User-agent: Mediapartners-Google* Disallow: Trucks World News: April 2014
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Apr 28, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA: CARB

* California - Destroying small business is job one

Fortuna,CAL,USA -The Times-Standard, by Tim Martin -27 April 2014: -- The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is about to implement a diesel emissions standard that will become the toughest in the nation. The law will require extensive retrofitting or replacement of all diesel heavy vehicles (1996-2006 model year engines) with a diesel particulate filter. The cost will be between $15,000 and $16,000. Retrofits will require over a million California trucks and buses have the filters by July of this year. Nearly four in 10 heavy-duty trucks operating within the state will be affected under the CARB rule... Independent truckers won't be the only ones affected by the new CARB law. Taxpayers will pay for the retrofit or purchase of tens of thousands of state, municipal and county owned vehicles... If this happens, there will not be enough trucks to serve the state's needs. Increased freight costs will place an additional burden on California's already crippled economy... A knot of anger and offense has lodged itself in the craw of every trucker and is rolling around in there... The new law is crazy eight ways to beat the band. In a recent poll one-third of the truckers stated they would stop hauling to California... What can be done? California must choose between over-regulated green laws and jobs. Either that or we will all have to learn how to eat clean air...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:15 AM  0 comments

TRUCKERS´ STRIKE * USA: To picket ports of L.A. and Long Beach

* California - Truck drivers at the ports are set to hold a 48-hour strike starting Monday

(Photo by Brian van der Brug, Los Angeles Times / April 8, 2014: Trucks haul loads as containers are unloaded from a ship at the Port of Los Angeles) 
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Ricardo Lopez -April 26, 2014: -- In their largest demonstration yet, truck drivers who haul cargo in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will go on a limited strike Monday to protest what they contend are widespread workplace violations... The truck drivers, from some of the region's largest trucking companies, have accused the companies of illegally misclassifying them as independent contractors instead of as employees. That misclassification results in lower wages and denies them protections that employees get under state and federal labor laws, they contend... Tensions between drivers and the drayage companies have escalated in recent years. Industry experts estimate that only 10% of truckers are directly employed by companies, and truckers who are classified as independent contractors have filed lawsuits and complaints with state and federal labor agencies to change their status... In California, port drivers have filed more than 500 complaints for wage theft related to misclassification, according to the state Department of Industrial Relations...

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Apr 27, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Japan / China

* China’s 24-Million-car market spurs trucking investment: freight 

Tokyo,Japan -Bloomberg News, by Chris Cooper / Kiyotaka Matsuda -April 24, 2014: ... Nippon Yusen K.K., the world’s largest carrier of vehicles by sea, is planning to add more logistics centers for trucks in China as part of a multi-billion yen world-wide expansion... Nippon Yusen transported 1.36 million cars in China in 2013, including some in a venture with Anji, according to figures from the company. The Tokyo-based company will probably boost trucking of vehicles to 5.7 million worldwide in 2016, from 3.7 million last year, and China’s share is around 40 percent... Nippon Yusen may get a boost in plans to expand its trucking business in China from its current customers. Toyota Motor Corp., Nippon Yusen’s biggest customer, is predicting record China sales of 1.1 million units this year and planning further expansion... Nippon Yusen is also expanding into trucking in North America... The company is buying a 30 percent stake in Mexican trucker Consorcio de Servicios Internacionales SA de C.V. for several billion yen, Takaya Soga, a general manager of Nippon Yusen’s auto logistics group, said...

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TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Air quality regulators give truckers more time to meet smog standards

* California - Air Resources Board extends deadline for diesel trucks to cut emissions and comply with strict pollution rules. 

(Photo by Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / March 20, 2014 - Trucks line up to get to loading areas in San Pedro) 
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Tony Barboza -April 25, 2014: -- A day after hearing hours of impassioned testimony from a divided trucking industry, California air quality regulators on Friday postponed deadlines for aging heavy-duty trucks to comply with the nation's toughest diesel air pollution rules... The action by the state Air Resources Board will give small fleets, lightly used trucks and those operating in rural areas more time to upgrade to newer, cleaner models or install filters to remove soot from their exhaust... Officials say the changes will slow pollution cuts for several years but still allow the state to reach its goal of cutting diesel emissions 85% by 2020... Air Resources Board officials said about 80% of trucks in the state are in compliance with clean-air rules. Some truckers who spoke at the hearing said that estimate seemed too high and called for stronger enforcement...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:41 AM  0 comments

