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Feb 26, 2014

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Germany: Volkswagen

* Germany - VW offers $9.2 billion to purchase rest of truckmaker Scania

Frankfurt,Germany -Bloomberg News, by Christoph Rauwald and Chad Thomas, Chris Reiter -Feb. 21, 2014: -- Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest automaker, is offering to pay 6.7 billion euros ($9.2 billion) to buy the rest of Swedish truckmaker Scania AB to intensify cooperation with its other commercial-vehicles units... VW, which already controls a majority of Scania’s shares and 88 percent of the voting rights, is offering 200 kronor per share, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said today in a statement. Scania’s B shares closed today at 147.50 kronor... VW is looking to jump start a stalled seven-year effort to more closely align Scania, its own commercial-vehicles business and Munich-based truck producer MAN SE, which VW also controls...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:28 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA: Tighter fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks

* Maryland - Obama draws mixed response to fighter fuel standards for heavy trucks

Upper Marlboro,MD,USA -Forbes, by Robert Bowman -21 Feb 2014: -- President Obama is drawing a mixed response from industry to his recent call for tighter fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks... He called EPA and DOT to work with industry on developing new technologies for meeting whatever standard might emerge, including  improvements in engine efficiency, aerodynamics, truck weight and tire-rolling resistance. In addition, manufacturers could deploy new systems for automatic engine shutdown, more efficient air conditioning and hybrid power... Heavy-duty trucks, defined as having a gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,000 pounds, make up just 4 percent of all vehicles on American highways. Yet they are responsible for 20 percent of the carbon pollution produced by the nation’s transportation sector, said Obama... Jason Mathers, senior manager with the Environmental Defense Fund, estimated that the first generation of rules will save shippers around 9 cents a mile in freight costs. Fuel accounts for 40 percent of the cost of moving a truck, he said... That the President’s message was endorsed by an environmental group should come as no surprise. But major trucking interests appear to be on board as well. Engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. and truck maker Peterbilt Motors Co. (part of PACCAR) have embraced the U.S. Department of Energy’s SuperTruck program, launched to improve the efficiency of the heaviest trucks on the road. A joint demonstration last month by the two companies showed off a tractor-trailer that got 10.7 miles to the gallon in real-world driving conditions. Most heavy trucks today get around 6 MPG...


* North Carolina - Volvo’s North America truck deliveries jump

(Photo: TT file) 
Greensboro,NC,USA -Transport Topics -20 Feb 2014: -- Volvo Group’s truck deliveries in North America jumped 113% in January over a year earlier... The Volvo brand’s deliveries increased 209% to 2,433 vehicles, the truck maker said Feb. 20. The change was largely due to two “down-weeks” in January 2013, resulting in only 788 deliveries... Mack Trucks delivery 1,733 vehicles in North America in January, a 53% increase, Volvo reported... Globally, Volvo’s deliveries grew 26% over last year to 13,612 units. The increase was led by heavy-duty trucks, which saw a 35% gain, while light- and medium-duty trucks both decreased... The Volvo brand saw the largest rise globally, a 51% increase to 8,422 units, the company said. Volvo has decreased European production, predicting a drop-off in demand because customers pre-bought trucks before a January 2014 emissions standard took effect...


* Illinois - Navistar to shift production from Alabama to UAW plant

Warrensville,ILL,USA -Daily Kos, by Short Bus -FEB 21, 2014: ... Navistar just announced that they will be shifting production of their mid-range engines from their non-union Huntsville, Alabama plant to their UAW plant in Melrose Park, Illinois... Commercial truck maker Navistar International Corp., will close an engine plant in Alabama this summer as it moves to eliminate excess production capacity and consolidate its engine lineup for medium-size trucks... The closure of the plant in Huntsville will result in the loss of about 280 jobs and generate savings of about $22 million a year. Production at that plant will be shifted to an engine plant near Chicago, which will add about 75 workers... Of course, neither the WSJ article cited, or other sources I checked, mentioned the union status of the facilities. Probably because labor costs aren't the driving factor in many business decisions and wasn't related to the issue being discussed. However, if the story was about production being shifted to the South, we know what the headlines would be screaming, relevent or not...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:12 AM  0 comments

Feb 18, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Mexico: Action from CANACAR

