USA -Inhabitat, by Ariel Schwartz -21 April 2009: -- Plenty of companies are working on plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sports cars and sedans,but Bright Automotive’s new IDEA vehicle, unveiled this morning, is the first 100 MPG PHEV truck aimed at commercial and government fleets. According to Bright Automotive, the IDEA is five to 10 times more efficient than current fleets thanks to the vehicle’s lightweight materials, advanced aerodynamics, and efficient tires. Bright estimates that a typical customer could save 1,500 gallons of gasoline annually by switching to the IDEA. A commercial customer with 1,000 vehicles in its fleet could save $3 million each year. That’s not exactly pocket change...

Labels: plug-in trucks

TRANSPORT INTELLIGENCE * USA - Changes at three Maine ports could be a boon for cargo and business

It's a dynamic time for Maine's major cargo ports

Maine,USA -Mainebiz, by Mindy Favreau -20 April 2009: -- While a resurgence of pulp shipments has led to the return of container service at Portland's International Marine Terminal, the idling of another pulp mill has forced its Down East counterpart, the Port of Eastport, to diversify. And despite economic conditions and environmental backlash, the state is moving forward with plans to develop a new cargo port on Sears Island, which could be a boon for the state's paper industry... Instability in the state’s pulp and paper industry, a main driver of shipping activity in Maine, has forced the ports to seek new sources of activity and new ways to operate in order to ride out the market’s pitching and rolling. All three major cargo ports — Portland, Eastport and Searsport — have handled or are gearing up to handle shipments of wind turbine components destined for wind farms in northern New England and Canada. This growing industry has helped sustain the cargo ports during slow times and could supplement port activity for years to come, says John Henshaw, executive director of the Maine Port Authority. “If the state develops an expertise in handling this cargo, then it’ll be in a competitive position when offshore wind is developed,” he says...

Labels: transport intelligence

STRIKE * Colombia - Cuts fuel prices as truckers plan one

Bogota,Colombia -Reuters/The Guardian (London,UK), by Hugh Bronstein & Jim Marshall -April 21 2009: -- Colombia will lower fuel prices, President Alvaro Uribe said on Tuesday as the country's truck drivers pressed ahead with threats of a strike over what they call the high cost of gasoline and diesel... Gasoline and diesel prices will go down in Colombia by about 17 cents per gallon starting next month. But the country's main truckers' union called that an "insignificant" reduction and vowed to go ahead with a strike set to start at midnight on Tuesday... A prolonged lull in trucking could slow coffee and other commodity exports and increase inflation by squeezing food supplies in this Andean country, even as the economy gets dragged down by the global financial crisis... The drivers' union also says the Uribe administration has not delivered on promises of increasing freight fees paid to truckers...

Labels: truckers' strikes

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA & Canada

* USA - C.H. Robinson 1Q Profit Flat; Shares Rise After-Hours

New York,NY,USA -The Wall Street Journal, by Shawn Langlois -April 21, 2009: -- C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) shares jumped 6.4% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the trucking company posted a flat first-quarter profit and lower revenue due to weakness in the broader transportation market... Before the after-hours rally, C.H. Robinson shares had gained 2.2% to close at $49.09 but are still down 17% in the past year...

* Ryder System’s Q1 Earnings Fall 88 Percent

Miami,Fl,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Marcy Frank -Apr 22, 2009: -- Trucking and logistics management company Ryder System on April 22 reported an 88 percent plunge in first-quarter earnings as the recession and falling cargo volume spread to its fleet management business... The company earned $6.8 million in the quarter, compared with $56.1 million a year earlier. Revenue dropped 22 percent to $1.2 billion from $1.54 billion. The quarter also included a $6.9 million restructuring charge...

* Canada - Vitran Loses $2.4 M in Q1

Toronto,ONT,CAN -The Journal of Commerce, by Thomas L. Gallagher -Apr 22, 2009: -- Trucking, logistics firm improves on fourth quarter results... North American trucking and logistics firm Vitran reported a net loss of $2.4 million on revenue of $139.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. In the comparable 2008 three-month period, the company earned net income of $1.1 million on revenue of $177.5 million... Lower fuel surcharges and the foreign exchange on Canadian operations accounted for approximately $22 million of the $37.9 million decline in revenue, the company said. The rest of the 21 percent drop in revenue was due to weak demand, especially in the less-than-truckload segment...