MILITARY TRUCKS * USA

* California - "Free" armored trucks for Marin Police and Sheriff

(Seattle Times photo/Jordan Stead - A Lenco armored law enforcement vehicle is used during an event in Washington state in this photo taken in 2012. Marin County is buying a similar vehicle) 
Marinwood-Lucas Valley,CAL,USA -Bloomberg/Save Marinwood-Lucas Valley -Feb. 26,2014: -- The U.S. Army is giving away 13,000 armored trucks, worth about $500,000 each. The 20-ton MRAPs, or Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected trucks, were built specifically to save U.S. soldiers from roadside bombs in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Now the trucks are patrolling U.S. city streets. U.S. law enforcement agencies have received the lion’s share of this high-powered military surplus... Last year the Marin paid $370,000 to purchase a similar armored vehicle...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:31 AM  0 comments

Apr 25, 2014

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA - Navistar's

* Illinois - Navistar to boost production at two plants. commercial truck Mmker cites increasing consumer demand 

New York,NY,USA -The WSJ, by BEN FOX RUBIN -April 24, 2014: -- Navistar International Corp. said it plans to ramp up production at two plants, citing positive trends in its industry and good customer demand for its offerings... The commercial truck maker said it plans to boost production rates in the second half of the year at its heavy-truck assembly plant in Escobedo, Mexico, and its bus-assembly...

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posted by Unknown @ 7:34 PM  0 comments

Apr 23, 2014

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Sweden: VW bid for Scania

1 * Stockholm - Pension Fund rejects VW bid for remaning Scania shares

Stockholm,Sweden -The WSJ (USA), by Christina Zander -April 10, 2014: -- Swedish pension fund and Scania shareholder Fjärde AP-fonden has rejected Volkswagen's offer to buy the remaining shares in the Swedish truck maker... Fjarde AP-fonden, which owns 0.6% of Scania's capital, is the second institutional owner to reject Volkswagen's offer... Volkswagen, which already owns 62.6% of the Swedish truck maker, in February launched a SEK200 ($30.78) per share offer for the stake it didn't own. The bid, valued above $9 billion, to take full control of Scania is part of a broader plan by Volkswagen to integrate its commercial vehicle operations, which include Scania, MAN and Volkswagen trucks... Fjarde AP-fonden's rejection follows a recommendation from an independent committee of Scania board members, which last month said the offer didn't reflect the long-term value of the company based on its growth prospects, technological ability and the potential synergies from the deal... Swedish pension fund AMF, which owns 0.83% of Scania's capital, last week officially rejected Volkswagen's offer, saying the deal didn't reflect long-term value... Volkswagen said Scania shareholders have until April 25 to accept the offer and if the German car maker fails to obtain 90% of Scania's capital it could withdraw the offer... 


2 * Stockholm - Volkswagen gets boost in bid for Scania GAMCO Asset Management will tender its shares in Swedish truck maker 

Stockholm,Sweden -The WSJ (USA), by John D. Stoll, Christina Zander -15 April 2014: -- Volkswagen AG’s bid to acquire full control of Swedish truck maker Scania AB received a significant boost Tuesday as U.S.-based GAMCO Asset Management said it would back the deal. Volkswagen, which owns 62.6% of Scania, offered in February to buy out remaining shareholders for 200 Swedish kronor ($30.78) per share, representing a 36% premium over... 


3 * Stockholm - Small shareholder group accepts VW bid for truckmaker Scania 

Stockholm,Sweden -Alliance News -16 Apr 2014: -- Small shareholders in Swedish truckmaker Scania were Wednesday advised to accept a 6.7-billion-euro (9.2-billion-dollar) buyout offer from German automotive giant Volkswagen, while a former large owner said it would reject the offer... Investment firm Investor AB, which has close ties to the influential Wallenberg business family, said it had "no reason" not to follow the recommendation made a month ago by an independent committee of the Scania board... The five-strong committee, with no ties to VW, rejected the bid, saying it was too low... The offer translated to 200 kronor (30.4 dollars) per share. The Scania share closed Wednesday just under 185 kronor on the Stockholm bourse...