* Mexico - Arbitration Action filed against U.S. over mexican trucking

(Photo from Wikipedia: To the right lies Tijuana, Baja California and on the left is San Diego, California. The building in the foreground on the San Diego side is a sewage treatment plant built to clean the Tijuana River)
Mexico,DF,USA -Truckinginfo -February 16, 2014: -- Mexico’s biggest trucking association has filed a $30 billion dollar arbitration claim against the United States for refusing to fully open the country to trucks from south of the border, as called for in the North American Free Trade Agreement... Canacar director Jose Refugio Muñoz Lopez, told one Mexico-based newspaper that the current program allowing Mexican trucks into the U.S. “in no way has it served as a mechanism for U.S. compliance with its requirements under NAFTA,” which went into effect 20 years ago... Muñoz Lopez also claimed because the U.S. has failed to fully open its border to Mexican trucks, this has resulted in Mexican trucking companies being forced to make investments in the U.S. and create cargo-transfer zones along the border... Some 30,000 Mexican truckers have reportedly signed on to the arbitration action. An unnamed U.S. law firm is representing Canacar...

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posted by Unknown @ 12:27 PM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Germany: VW's & Scania & MAN

* Germany - VW's Scania truck alliance in focus as board meets

(Photo: Scania trucks parked at Ludwigsfelde) 
Berlin,Germany -Reuters, by Andreas Cremer and Jan Schwartz/The Chicago Tribune -February 17, 2014: -- Volkswagen will focus later this week on its long-standing ambition to become Europe's biggest truck manufacturer which could set the stage for the hiring of ex-Daimler executive Andreas Renschler, sources familiar with the matter said... Wolfsburg-based VW has spent billions of euros over the past decade on expanding stakes in Sweden's Scania and Germany's MAN to reap cost savings and take on Daimler , the world's biggest truck maker... But the full benefits from its alliance with Scania and MAN that VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech once pegged at about 1 billion euros ($1.37 billion) have yet to materialize... The group's supervisory board will focus on VW's eight-year effort to create Europe's top manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial vehicles when it meets on Friday to sign off on 2013 earnings, two sources told Reuters on condition they not be named because the matter is confidential... 


* West Virginia - Hino delivers 10,000th truck to Penske Truck Leasing

(Photo: Members of Hino Trucks, including President and CEO Yoshinori Noguchi were on hand as former Hino Motors Ltd chairman Mr. Jagawa presents the key to the 10,000th truck to Roger Penske. Also in attendance from Penske Truck Leasing were Brian Hard, Art Vallely, Jim Molinaro and Paul Rosa) 
Williamstown,W.V.,USA -Truck News -Feb 17, 2014: -- Hino Trucks held a special ceremony recently, upon delivering its 10,000th truck to Penske Truck Leasing... The 10,000th truck is a 2015 model 268A. Hino says the model is well suited for the lease and rental market segment, a market in which Hino now commands 10% of the business. The 10,000th truck will be deployed in Penske’s rental fleet, the companies announced...

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posted by Unknown @ 12:07 PM  0 comments

ALTERNATIVE FUELS * USA: Climate-destroying leaks

* Texas - Natural Gas trucks and buses aren't actually eco-friendly

(Photo, by andrewfeinberg/flickr - Natgas bus)
The Woodlands,TXS,USA -Business Inside, by ROB WILE -FEB. 14, 2014: -- Lots of major companies and municipalities have touted switching their truck and bus fleets to natural gas in recent years to take advantage of the Great American Shale Boom... The main benefit is that natural gas saves money — up to a dollar per unit of fuel used... But there's been more ambiguity over another claim: that the switch is eco-friendly... A new study suggests a depressing answer: Switching your truck to natural gas doesn't help mitigate carbon dioxide emissions, at all... The climate effects arise from methane leaks that come from pumping, transporting, and using natural gas. The more natural gas that escapes before being completely burned, the more negative the impact on the climate. The researchers analyzed 20 years' worth of methane leak studies to determine their true extent when the fuel is used in different ways... Then, they calculated the environmental cost of a switch to natural gas by comparing how much carbon dioxide gets emitted by existing energy sources like coal and gasoline, versus how much "leaky methane" the natural gas production, delivery, and consumption system creates... The climate impacts of the leaks proved to be different based on the natural gas's intended usage. They found that the leaks used to deliver and subsequently consume natural gas were more harmful than if those vehicles stuck to plain old diesel... They also found the benefits of switching from coal to natural gas are real...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:53 AM  0 comments

