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Feb 7, 2011

TRUCKMAKERS' COMMENTS WORLDWIDE

* UK - Demand for Euro-5 trucks will spike as hauliers avoid expensive Euro-6

London,UK -Road Transport (UK), by Will Shiers -31 January 2011: -- Truck makers are preparing themselves for a massive surge in demand for Euro-5 trucks in 2012 and 2013, as operators attempt to delay the purchase of costly and complicated Euro-6 vehicles for as long as possible...   Euro-6 represents a massive reduction in noxious gases compared with Euro-5 (66% less particulates and 80% lower NOX). To put this into perspective, the jump is almost as great as that from Euro-1 to Euro-5 (94% less particulates and 74% lower NOX). In order to tackle this huge jump, Euro-6 trucks will be considerably more complex than Euro-5, and will feature a combination of EGR, SCR and particulate traps...  As a consequence of this, payload will be reduced and space on the chassis will be severely restricted. Fuel economy will not be any better than Euro-5, although you can expect truck makers to introduce a package of fuel-saving initiatives (like anti-idling devices, improved oil, better rolling resistance and driver-training schemes) in an attempt to make it as comparable as possible. You can expect a considerable price increase too. Based on the North American experience with the EPA10 (which uses similar technology as Euro-6), a price increase in the region of £5,000 is likely...


* 2011 truck prices to remain stable

London,UK -Road Transport, by George Barrow -7 February 2011: -- Manufacturers are taking a cautious approach to truck price rises in 2011, choosing to absorb rising production costs and unfavourable exchange rates instead of passing them on.

* Ray Ashworth, DAF Trucks managing director, says: "One of the biggest factors affecting truck pricing is the £/Euro rate. This has been made worse by some significant increases in commodity prices for steel, rubber and oil-based materials. Despite this we do not envisage a further structural price increase in the immediate future."

* Ian Mitchell, commercial truck director at Volvo Trucks says: "We continue to see 2011 as a very challenging year. Once the effect of the increase in VAT has stabilised within consumer spending and the government's austerity measures have been fully understood, we are anticipating a stronger recovery in the second half of 2011."

* Tim Pugh, business development director for Scania GB, says: "Scania looks, wherever possible, to mitigate this [price rises] through sophisticated procurement processes and focus on manufacturing efficiency. Inevitably, economic conditions always have an impact on whether prices will, or won't, be changed. Scania's approach remains to review this on a case by case basis."

* Keith Child, marketing director for Isuzu Truck UK, says: "Japan has seen rises in production costs and they are trying to pass them on to us, which in turn means that we will unfortunately have to pass some of the increase on to our customers. N-Series prices increased in November 2010 by between 4% to 5% and we hope that these prices will hold now for the entirety of 2011".


* Europe - Truck makers down after Scania Q4

London,UK -Reuters, by Oskar von Bahr -Feb 2, 2011: -- Shares in European truck makers are down, underperforming a firmer broader market after Scania says it expects demand to remain flat at the start of the year and posting fourth-quarter earnings short of market expectations... Scania shares trade 3.4 percent lower at 138.6 crowns while domestic rival Volvo is down 4 percent and Germany's MAN SE, with which Scania is discussing a possible merger, eases 2.4 percent... Scania is the first of Europe's leading heavy-duty truck makers to publish its fourth-quarter results with Volvo due on Friday, market leader Daimler on Feb. 16 and MAN on March 1... Daimler shares are down 1 percent...


* Sweden - Scania’s Profit Triples on Stronger European Demand


Gothenborg,Sweden -Transport Topics -7 Feb 2011: -- Swedish truck maker Scania AB’s fourth-quarter profit tripled as the European truck market rebounded, Bloomberg reported...  Net income jumped to $470 million from $125 million a year ago, Scania said in a statement...  Sales at the company, which is controlled by Volkswagen AG, rose 23% to $3.5 billion...  Scania said in November it was considering a merger with German competitor MAN SE to create Europe’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, Bloomberg reported...