* Volvo shares at 3-year high as U.S. sales accelerate and cost cuts kick in 

Stockholm,Sweden -Reuters, By Niklas Pollard and Johannes Hellstrom -April 25, 2014: -- World number two truck maker Volvo AB raised its outlook for the North American market and reported the first savings from a drive to cut costs across the sprawling group, sending its shares to their highest in nearly three years... Volvo, vying for market leadership with Germany's Daimler AG , said demand was improving in mature economies on both sides of the North Atlantic and in Japan, though emerging markets in South America and Asia were slowing somewhat... Volvo, which makes trucks under the Renault, Mack and UD brands as well as its own name, also said order intake of its trucks fell 10 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, lagging the 7 percent decline seen by analysts... Volvo shares were up 0.8 percent at 104.1 crowns by 0917 GMT, having risen as high as 105.7 crowns, their highest since mid 2011...

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posted by Unknown @ 7:13 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * India - Maruti´s

* Delhi - Maruti advances mini-truck launch by two years to Jan 2015

(Photo from Hindustan Times - By advancing the introduction of the mini-truck, Maruti hopes it will be able to catch up with the more-established companies in the segment) 
New Delhi,India -The Hindustan Times, by Amrit Raj -12 April, 2014: -- Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the nation’s largest car maker, has advanced the introduction of its first mini-truck by at least two years and the product is likely to be on sale in January, according to three people familiar with the development...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:41 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA & China: Cummins´/ Foton

* Indiana - Cummins, Foton launch engine joint venture for China

(Photo: Cummins-designed ISG11 and ISG12 diesels will be built in Beijing for use in Daimler-Foton Auman GTL heavy-duty trucks) 
Columbus, Ind,USA -Truckinginfo, by Tom Berg -April 09, 2014: -- The world’s largest independent engine maker, Cummins Inc., is partnering with the biggest truck builder, Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd. of China, in a joint venture that will see Foton use Cummins ISG diesels in a new truck series developed with Daimler of Germany... At an April 8 event in the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, Ind., representatives of Cummins and Foton officially launched the deal, and explained to reporters how they’ve been working together for the past five years on the new heavy-duty engine series, called ISG...
(Photo: Jointly developed by Foton Motor and Daimler AG for sale in the huge China market, Auman GTL cabovers and their Cummins ISG diesels were tested in China, Tibet and the U.S,) 
Foton worked with Daimler AG for seven years on development of the Auman GTL “Super Power” heavy duty truck that will employ the Cummins engines...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:11 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE * Turkey

* Turkish army vehicle maker's auction date changes

(Photo: Turkish mine protected vehicle can transport two crew and ten troops) 
Ankara,Turkey -Anadolu Agency/Turkish Press -April 08, 2014: -- The auction date of BMC, a truck and bus manufacturer in Turkey and a known producer of landmine-resistant vehicles for the Turkish Armed forces, has been changed Tuesday by the Turkish Saving Deposit Insurance Fund to 30 April 2014 from 10 April... “The auction date has been changed to 30 April by the fund´s board on its April 4 meeting to ensure the highest level of participation in the auction,” said the statement by the Insurance Fund company. BMC is up for auction by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund with an estimated value of 985 million Turkish lira (US$469 million)... BMC was seized by the fund from Cukurova Holding along with several other companies in 2013 to collect on the US$455.3 million debt Cukurova Holding owes to the TMSF...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:54 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Sweden - Volvo´s

* Stockholm - Ukraine crisis spurs Volvo to postpone Russian deal. Truck maker retreats from plan to make Armored Personnel Carriers

(Photo: Military exercises at a shooting range in Desna, Chernihiv region on April 2, 2014 are aimed to prepare Ukrainian military forces to possible Russian agression) 
Stockholm,Sweden -The Wall Street Journal (USA), by CHRISTINA ZANDER and JOHN D. STOLL -April 8, 2014: -- Volvo AB delayed plans for a partnership with a Russian military-tank maker—a rare retreat by a European company amid the political standoff between the West and Russia over Ukraine... The Swedish truck maker said Tuesday that a tie-up planned with Russia's Uralvagonzavod OAO to make armored personnel carriers has been postponed... A Volvo spokeswoman cited an "uncertainty factor" surrounding tensions...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:41 AM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA - Smith EV / Truck demand

* Missouri - Smith Electric Vehicles Suspends Production

Kansas City,MIS,USA -Truckinginfo -April 07, 2014: -- The commercial electric truck maker Smith Electric Vehicles has suspended production for an unspecified period of time... The Kansas City Star reports production was suspended at the end of last year, according to documents the company filed with the U.S. Energy Department, due to tight cash flow... The DOE awarded the company $32 million in grants during 2009 and 2010 to produce more than 500 vehicles to be placed in various fleets across the U.S., however, only 439 have reportedly been produced. The Energy Department says it is working with the company to produce the remaining vehicles... Critics say they aren’t surprised, saying it was already “a failed company” based in the United Kingdom. Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. in 2010 bought the UK-based parent company...