GREEN TRUCKS * UK

* UK - Changing to low-carbon HGVs cuts operating costs and CO2

(Image: Brit European MD Graham Lackey reports his company’s 36 Actros car transporters with Hardstaff dual-fuel CNG conversions are achieving a gas substitution rate of up to 55%)
Leicestershire,UK -Commercial Motor, by David Wilcox -18 February 2014: -- Early results from the 13 low-carbon truck demonstration trials, supported by £11m of government funding, point to reductions in both operating costs and CO2 emissions... In a progress report on the trials given last month (30 January) by Cenex, the government’s low-carbon centre of excellence, it was revealed that 175 of the 354 trucks involved in the 13 trials have been deployed so far... The first of the two-year trials started in late 2012, with the remaining ones about to begin. Of the trucks involved in trials, 339 are dual fuel (diesel/gas), five are dedicated gas vehicles, and 10 run on used cooking oil... Cenex technical and consultancy head Chris Walsh said data is coming from 85 trucks so far, which are covering more than one million km a month between them... The dual-fuel trucks’ gas substitution rate – the proportion of diesel replaced by gas – is averaging just under 50%, but climbing, said Walsh. CO2 savings range from 4% to 9%... Much of the additional cost of gas trucks is in their tanks, noting that LNG tanks in particular are “ridiculously expensive” ... Steve Whelan, technical director at Clean Air Power, said that could soon change, thanks to low-cost tanks made in China... “There are some high-quality manufacturers in China,” he said. “We are going to see a step change in tank costs” ...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:41 AM  0 comments

Feb 17, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE * Turkey

* Cargo traffic restarts at Turkish-Bulgarian border

(Photo: Entries and exits after 9am will continue as usual, says Turkey’s transport minister) 
Edirne,Turkey -The Turkish Press -17 Feb 2014: -- Truck drivers who have been waiting at the Turkish-Bulgarian border, due to a transit pass row between the two countries, are able to cross the Kapikule border gate from Thursday... Turkey’s Transport Minister Lutfi Elvan said late on Wednesday that a dispute over transit passes for trucks travelling between Turkey and Bulgaria has been solved after Bulgaria decided to issue around 100,000 passes... Celal Dogru, one of the truck drivers waiting at the border, said that he had been waiting for four days to enter Turkey. “The problem has been solved and I hope it won’t happen again,” he said...

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posted by Unknown @ 12:28 PM  0 comments

TECHNO TRUCKS * USA: Ford / GM / Chrysler

* Michigan - The unbearable lightness of trucks

(Photo: The Hummer loses 900 pounds of metal body panels and parts, which are then replaced with parts fabricated of fiberglass, balsa wood, foam, and carbon, with resin as a bonding agent)
Detroit,MICH,USA -The Wellington Times (New Zealand), by Rick Conroy -February 14th, 2014: -- It’s a big deal. It’s been the bestselling truck in Canada for more than 40 years, bringing in over 40 per cent of the company’s Canadian sales volume, and it accounts for about $30 billion in annual corporate worldwide revenue. It’s the Ford F-150. And it’s changing, big time... Ford announced during last month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit that henceforward the F-150 will be recast with a body of aluminum rather than of steel. It will make the truck about 318 kilograms lighter, and thereby help Ford meet new fuel economy standards, which require a doubling of 2011 levels by 2025... Ford’s biggest competitors are obviously GM and Chrysler, so I checked in with them first... And “what’s the competition going to do?”... It turns out that GM is about to take the wraps off a truck whose body will be made entirely of balsa wood.... Chrysler is equally upbeat. Its solution is to go with styrofoam—a material that is more that 30 per cent lighter than aluminum... And how are the Japanese responding? It’s not clear yet, but one rumour has it that Toyota is looking at an extruded material similar to Play-Doh...