* India - Slowdown? That’s a banned word for truck makers

New Delhi,India -DNA, by Sindhu Bhattacharya -Jan 19, 2011: -- A big debate is raging across the commercial vehicle (CV) industry — has growth begun to slow down, especially in the medium and heavy CV space, or is it a quarterly blip and would things be back on track in the March quarter?... Signs of worry beads are beginning to emerge. The president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Pawan Goenka, says medium and heavy vehicles grew 15% in the December quarter against an industry growth of close to 30% and this in itself is a sign of the segment’s growth moderating...  “But is this a one quarter blip or not, we still don’t know. We are not making any projections for the future,” Goenka said...  The segment grew by 13% in October, 13% in November and 18% in December...  But analysts said Ashok Leyland’s overall sales in Q3 were down 25% over Q2 because of supply chain and logistics issues and supplies from even Tata Motors were inadequate in some pockets because of similar supply chain glitches. M&HCV sales of Tata Motors grew by 21% in Q3 over Q2, though...  Apart from supply shortfalls, industry watchers also point towards the return of financing for the First Time User (FTU) — a disturbing trend which was stopped during 2008-09 after the Indian economy slowed down and financiers realised that catering to FTUs meant a huge jump in bad debts...  A senior official at one of the largest CV financing firms pointed out that 2011 could well be a year of moderation for the industry but it is difficult to say just yet whether the moderation has already begun...

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posted by Unknown @ 7:02 PM  0 comments

Oct 16, 2008

COMMENT * USA - As election nears, Bush's legacy is a done deal

San Francisco,CA,USA -The San Francisco Chronicle, by Edward M. Gomez -16 Oct 2008: -- ... commentator Dan Gardner, writing for Canada's CanWest news service, also observes: "The latest Gallup poll has Bush's approval rating falling to a record low of 27 percent, which is surprising only when one realizes it means one in four Americans actually thinks Bush is doing an acceptable job....He seemed a harmless little man back in 2000....Fast forward a few years - Osama bin Laden gets away, government goes into deficit, there are no Iraqi WMDs, 'Mission Accomplished' turns into 'Mission Impossible' - and many people asked whether [Bush] is among the worst presidents in modern American history....Then New Orleans drowned, and [he] congratulated the unqualified hack - 'Brownie, you're doing a heckuva a job' - who let it happen. Investigations steadily revealed the administration was rife with cronyism, corruption and incompetence" ... Then "we learned that [Bush,] who proclaimed, 'every man and woman on this earth has rights and dignity and matchless value,' had authorized systematic torture" ... (Photo by Larry Downing/Reuters - Spotted this month: A sign with a figure made of an oil barrel on the lawn of a house in Crawford, Texas, near George W. Bush's ranch; its message said, "Happy trails to you, Mr. President Bush. Brother, can you spare a gallon?")

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posted by Unknown @ 9:17 AM  0 comments

Jun 22, 2007

REFLECTIONS * USA - Why Some Keep Trucking

Even with these troubling times, I wonder why many continue to stay in the business of trucking, why not become company drivers and forget the hassles of being an independent contractor?

USA - Life on the Road -21 June 2007: -- I’ll tell you why, Owner-Operators on the roads today are the reason why many family owned business are a success and will continue to be successful; they are a team of players that know the bottom line must be met to overcome obstacles. Those who thought owning their own rigs was “fun” are slowly being weeded out, the real business men and women are the survivors of trucking... Driving a rig is what most only know - it’s been their life... A driver once told me, “being leased to the right outfit means success”. Although he says he’s not getting rich and is just sliding by, “I like having the independence of being an owner operator. I don’t have to be jumping jobs as a company driver to get better pay. I am able to control my life and my outlook in this industry. It’s like a love hate relationship but it’s something I know how to do and what to do”... Many enjoy the freedom of the road, to get out and move around... We’ve been in trucking 25 some years and have learned that many do a lot of their own work on the truck that they possibly can to save costs like shocks, batteries, pretty much anything but electronics... Although we are going through some rough times in this industry, the professional owner operator is continuing to survive. As in any avenue in life, learning experience is how to be successful... (Picture: BilLorryBlog-UK)

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posted by Unknown @ 7:02 AM  0 comments

Apr 19, 2007

COMMENTS * USA - Housing unknown factor for US truckers

Con-way Chief Executive Officer Doug Stotlar told

Chicago,Ill.USA -Reuters, by Nick Carey -Apr 17, 2007: -- The ongoing weakness of the U.S. housing sector is the chief unknown factor for predicting recovery in the trucking sector, the top executive at truck company Con-way Inc., said on Tuesday... "The biggest question right now is when is housing going to recover?" Chief Executive Officer Doug Stotlar told Reuters in a telephone interview... The U.S. trucking sector has been suffering a downturn since the third quarter of 2006, with most weakness coming from housing and some from the woes of the U.S. domestic car makers in Detroit...