* USA - ABF Loses $29 Million in First Quarter - Intense competition slices rates as truckload demand tumbles

Fort Smith,Ark,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by John Gallagher -Apr 22, 2009: -- Less-than-truckload giant Arkansas Best lost $29 million in the first quarter due to plummeting freight demand and falling rates pared down by intense competition... Revenue at ABF Freight System, the company’s transportation subsidiary, dropped 23.3 percent to $323.1 million in the quarter from $427.7 million in first quarter 2008. Tonnage per day decreased 15.7 percent compared with the 2008 quarter, and ABF’s operating ratio, a key measure of operating efficiency, worsened to 108.3 percent from 97.0 percent in first quarter 2008...

* USA - Forward Air Posts $3.1 Million Loss

Greeneville,TN,USA -The Journal of Commerce -Apr 21, 2009: -- Air freight trucking volume, revenue fall sharply to start the year... Forward Air lost $3.1 million in the first quarter as the company saw accelerating declines in its core air freight trucking volume and took an impairment charge to meet the deteriorating market... Without a $7.2 million charge, Forward Air registered a $2.1 million operating profit in the first three months of 2009, down some 90 percent from the same period a year ago...

* USA - Refrigerated Trucker's Profit Soars

Mondovi,WI,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by John Gallagher -Apr 22, 2009: -- Lower fuel costs, higher intermodal revenue boost Marten bottom line... Marten Transport profit jumped 52.8 percent to $4.1 million in the first quarter despite falling revenue in the stalled economy... Revenue decreased 14.9 percent to $122 million in the quarter from $143.4 million in the 2008 quarter. The decrease was primarily due to a steep decline in fuel surcharge revenue -- from $28 million in first quarter 2008 to $10.8 million in the most recent quarter -- as pump prices plummeted since reaching a high point last July...

Labels: trucking industry news USA

BIOFUEL * USA - California may rule corn ethanol is not a globlal warming solution

USA -The Climate Progress -21 April 2009: -- California regulators, trying to assess the true environmental cost of corn ethanol, are poised to declare that the biofuel cannot help the state reduce global warming... As they see it, corn is no better – and might be worse – than petroleum when total greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions are considered. Such a declaration, to be considered later this week by the California Air Resources Board, would be a considerable blow to the corn-ethanol industry in the United States... So reports The Daily Climate today. Let’s hope that California takes a leadership role here. The country is simply awash in too much corn ethanol. Current federal mandates would nearly double current production and consume about one third of the annual U.S. corn harvest... Yet in fact corn ethanol almost certainly has no significant GHG benefit, may actually have higher net GHGs than oil, and has multiple other harmful impacts: - The fact is that from a climate perspective, it almost certainly makes more sense to use most cellulosic biomass for electricity, not fuels. Indeed, a plug in hybrid or electric car can probably go about twice as far per acre of land running on electricity from biomass power than an internal combustion engine car can go on cellulosic biofuels (assuming we ever actually solve technological problems needed to make such biofuels affordable and practical)... Let’s hope California can stare down the pressure and help stop the madness...

Labels: biofuel debate

Hybrid Trucks * USA - Are Here for the Long (Medium and Short) Haul

An explosion in the number and kind of commercially available hybrid trucks means battery power isn't just for lightweight commuter vehicles anymore

New York, NY,USA -Scientific American, by Christopher Mims -21 April 2009: -- This year, according to the Hybrid Truck Users Forum, manufacturers will sell more than 5,000 hybrid trucks, compared with fewer than 200 just three years ago... Hybrid trucks use 20 to 50 percent less diesel than conventional vehicles do, depending on how they're used, and that adds up: FedEx calculated that its fleet of 170 hybrid–electric trucks has racked up 3.5 million miles (5.6 million kilometers) of service. The 200 hybrid trucks United Parcel Service (UPS) will add to its fleet later this year are expected to save 176,000 gallons (665,000 liters) of fuel per year, which is the equivalent of taking 100 conventional package delivery trucks off the road. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the most avid consumer of hybrid trucks in the U.S., deploying 327 hybrids out of a total fleet of 30,000... As fleet operators buy more hybrid trucks, their prices will come down, he notes. Because hybrid trucks use less diesel, they make fleet operators less vulnerable to swings in the price of fuel... "The model that we've used in the past as fleet operators—to wait and see what the market brings us, and wait and see what the government requires us to do—is frankly not a viable alternative in today's world," FPL's Survant says. "We can't afford to have the lassitude we've had historically.... I think we need an increased sense of urgency."... (Photo: sciam.com)