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posted by Unknown @ 12:14 PM  0 comments

RECALLS * Japan: Toyota's

* Japan - Toyota recalls 295000 RAV4 SUVs, RX350 crossovers, Tacoma trucks and 1.9 mn Prius hybrid

(Photo: Toyota has recalled over 1.9 million hybrid Prius cars due to a software glitch) 
Tokyo,Japan -Tech Times, by Vamien McKalin -February 15, 2014: -- Japanese automaker Toyota has recalled 1.9 million hybrid Prius cars due to a software glitch that caused the vehicle to stall. The software glitch problem has affected hybrid Prius cars on a global scale, but mainly in North America, Europe, and Japan... Toyota said 130,000 hybrid Prius cars in Europe has been recalled, along with 713,000 in North America, and 997,000 in Japan. The company did not specify other locations, but we expect the affected cars in other countries to be fewer in number... So far, there are no reports of accidents relating to the software glitch that caused problems in the hybrid system...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:49 AM  0 comments

Feb 15, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Australia

* Queensland - Truck accidents: Overnight trips most risky, study finds
Brisbane,QLD,Australia -The Brisbane Times, by Jacob Saulwick -17 Feb 2014: -- Truck drivers who work overnight for more than three hours in a row are as much at risk of an accident as mid-range drink-drivers, a major study of the relationship between sleepiness and truck crashes shows... The study also found drivers with less experience and those who do not use modern technology - such as anti-lock braking systems or cruise control - have a significantly higher risk of accident... The rate of accidents involving trucks in Australia has remained consistently high in the past decade, despite the general fall in serious road accidents... But according to a new study by researchers at Monash University, the rate could fall if fewer long-haul truck trips were scheduled for the early hours of the morning... 


* NSW - EPA acts on dangerous goods trailers 
(Photo: An AL-KO Electronic Stability Control: The future of towing safety and stability)
Sydney,NSW,USA -ATA Friday Facts -14 Feb 2014: -- Dangerous goods tank trailers manufactured on or after 1 July 2014 must be fitted with electronic stability control to be used in NSW, the NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week... The announcement follows the ATA’s call for governments to mandate electronic stability control for dangerous goods vehicles in October last year... In his letter announcing the decision, EPA Hazardous Incidents and Environmental Health Director Craig Lamberton said requiring stability control on dangerous goods vehicles was good industry practice both in Australia and internationally...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:20 AM  0 comments

GREEN TRUCKS * USA - Prognosis

* DC - Trucks getting 6 miles per gallon are a drain on the economy, and we can do better

(Photo by Martin Jul Nielsen: Taken in Shahri Buzurg, Afganistán)
Washington,DC,USA -EDF, by Jason Mathers -February 13, 2014: ... "In the coming months, I'll build on that success by setting new standards for our trucks, so we can keep driving down oil imports and what we pay at the pump." - 2014 State of the Union Address - The President’s commitment to new standards for trucks is welcome news, as inaction isn’t a viable option... Climate pollution from America’s heavy trucks is projected to increase by more than 130 million tons between now and 2040. That’s expected to be the largest increase in emissions from any single end-use source... The average new heavy-duty diesel truck sold last year got slightly less than six miles per gallon. Most of these trucks travel upwards of 120,000 miles and burn more than $80,000 worth of fuel per year... We have the tools today that we need to change this. We have the technology to decrease freight truck emissions. We can cut 20 percent off our current trajectories by 2030, and go much further by 2040. In fact, a recent analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that it’s realistic to expect new trucks to achieve something approaching a 40 percent fuel consumption reduction, compared to 2010 trucks, within the next decade...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:07 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLWIDE * France / Germany * India * USA

* France - Daimler launches king trucks

(Photo: The vehicles are powered by a 625 horsepower -466 kW- engine)
Molsheim,France -Construction Machinery M.E., by Stian Overdahl -February 12th, 2014: -- Mercedes-Benz Trucks has launched its two largest its heavy-duty trucks, the “king” class of vehicles, as part of continued roll-out of new vehicles to meet the European emission requirements. The company has launched its Actros SLT and Arocs SLT, capable of moving loads of up to 250 tonnes, including heavy plant used in the oil and gas industry or turbines for wind power... The vehicles are powered by a 625 horsepower (466 kW) engine... Production of the trucks began in December 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Molsheim, France, which serves as the base of Custom Tailored Trucks. The plant fulfills even the most unusual wishes of truck customers from all over the world... Every detail of the trucks’ design was extensively tested by experts, said Daimler. The trucks have a total towing weight of 250 tons, and the semi-trailers are often more than 50 meters long. In addition, these vehicles may generally only be driven at night...