* USA - Housing market, truck demand in Caterpillar sights
New York,NY,USA -MarketWatch (Los Angeles,CAL), by Padraic Cassidy -Apr 18, 2007: -- A marked downturn in the North American heavy-duty truck market and slowing demand for construction equipment are some of the largest parts of Caterpillar Inc.'s business, and both trends will be eyed closely when the company posts quarterly results on Friday morning... Sales at the Peoria, Ill.-based equipment manufacturer are expected to rise about 5% in the first quarter, to about $9.16 billion from $8.74 billion in the first quarter of 2006, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial... Bear Stearns recently cut its earnings forecast for Caterpillar to 99 cents a share from $1.03, based on lower sales in the North American construction market, cuts in equipment-dealer inventory and lower truck engine sales...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:56 AM  0 comments

Apr 16, 2007

COMMENTS * USA - Truckers' costs rise, demand still down

NEW YORK,NY,USA -AP/FXstreet/AFXnews/The Foreign Exchange Market (Barcelona,Spain) -13 April 2007: -- The trucking industry suffered the brunt of weak freight demand in the transportation sector late last year and while analysts aren't banking on a rebound in their fortunes anytime soon, shares of some key names are beginning to show new life... Although truckers recoup some of their fuel costs through surcharges to shippers, it can take weeks for them to catch up with actual pricing and when prices rise and fall rapidly, carriers can lose out altogether. According to the American Trucking Associations, an increase of one penny in the price of fuel on an annualized basis costs the industry an additional $381 million a year... On top of higher fuel costs, truckers will also pay more for their equipment this year. With new emissions regulations in effect this year, trucks with engines designed to burn ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel now cost up to $15,000 more than previous models. Maintenance on the new engines also costs more and they are less fuel efficient than their predecessors. Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel also costs more at the pump and analysts think prices might advance further when off-highway vehicles start using it later this year and inventories grow tighter... The industry's driver shortage shows no signs of improving, either, so companies continue to pay a premium to put qualified people behind the wheel. Analysts think the industry is about 40,000 drivers short, while the American Trucking Associations says the number could reach 111,000 by 2014 if trends continue... Against this backdrop of rising costs, freight demand remains soft after an unusually weak fourth quarter. According to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations, tonnage in January and February fell compared to the same period last year...

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posted by Unknown @ 3:46 PM  0 comments

Apr 14, 2007

TRUCKING COMMENTS

* USA - Truckers' costs rise, demand still down
New York,NY,USA -BusinessWeek, by JAMES M. AMEND/The Associated Press -April 13, 2007: -- The trucking industry suffered the brunt of weak freight demand in the transportation sector late last year and while analysts aren't banking on a rebound in their fortunes anytime soon, shares of some key names are beginning to show new life... In a sign that investors may also think better days lie ahead, shares of some key trucking names have rebounded from the second-half swoon last year. As cyclical stocks, truckers usually hit bottom before the economy and then rise ahead of an expansion...

* USA - Trucking Stocks Stall on Profit Warning
NY,USA -Forbes/Associated Press -13 April 2007: -- Trucking stocks traded mostly lower Friday as investors responded to a profit warning from one company and an analyst's downgrade of another... Truckload carrier US Xpress Enterprises Inc. said it would likely post a loss in the first quarter, which compares with a profit last year, citing lower-than-expected freight demand, severe winter weather and rising fuel prices. The news was not entirely unexpected, as the company usually experiences a rough start to the year and carriers throughout the sector have complained of similar headwinds... The sector also witnessed a downgrade of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. by Edward Wolfe at Bear Stearns, who took the stock to "Peer Perform" from "Outperform," due mostly to the 37 percent it has gained since the start of the year...