* New York - Truck demand seen rising 

New York,NY,USA -Investors -9 April 2014: -- A report from Citigroup expects companies that manufacture commercial vehicles and vehicle parts, like Meritor and Dana Holding, to see growth amid an improving economy and increased demand for new trucks. A Citigroup analyst cited analysis from Americas Commercial Transportation Research that sees N. American truck-makers building about 285,000 Class 8 trucks in '14, a 16% rise from '13...


* Ohio - Rebirth of America's dead factories

(Photo: Ex GM factory in Moraine, Ohio) 
 Moraine,OH,USA -CNNMONEY, by PARIJA KAVILANZ - April 22 2014: -- For decades, this General Motors truck plant was a huge employer in Moraine, Ohio. But the facility closed in 2008 as high gas prices took a toll on sales of large vehicles, displacing thousands of jobs -- both at the plant and at local suppliers. This year, Chinese autoglass maker Fuyao closed a deal to buy part of the plant, which IRG acquired in 2011. Fuyao's acquisition is expected to add 800 jobs over five years. In the last year, the plant has also added several other new tenants, including a diesel engine maker, a robotics company and a trucking logistics firm...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:31 AM  0 comments

TRUCKS SAFETY * USA - U.S. orders rearview cameras by 2018

* DC - U.S. orders rearview cameras in new cars, light trucks by 2018

(Photo: Rear view camera motorhome) 
Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post -March 31, 2014: -- The U.S. government said Monday that it will require new cars and light trucks sold in the United States to have rearview cameras by May 2018, a regulation intended to prevent drivers from backing into pedestrians... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the new requirement will apply to all vehicles under 10,000 pounds, including buses and trucks... There are on average 210 fatalities and 15,000 injuries per year caused by back-over accidents, the agency said. Children under 5 and adults 70 and older account for more than half of all back-over fatalities each year... Many automakers already are installing rearview cameras in response to consumer demand...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:19 AM  0 comments

Apr 2, 2014

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Ukraine: Kamaz trucks

* Ukraine - Russian KAMAZ trucks seized in Ukraine are guarded by police

(KamAZ trucks, by Nikolai Mashkov) 
Chernihiv,Ukraine -ITAR-TASS -March 28,2014: -- Russian KAMAZ trucks that were seized by Right Sector militants in Chernihiv, Ukraine, are under control of Chernihiv police, a spokesperson for the KAMAZ truck maker told ITAR-TASS. The trucks belong to the Russian truck producing company... “Chernihiv police have informed us that the trucks were placed at a depot of the Chernigov police department for combating organized crime,” said Oleg Afanasyev, head of the company's press service. Specialists of the motor centre in Ukraine had examined all the 43 trucks at the depot, he added... The 43 KAMAZ trucks were seized in Ukraine on March 16 when they were on the way to Kazakhstan. The company had decided to transfer the trucks from Ukraine, where the vehicles were not bought...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:48 PM  0 comments

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Sweden - Scania

* Fund AMF rejects VW's bid for Scania stake. Is first significant investor to turn deal down 

Stockholm,Sweden -The WSJ (USA), by Christina Zander -March 30, 2014: -- Swedish pension fund AMF on Sunday officially rejected Volkswagen AG's offer to buy out minority shareholders in Scania AB, saying the deal didn't reflect long-term value... AMF owns a 0.83% stake in Scania and is the first significant investor in the truck maker to turn the deal down. The pension fund is one of many firms that is included in a group of minority shareholders Volkswagen is looking to buy out... Shortly after VW made its bid, Institutional owner Fjärde AP-fonden, a pension fund holding 0.5% of Scania's capital, said in a statement it would evaluate the offer carefully, but that "it is not obvious that the price now offered is best for the Swedish pensioner in the longer term."...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:33 PM  0 comments