* India - Tainted Tatra trucks rechristened BEML heavy duty trucks

(Photo: After the CBI probe, production of the Tatra trucks was stopped, as BEML was restricted to do business with Vectra Global) 
New Delhi,India- DNA, by Pradip R Sagar -February 12, 2014: -- Desperate to get rid of the 'taint' of Tatra scam, the ministry of defence is planning to rename the high mobility trucks to get back into business in the country... Tatra, the all-weather trucks are being used to carry Indian Army's strike-power, were surrounded by controversy... The CBI in April 2013 booked VRS Natarajan, chief of the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) — the defence Public Sector Unit which manufacture these trucks in India. The BEML was the Indian partner of Tatra with UK-based Vectra Group... Production of Tatra was 40% indigenous and the reamining 60% was dependent on import from Vectra...


 * USA - Lockheed's Robotic Trucks pass real-world military convoy test

Bethesda,MD,USA -IEEE Spectrum, by Evan Ackerman -12 Feb 2014: -- A few weeks ago, we posted about the U.S. Army's plan to replace thousands of soldiers with robots as a way to increase efficiency by reducing the ratio of support personnel to combat troops. By cutting the size of a brigade by a quarter and filling the gap with robots specialized in logistics, the Army hopes to become safer, more versatile, and cheaper all at the same time. To be clear, this isn't about replacing front line soldiers with armed robots: it's about, say, replacing humans who drive supply trucks with robotic supply trucks that drive themselves, and Lockheed Martin has successfully demonstrated a working system that can retrofit human-driven military vehicles for autonomous operation... The goal of the Army and Marine Corps’ Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System (AMAS) program is to take active military vehicles and "roboticize" them to the extent that they can operate fully autonomously in both urban and rural environments...

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posted by Unknown @ 4:26 AM  0 comments

Feb 14, 2014

NEWS for TRUCKERS * USA: Drivers today are under scrutiny as never before.

* New York - Is New Truck-Monitoring Technology for safety -- or spying on drivers?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia - A Kenworth truck near Sears Boyle Heights) 
NY,USA -Forbes, by Robert Bowman -11 Feb 2014: -- Truck drivers might not like the intrusive systems that monitor their every move, but the technology promotes safety on the roads... That’s the view of Sandy Hodes, senior vice president of Ryder System Inc. His company is a leading provider of trucks for rent and lease, along with logistics-support services and fleet-management systems... Drivers today are under scrutiny as never before. Trucks have long been equipped with systems for locating vehicles and controlling speed, but the latest generation of monitoring devices are much more far-reaching in scope. A combination of satellite-based tracking and cellular technology allows fleet managers to remotely view what drivers are doing... Information on shipment status used to be limited to a handful of transactions — pickup, delivery, and any periodic reports that the driver might be required to make en route. Today, says Hodes, monitoring can be conducted on a minute-by-minute basis... Managers can pull up electronic “breadcrumbs” that record a driver’s speed, braking and cornering techniques — not to mention any unauthorized stops. There are few, if any, “black holes” in the movement of commercial trucks today... Safety, of course, is a major concern of carriers. Research published last year in the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Prevention found that commercial trucks account for 8% of U.S. highway traffic, yet are involved in 11% of fatal crashes. In all, the study said, trucks are responsible for 4,500 deaths year in the U.S. alone. A 1% increase in truck volume on the highway results in a disproportionately higher rise in the probability of a severe crash...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:59 AM  0 comments