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posted by Unknown @ 2:50 PM  0 comments

Apr 3, 2007

TRUCKING INDUSTRY COMMENTS

* USA - Preparing for 2010
Alexandria,VA,USA -TTNews (Editorial) -2 Apr 2007: -- Just as the first new heavy-duty trucks equipped with engines that meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 emission standards are hitting the road, EPA reminded us of what’s to come in just a few years: another new generation of diesel engines... The agency on March 29 released its “guidance” to truck and engine manufacturers as to what it will expect from companies that offer engines that employ selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to reduce emissions when the new standards go into effect with 2010 models... It’s a good sign that these guidelines are being published while the new engines are still being designed. It gives us hope that EPA and the OEMs will be ready well before the new emission rules go into effect...

* USA - Falling Freight Gives Shippers Leverage
Alexandria,VA,USA -TTNews, by Jonathan S. Reiskin -2 Apr 2007: -- A loosening of the tight capacity for freight hauling now makes the fuel-surcharge programs — upon which motor carriers depend to insulate them from fuel price spikes — vulnerable to demands for change by shippers... While the surcharges are not disappearing, parties on both sides of the negotiating table said shippers are now in a much better position to insist upon altering important details than they were a year ago... Competition among diesel fuel sellers has made it easier for medium-size and small firms to get better fuel-purchasing agreements that take advantage of price fluctuations...

* USA - EOBR comments due April 18
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 2, 2007: -- Comments are being accepted on a proposed regulation that would mandate the use of electronic on-board recorders for motor carriers that have chronic HOS violations... The proposal also offers incentives for carriers that voluntarily use the so-called “black boxes.”... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration unveiled its “notice of proposed rulemaking” on the use of EOBRs at a press conference Jan. 11. The notice was officially printed Jan. 18 in the Federal Register and the comment period closes April 18...

* USA - OOIDA, Speed limiters will hurt, not help highway safety
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 2, 2007: -- The idea of putting speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks is a bad one, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sought comments on a proposal by the American Trucking Association and several large motor carriers that seeks government-mandated use of speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks and a ban on tampering with them once they are implemented... The petitions claimed highway safety would be improved by installing the speed limiters. Not so, OOIDA officials said in the Association’s official comments... Rather than beefing up highway safety, limiting the speed of heavy-duty trucks will actually increase the occurrence of road rage, rear-end collisions of four-wheelers into trailers and the side-swiping of trucks, according to OOIDA’s comments...

* Canada - Why Ontario legislators should stop sticking their head in the sand and deal with the LCV issue
Ont,Canada -Truck News, by Lou Smyrlis -2 Apr 2007: -- It’s hard to appreciate just how fast global warming has gone from a confusing issue shunned by politicians and the public alike to an issue that may very well decide the next election... If as a country we are going to get serious about bringing our GHG emissions under control, obviously transportation, and trucking in particular, will have to play a large role. All options for reducing trucking’s GHG footprint should be considered based on their individual merits. That task will be a challenge not only for our industry but also for politicians, lobby groups and a public that has over the years become used to allowing fear to override logic when it comes to transportation policy. The saga of long combination vehicles (LCVs) in Ontario is a perfect case in point... A recent study by Transport Canada examining costs of traffic congestion for Canada’s nine largest urban areas estimated that about half a billion litres of fuel are wasted annually because of congestion. This amounts to between 1.2 million tonnes and 1.4 million tonnes of GHG emissions. LCVs, long in use in Western Canada and Quebec, can play an important role in reducing congestion and GHG emissions. Studies show that using LCVs can reduce vehicle kilometres by 50% for the same volume of cargo... Early results from a soon-to-be released study on LCV use, conducted on behalf of the Ontario Trucking Association in collaboration with the Canadian Trucking Alliance and Natural Resources Canada’s FleetSmart program, showed an average saving of up to 28L/100km (2 MPG) for LCVs against tractor-trailers for the fleets included in the study. This adds up to a savings of up to 1.8 billion kilometres of truck travel annually, and energy savings of 260 million litres of fuel annually. The magic number is GHG reductions is 730 kilotonnes... It is the responsibility of elected officials to show leadership, particularly on complicated issues such as global warming. Rather than shunning LCVs because of unfounded public safety concerns they should be doing their utmost to educate the public on the benefits of LCVs and rushing to get them on the road...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:49 PM  0 comments