Labels: hybrid trucks

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE *Japan - Toyota To Apply Fuel-Cell Technology to Long-Haul Trucks and Buses First

USA -Truck Trend, by Benson Kong -April 20, 2009: -- Toyota continues pushing ahead with its fuel-cell program and is looking to market a fuel-cell vehicle in 2015. The alternative fuel technology will likely be applied first to long-haul trucks and buses before hitting passenger vehicles available for mass consumption. Toyota has leased more than 60 FCVs in Japan and the U.S. for preliminary testing and R&D since 2002, and another 14 units are planned for 2009. The FCVs are mainly modified Highlander SUVs (see photo) ,and city buses. In the Aichi prefecture alone are eight fuel-cell-powered buses... With six years remaining on Toyota's path to introducing a marketable retail FCV, the Japanese automaker is looking to achieve a 90% cut in costs, a 50% to 100% increase in power density and stack durability, a reduced platinum usage to 90% of current levels, and a widening of the operating temperature range from -22 F to 221 F...

* USA - Caterpillar Sees First Loss in 17 Years - Restructuring costs from layoffs hit net, company slashes forecast

Peoria,Ill,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by Thomas L. Gallagher -Apr 21, 2009: -- Caterpillar lost $112 million in the first quarter after a restructuring charge of more than half a billion dollars. The world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment also lowered its forecast as the recession gave signs of depressing sales for the rest of the year... The company’s first loss since 1992 was primarily due to charges of $558 million, which reflected elimination of approximately 25,000 jobs in response to lower volume caused by the worldwide recession. Excluding the charges, Caterpillar said it earned 39 cents a share in the first quarter. Expectations for the rest of the year were down sharply from earlier guidance of $2.50 per share to $1.25, the company said. Last year in the first quarter, Caterpillar earned a net profit of $922 million... Revenue fell 22 percent to $9.2 billion in the first quarter. Sales in the first quarter dropped 46 percent in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Citing a “high degree of uncertainty” in the world economy, Caterpillar said it expects sales of $31.5 billion to $38.5 billion for the full year... (Photo courtesy Caterpillar)

Labels: truckmakers' news worldwide

New Virus-Built Battery * USA - Could Power Cars, Electronic Devices

For the first time, MIT researchers have shown they can genetically engineer viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery

Massachusetts,USA -MIT News, by Anne Trafton -2 April 2009: -- The new virus-produced batteries have the same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries being considered to power plug-in hybrid cars, and they could also be used to power a range of personal electronic devices, said Angela Belcher, the MIT materials scientist who led the research team... The new batteries, could be manufactured with a cheap and environmentally benign process: The synthesis takes place at and below room temperature and requires no harmful organic solvents, and the materials that go into the battery are non-toxic... Three years ago, an MIT team led by Belcher reported that it had engineered viruses that could build an anode by coating themselves with cobalt oxide and gold and self-assembling to form a nanowire... Because the viruses recognize and bind specifically to certain materials (carbon nanotubes in this case), each iron phosphate nanowire can be electrically "wired" to conducting carbon nanotube networks. Electrons can travel along the carbon nanotube networks, percolating throughout the electrodes to the iron phosphate and transferring energy in a very short time... The viruses are a common bacteriophage, which infect bacteria but are harmless to humans... (Photo by Donna Coveney - Angela Belcher holds a display of the virus-built battery she helped engineer. The battery -- the silver-colored disc -- is being used to power an LED)

Labels: battery

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Australia - Talks finance

Sydney,Australia -Logistics -20 April 2009: -- The trucking industry will be involved in the Government’s future consultations about the availability of credit to businesses, following a meeting between industry representatives and the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy Dr Craig Emerson... Credit availability is a problem across the trucking industry. A number of major lenders have effectively stopped lending to transport companies, or are imposing additional hurdles... ATA Chairman, Trevor Martyn, says the industry used the meeting to provide the Minister with the results of its credit availability survey, conducted in March-April. 139 trucking operators completed the survey...