TRUCKING INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE * Greece

* Greece - Truckers show plight as groceries show up frozen

(Photographer by Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg: A truck carries a container as it passes the commercial terminal of Piraeus Port in Athens, Greece) 
Athens,Greece -Bloomberg News, by Jonathan Stearns -Feb 13, 2014: -- A truck carries a container as it passes the commercial terminal of Piraeus Port... Alexander Paraskevas is on the front lines of Greece’s effort to transform itself into an economy that can compete in the 21st century... Paraskevas, in charge of ensuring goods get from point A to point B for the country’s biggest chain of wholesale stores, Metro SA, has hundreds of complaints about truck services that show how far Greece still has to go... Trucking, like more than 300 other Greek professions, was ordered deregulated as part of the deal for 240 billion euros ($327 billion) in international aid. The whole revamp has yet to produce the promised benefits because of a combination of Greek political procrastination and a recession that has shrunk the domestic economy by about a quarter since 2008... Greece has about 33,000 trucks with public licenses to transport goods on behalf of customers and about 1 million vehicles, including vans, with more restricted delivery rights as companies’ private fleets...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:21 AM  0 comments

ELECTRIC TRUCKMAKER NEWS * USA - Cenntro Motors

* Texas - 240 MPGe Kombi EV slated for US launch

(Photo: Designed for transporting light cargo, the Kombi EV has a range of 50 miles -80.5 km- on a single charge)
Austin,TXS,USA  -Gizmag, by Nick Lavars -February 13, 2014: -- Cenntro Motors has announced plans to launch its Kombi EV all-electric utility vehicle in the North America. Designed for transporting light cargo, the Kombi EV, has a claimed top speed of 31 mph (49.9 km/h), a range of 50 miles (80.5 km) on a single charge, with each charge taking under six hours, according to the company. A 6.8-kWh lithium-ion battery powers the electric motor, delivering a maximum of 12.5 kW (16.7 hp) and 400 Nm of torque, which translates to an acceleration of 0 to 45 km/h (28 mph) in 8.5 seconds... With a carrying capacity of 800 lb (362.8 kg) and a turning radius of 3.8 yards (3.47 m), the two-wheel drive Kombi is geared toward industry applications that rely on short-distance deliveries and transportation, such as a local courier service or a storage facility...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:08 AM  0 comments

Feb 13, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Australia

* New South Wales - Cootes’ shares dive as trucks ordered off the road for inspections

(Photo: Tim Pascoe - The scene of the fuel tanker crash in Sydney in which two people died) 
Sydney,NSW,Australia -SMH, by Jenny Wiggins -February 10, 2014: -- The NSW roads minister ordered the transport company’s Cootes petrol tankers off the road again following the discovery of fresh safety breaches... NSW roads minister Duncan Gay said spot checks of Cootes vehicles last week had found “major defects” ... “These random inspections uncovered significant failures,” the minister said. “This was in addition to two incidents involving Cootes vehicles late last week which presented major defects” ... The inspections come several months after one of McAleese’s Cootes tankers was involved in a fatal accident on Sydney’s Mona Vale Road, which sparked investigations from safety regulators and the grounding of part of the Cootes fleet...

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posted by Unknown @ 4:07 PM  0 comments

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Winter & Traffic troubles

* New York - Helping cargo, truck drivers weather winter's wrath
(Photo courtesy of VDOT)
NY,USA -Fleet Owner -10 Feb 2014: -- As winter weather continues to create havoc for roadway users of all stripes in the U.S. – with yet another winter storm taking aim at Georgia this week – a variety of tactics are being deployed to help trucking companies deal better with snow and ice conditions, but help better protect cargo in transit as well... Recommends that transport companies take following precautions before sending drivers out on the road: 
 ° Plan ahead. Fleet managers need to help drivers by planning for inclement weather in advance and factoring in road and weather conditions. Appointments may need to be rescheduled and customers notified. Drivers may be more likely to drive safely if they know a customer has been notified and understands the situation. When driving conditions are tough, it’s not a good time for drivers to feel pressured to keep an appointment. 
° Conduct inspections and maintenance. It’s important to make sure vehicles are in good working condition to avoid a situation where a driver becomes stranded because their vehicle broke down. Breakdowns are not only costly, but can also be dangerous. A lot of serious accidents involve vehicles that are stranded on the side of the road. 
° Take the driver’s judgment into account. Companies need to trust their driver’s judgment about local driving conditions and encourage them to make safe decisions about how to drive or whether to park and wait for conditions to improve...


* Texas - Port San Antonio truck traffic focus of Thursday protest

(Photo: Port-San-Antonio-truck-traffic-focus) 
San Antonio,TXS,USA -My San Antonio, by ELAINE AYALA -February 12, 2014: -- The Southwest Workers Union and the Committee for Environmental Justice Action will stage a protest at Port San Antonio on Thursday about neighborhood health, environmental and safety concerns they say stem from the increased truck traffic serving the Eagle Ford Shale energy boom... Formerly Kelly AFB, the inland port and its clients have become a focal point for residents and environmental justice activists who want to keep the trucks out of neighborhoods in the Quintana Road area... The two groups are calling on the Port San Antonio board and the city of San Antonio to prohibit long-haul trucks from passing through or idling there. Many of the trucks carry sand that arrives at the port by rail and is then transported to oil and gas industry fracking operations outside San Antonio...


* Utah - C.R. England replacing some Ttucks with LNG powered units

South Salt Lake City,UH,USA -Truckinginfo -February 12, 2014: -- Refrigerated carrier C. R. England has announced it will replace some existing diesel trucks serving the southern California market with LNG powered rigs. All will be powered using the new Cummins Westport 12-liter spark ignited ISX model engine... In making the announcement it said the region is “the most mature market for natural gas on-highway transportation in the United States” ... The Utah-based company says it has also signed a multi-year liquefied natural gas bulk fueling agreement with Shell...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:49 PM  0 comments

Feb 12, 2014

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA: Volvo's - Toyota - Oskosh

* North Carolina - Truck builders and their suppliers seem to be bullish on North American demand in 2014

(Photo: The Pinacle, Mack's truck) 
Greensboro,NC,USA -AMM -10 Feb 2014: -- Volvo AB, Gothenburg, Sweden, for example, expects North American heavy-duty truck registrations to reach 250,000 vehicles this year, up nearly 5.8 percent from 2013... Volvo’s latest Mack Trucks model, the Pinacle, is built with a galvanized steel cab, aluminum or steel fuel tanks, aluminum battery box cover, stainless steel hood latches and cab skirts, steel bumpers, aluminum torque rod, steel brackets on the chassis, steel pistons, aluminum transmission casing and aluminum parts in the engine...


* Michigan - Big Three auto makers agree to adopt standard towing capacity ratings

(Photo : REUTERS/Rebecca Cook - American car companies were reluctant to adopt the new standard)
Detroit,MICH,USA -Design & Trends, by Pete Calautti -Feb 11, 2014: -- A towing capacity standard, known as SAE J2807, will be adopted by the Big Three American auto manufacturers for light duty pickups beginning with the 2015 model year... The standard was devised in 2009, but was never adopted after a series of delays from the Detroit automakers... The standard, if adopted, would have seen the officially published towing capacities of light duty trucks dip approximately 300 to 400 pounds. Toyota adopted the standard in 2011 and saw a roughly 400 pound drop in the official towing capacity. Up until this agreement, it was the only manufacturer to test to the official SAE standard...


* DC - Lawmaker holds stock in defense contractor he champions

(Photo by Gary C. Klein / Sheboygan Press Media - Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., owns hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of shares in military truck-maker Oshkosh Corp) 
Washington,DC,USA -Defense News, by DONOVAN SLACK -Feb. 10, 2014: -- Congressman Tom Petri has long been an enthusiastic booster in Washington for Oshkosh Corp., a defense contractor in his Wisconsin district, but he not only has a political stake in the company's success, he has a personal one as well. To the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars... Since 2006, he has purchased between $265,000 and $650,000 worth of shares in the company, which makes tactical vehicles for the military, a Gannett Washington Bureau review of financial disclosure reports found... He and others say that regardless of whether or not Petri's advocacy passes muster with the committee, his actions show that more needs to be done to rein in congressional trading of stocks... Some want them to stop trading, period...