Labels: trucking industry news Australia

ENDING STRIKE * South Africa - Truckers' journey not over

Johannesburg,SA -iol, by Zara Nicholson -April 19 2009: -- Truck drivers in the fuel industry say they had no choice but to embark on their recent strike, and its settlement has not allayed all their concerns... They cited 12-hour shifts on the road with no real rest period and salaries that barely cover their living expenses... The nine-day strike ended after an agreement on Wednesday by the SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu), three other unions and the Road Freight Employers' Association... But workers say although they will now be paid more, their unfavourable work conditions need to be addressed urgently... The Sunday Tribune spoke to some long-distance drivers who said the time frame they had to complete a job often meant they did not get much sleep during trips and risked their lives and those of other road users by almost falling asleep behind the wheel...

Labels: after strikes

TRUCKS MARKETS NEWS * Russia - Putin’s Tariffs Stall Russian Growth for Caterpillar

Moscow,Russia -Bloomberg, by Melita Marie Garza & Paul Abelsky -April 20, 2009: -- Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, trade measures are starting to keep Deere & Co. combines and Caterpillar Inc. trucks out of Russian wheat fields and coal mines, dimming the companies’ prospects for expansion abroad... Deere and Caterpillar, reeling from the longest U.S. recession in a quarter century, were the companies most affected by loan restrictions and tariffs of as much as 25 percent that Putin imposed this year, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey of the top 50 American businesses operating in Russia... Putin is trying to boost Russian industries with tariffs on everything from drugs to farm equipment as declining oil revenue saps the nation’s economy. The policies are hurting sales by Caterpillar, and Deere, in a market where revenue was forecast to rise as much as sixfold in the next decade...

Labels: trucks markets worldwide

TRUCKING POLICYS * Canada - Alberta holds fast on HOS and speed limiters, other changes afoot

Alberta Transport Minister, Luke Ouellette, doesn’t mince words while addressing the issue of federal hours of service legislation and speed limiters

Banff,ALTA,CAN -Today's Trucking -20 April 2009: -- While speaking at the Alberta Motor Transport Association’s annual conference, the minister kept the same stance on speed limiters – no – but back peddled from the optimism of last year that federal HOS regulations could be adopted... Ouellette took on the idea of mandatory use of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs). The department might consider using them as a measure for poor performing carriers, but industry-wide mandatory use is not supported... The province has also decided to increase the length of long combination vehicles (LCVs) in Alberta to create a similarity between Saskatchewan and Manitoba... The minister also made note of a comprehensive fatigue management program that was spear-headed in Alberta... (Picture from hankstruckpictures: Alberta trucks, propane tanker)

* BC truckers call for Coquihalla upgrades

Surrey,B.C.,USA -Today's Trucking -20 April 2009: -- The elimination of tolls on the Coquihalla highway has brought more truck traffic, but chain-up and brake-check areas haven't kept pace, truckers say... In a joint letter, the B.C. Trucking Association and the B.C. Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association (RHCA) are asking the province's transportation ministry to enlarge existing areas or create new ones...

Labels: trucking policys

The Commercial Truck of the Year * USA - Truck dealers choose LoneStar

The American Truck Dealers named the International LoneStar as its first ATD Commercial Truck of the Year

Washington,DC,USA -eTrucker -20 April 2009: -- The announcement was made during ATD's 2009 Convention & Exposition in Washington, D.C.... The LoneStar was chosen by a judging panel of journalists from leading truck publications in North America. It was chosen because of its design, innovation, quiet cab and space utilization, said past ATD Chairman George Grask... LoneStar was one of five nominees for the new award... In 2010, two ATD Commercial Truck of the Year awards will be presented: a heavy-duty truck (Class 8) and a medium-duty truck (Classes 3-7)... (Picture: The winner: International LoneStar)

Labels: trucks' awards

TRUCKS SALES * USA - March Sales Fall 21%

Monthly Tally Rises From Year’s Dismal Start

USA - Transport Topics, by Jonathan S. Reiskin -April 20, 2009: -- Heavy-duty truck sales rebounded in March from historic lows the previous two months but were still 21.1% below the results in the same month of 2008... For the entire first quarter of the year, Class 8 U.S. retail volumes lagged behind 2008’s pace by 27.8%, according to the latest survey from WardsAuto.com... Dealers reported a higher level of customer interest in their heavy-duty vehicles in March, as compared with medium-duty models, but the number of actual buyers remains negligible... For the month, original equipment manufacturers sold 8,222 Class 8s, down from 10,419 in March 2008. The first-quarter total of 2

trucks world news

About Me

Links

Previous Posts

Archives

28.4.09

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Toll Roads * USA - Bills filed to stop ‘double dipping’ on private toll roads ones

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Port of LA solar power project finally gets moving

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Australia

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia

Higher charges * Australia - will push industry 'over the edge'

Employee Incentives * USA- Can help fleets meet an array of objectives

Fatal Crashes * USA - Involving Large Trucks, Lowest In 10 Years

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * USA

Trucking Industry's Analysis * USA - Hard times aren't hard enough?