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posted by Unknown @ 10:34 AM  0 comments

TRUCKS RECALL * USA: Paccar

* Wichita - 21,000 Peterbilt, Kenworth trucks recalled due to potential door latch, seat belt defects

(Photo: Pete-Kenworth) 
Bellevue,WA,USA -eTrucker, by James Jaillet -February, 10 2014: -- Paccar, parent company of Peterbilt and Kenworth, has issued two recalls for more than 21,000 Kenworth and Peterbilt model trucks for potential defects related to the door latch assembly on some trucks and the seat belt assembly on others... 2013 and 2014 Peterbilt Model 567 and 579 and Kenworth models T680 built between January 2012 and October 2013 could lock potentially are equipped with a defective door latch assembly (Inteva brand) that could either cause the truck to lock permanently while closed or open from the outside while locked... The permanent lock situation could cause vehicle occupants to be trapped inside if a crash or fire occur, the recall says. Paccar says 11,056 vehicles potentially are affected by the faulty latch... Paccar is also recalling several Kenworth and Peterbilt model trucks for potentially defective seat belt buckles that have a latch plate that can become partially engaged with the buckle when the release button is pressed, making it difficult to unlatch, again increasing risk of injury if a crash or other emergency event occurs...

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posted by Unknown @ 10:20 AM  0 comments

Feb 10, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * Turkey & Philippines

* Turkey, Bulgaria place ban each other’s trucks

(Photo: A line of 300 trucks formed again at Kapitan Andreevo on the Turkish-Bulgarian border) 
Ankara,Turkey -Turkish Weekly -4 February 2014: -- A disagreement over transit passes between Turkey and Bulgaria has resulted in the closure of the frontier to their respective neighbor’s trucks, prompting Turkish transporters to steer their rigs for new routes... The tension between the neighbors was sparked when Bulgaria only gave 5,000 of the 125,000 transit pass permits it was expected to give Turkish trucks at the beginning of the year... Turkey then closed its gates to Bulgarian trucks on Jan. 31 in a warning over the permit dispute. Sofia responded to Turkey’s move by also banning Turkish trucks from entering Bulgaria on Feb. 1... The shutdown of the Kapıkule-Kapitan Andreevo customs gates between the countries has resulted in a long, snaking line of trucks waiting to cross the border...


* Manila - City-wide truck ban starts February in

(Photo by Romeo Gacad/AFP - A new ordinance will ban trucks from entering the city of Manila from 5 am to 9 pm) 
Manila,Philippines -Rappler -5 Feb 2014: -- Truck owners and operators will have to rethink routes that traverse the city of Manila soon, as the local government is set to implement a city-wide ban on trucks as early as Monday, February 10... The ban, which was signed into law by Mayor Joseph Estrada on Wednesday, February 5, covers "cargo trucks, gravel and sand trucks, cement mixers and other heavy cargo trucks with 8 wheels and up or whose gross vehicle weights exceed 4,500 kilograms." More than 4,000 buses enter and traverse the Philippine capital on a daily basis, according to Vice Mayor Isko Moreno... Trucks cannot enter or pass through the city from 5 am to 9 pm. Violators, will be fined P5,000 along with possible impoundment... Trucks will be allowed to traverse only designated "truck routes" from 9 pm to 5 am, except Sundays and holidays...

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TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * India: Volvo & UD trucks

* Gurgaon - VE Commercial Vehicles to invest Rs 600 cr this year

(Photo: UD Trucks Quon GW Tractor powerful 1280 x 960) 
Gurgaon,India -Press Trust of India/Business Standard, by Greater Noida -February 5, 2014: -- VE Commercial Vehicles, the 50:50 joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, plans to invest Rs 600 crore this year on product development and marketing initiatives... The company also aims at increasing its market share with the introduction of its Pro series of trucks... Eicher Motors MD and CEO Siddhartha Lal added, that the Pro series, with vehicles with gross weight between 5 and 49 tonnes, would be rolled out in a phased manner starting next month...


* Tamil Nadu - Ashok Leyland showcases heavy load trucks 

(Photo: 'Big Foot', the Leyland Roadrunner)
Chennai,TN,India -SME Times News Bureau -7 Feb, 2014: -- Ashok Leyland Thursday showcased its next-generation vehicles including Super Stallion 6x6 and Super Stallion 10x10 intended to meet heavy load-carrying requirements of the army at the Defexpo in New Delhi... Ashok Leyland executive director Nitin Seth said the company had already provided nearly 70,000 Stallion trucks to the army... He said the Stallion 6x6 and 10x10 had capacity to carry heavy loads, and the axles of the trucks were movable in keeping with the needs of the army... Ashok Leyland is the flagship of the Hinduja Group and a leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India with a USD 2.5 billion turnover in 2010-11...

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