STRIKE * Canada - Truckers Threaten Strike at Vancouver

Clean Truck Program * USA - Federal judge overrules parts of ports' one

OPINION * USA - Trucks don't need shortcuts

27.4.09

INFRASTRUCTURES FUNDS * Australia - Governments agree on $30bn transport investment

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

Corruption * Kenya - Lack of trucks ensure axle load limit headed for failure

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia - Lindsay Australia to grow despite recession

TRUCKING ANALYSIS * Australia - Truckers advised to lower speeds, maximise capacity

TRUCKMAKER'S COMMENT * USA - Trucking Faces Core Changes

Truck Safety * USA - From one passenger’s perspective

Analysis * USA - Economy keeps truck drivers idled

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE

26.4.09

Trailer Trucks VS Big Wind * USA - Moving Big Rig Fail

BUSINESS MARKET * USA -Recession to end in H2 but unemployment to rise

TRUCKING MARKETS * Canada - Continued challenges, but some glimmers of hope in latest OTA fleet survey

TRANSPORT & LOGISTIC NEWS * WORLDWIDE

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS, Mergers & Acquisitions * WORLDWIDE

Maintaining Trucks * Australia - New brake technology to cut operating costs

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Bill & Laws * Australia - Union raids to rise

ATA CONVENTION * Australia - 2009 'Ugliest' year for trucking sector

EPA Ruling * USA - Great News For Cleantech

Engine Brakes * Canada - Ontario municipalities target noisy ones

BORDER TROUBLES * Canada / USA - Atlantic truckers frustrated by Homeland Security secretary

Trucking Incentives * USA - Federal proposal offers, to increase truck safety

25.4.09

CARMAKERS' CRISIS * USA

Study * USA - Finds HOS exemptions led to crashes

TRUCKING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS * WORLDWIDE

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

24.4.09

* Trucking in China ... This could only happen therein

No Jaking Around * Canada - Truckers reject mandatory engine brake testing

Passport Deadline * USA - For all land border crossings

TRUCKING NEWS * USA - Long Beach day-pass OKed

Carbon Emissions * USA - California adopts landmark low-carbon fuel rule

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE

MEXICANS' TRUCKS * USA - Mexico sees U.S. acting quickly on truck dispute

TRUCKING MARKETS * Ghana - Delays at ports affect importers, exporters

Study * USA - Drivers at risk behind wheel

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * North America - Truck border crossings decline

Trucking Report * UK - So whats it like to be a British Trucker?

TRUCKING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS * USA - Truckers report demand declines, capacity cutbacks

Minivan * USA - Chrysler unveils fleet-intent electric minivan

23.4.09

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS * Sweden - Volvo Slashes 1,500 More Jobs

CLEAN PORTS PROGRAM * USA - LA/LB Programs Drive Shippers to Other Ports

Stimulus Fund * USA - Caterpillar Disappointed about

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

Liquefied Natural Gas trucks * USA - Ports Take LNG View

Truckers' Strikes * USA - Halts border traffic for 4 hours

Pirates in tow trucks * USA - Excessive city-approved fees give companies a license to print money

22.4.09

NEW TRUCKS * USA - Bright Automotive Unveils 100 MPG Commercial Truck

TRANSPORT INTELLIGENCE * USA - Changes at three Maine ports could be a boon for cargo and business

STRIKE * Colombia - Cuts fuel prices as truckers plan one

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA & Canada

BIOFUEL * USA - California may rule corn ethanol is not a globlal warming solution

Hybrid Trucks * USA - Are Here for the Long (Medium and Short) Haul

TRUCKMAKERS' NEWS WORLDWIDE *Japan - Toyota To Apply Fuel-Cell Technology to Long-Haul Trucks and Buses First

21.4.09

New Virus-Built Battery * USA - Could Power Cars, Electronic Devices