Trucking Info

The Work Truck Show 2013 exhibit floor opens Wednesday, March 6, but attendees have the opportunity to take part in educational sessions the day before.

As the holiday week opened, diesel prices continued their recent downward trend, while gasoline prices crept back upward.

The Department of Energy’s Information Administration reported a nationwide drop of 2.2 cents in the price of a gallon diesel earlier this week. The average price was $3.92 per gallon.

China’s GDP decelerated to 7.4% in Q3, the slowest pace 2009, according to the most recent China Commercial Vehicle Outlook, jointly published quarterly by ACT and China’s State Information Center.

The report includes an overview of the China’s economy and a review and forecast of the country’s heavy- and medium-duty truck and bus markets, as well as analysis of OEM market shares within China.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is announcing the temporary closure of the undeveloped rest area at mile post 51 on southbound Interstate 35 in Warren County, Iowa, beginning Jan. 2.

MD & HD Orders Better Than Average, but below October
November Class 5 through Class 8 truck orders in North America were better than 2012’s average, but fell below Octobers promising level of activity, according to ACT Research Co.

The average value of stolen freight tracked by FreightWatch spiked 77.6% September through November from the previous three-month period, with high-value electronics bucking an overall trend of fewer thefts.

Millard Refrigerated Services announced plans to develop and operate a new cold storage distribution facility in Charleston County, S.C.

“The facility will give us access to the world-class port in Charleston and provide an efficient hub for our customers along the East Coast and throughout the Southeast,” said Lance Larsen, president and CEO of Millard Refrigerated Services.

FleetPride Inc.has appointed Jeff Liaw as chief financial officer. Liaw will report to Chairman and CEO W.M. McGee.

M & K Quality Truck Sales announced the promotion of Ted Pilecki to the position of chief operating officer for the company.

“Leveraging Technology for Quality Maintenance” is the theme of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2013 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association forecasts that original equipment truck tire numbers will end 2012 up by more than 5%, but growth will be slower for 2013. Replacement truck tires, on the other hand, are predicted to fall this year but rise in 2013.

Increased demand for commercial trucks and trailers will boost OE medium/wide-base/heavy on-highway commercial truck tire shipments by more than 5% for 2012,

Federal truck safety regulators are looking for public comments on plans to toughen entry-level driver training requirements.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will host a listening session on the issue January 7 in Charlotte, N.C., at an American Bus Association meeting.

A coalition of more than 100 local, state and national trade associations sent a letter to President Obama yesterday urging action to prevent an East and Gulf Coast port strike next week over intermodal container handling.

After finishing a feature story for the January issue of Heavy Duty Trucking about the pending GHG14 rules, I’m more convinced than ever that this burdensome regulation is unadulterated politics, and will get industry nothing we wouldn’t have got already — for way less money.

In all the years I’ve been doing update articles for HDT, particularly on Class 1, 2 and 3 cargo vans, I’ve repeatedly asked execs at the truck builders about trends in engines.

Johnson Controls Inc. filed an appeal Monday of last week’s court decision approving Wanxiang’s purchase of A123 Systems, the bankrupt hybrid battery supplier that supplies batteries for Navistar’s eStar and other electric vans.

Navistar International Corp. appointed Dennis Mooney as group vice president, Global Product Development. Mooney succeeds Ramin Younessi, who is leaving Navistar to pursue other opportunities.

NAFA Fleet Management Association announced seven new fleet industry awards designed to recognize the best and brightest in the field. Winners will be announced during NAFA’s First Annual Fleet Excellence Awards Night on April 23

AAA projects 93.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays, an increase of 1.6% over the 91.8 million people who traveled last year.

The National Biodiesel Board, which represents more than 260 U.S. and international companies that produce and distribute renewable biodiesel fuel, is the newest allied member of the Diesel Technology Forum.

Navistar International reported a worse fourth-quarter loss than expected, thanks in part to a spike in warranty costs along with the weakened truck demand affecting all truck makers.

The Lisle, Ill.-based truck and engine maker reported a fourth quarter 2012 net loss of $2.8 billion, or $40.13 per diluted share, compared to fourth quarter 2011 net income of $255 million, or $3.48 per diluted share.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted unanimously to approve a fare and toll increase for all MTA facilities. The new fare and toll rates go into effect on March 1, 2013.

Virginia planning officials this week held open house meetings to get public input on a proposed multimodal North-South Corridor that would link I-95 with Dulles International Airport and could take pressure off the Capitol Beltway.

FTR Associates’ Shippers Conditions Index for October improved month-over-month by nearly two points to a reading of -5.0, but FTR analysts predict the pendulum will soon swing back toward the carriers’ side of the equation.

Polar Tank Trailer, a producer of dry and liquid bulk tank trailers, has hired Jim Bach as director of materials.

Randall McCauley drove his first truck at age 8, a 1940s GMC hauling hay on the farm in Barbour County, W.V.

Natural gas prices neared the lowest they’ve been in about a decade last winter, as utilities scrambled to take advantage of the fuel’s low price tag and producers began to turn away from the low-profit fuel.

FleetPride Inc., the nation’s largest retailer of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, has acquired the assets of Drake Supply Co.

Weather forecasters are predicting not only one of the coldest, but the snowiest winters in the last five years. Here are a few simple tips to help maintain your equipment and fuel tanks.

If you’re wondering about whether parts and service for natural gas engines will be in your future, it might be useful to take a look at what engine and truck makers will be offering.

‘People continue to sell as if they were in a quaint Norman Rockwell painting. That no longer works like it used to.”

Instead, says Rich Farrell, president of Tangent Knowledge Systems and author of the book “Selling has Nothing to do with Selling,” a salesperson should play the role of a “change agent” rather than the more typical product-centric transactional approach.

CargoNet’s analysis of historical cargo theft data shows that the rate of cargo theft increases over holiday weekends, so it’s offering suggestions for how companies can help prevent theft.

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index jumped 3.7% in November. The first gain since July, it erased October’s 3.7% drop.

Eaton Corp. named John Beering senior vice president and general manager, commercial vehicle transmission business, effective Jan. 1.

Sleepsafe Drivers, a national provider of sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment programs for the transportation industry, has added SleepWorks to its Sleep Provider Network, effective immediately.

New Mexico officially became the 14th state to adopt Drivewyze PreClear as its new bypass service.

The engine products of the joint venture between Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations now dominate the existing, albeit small, market for natural gas trucks, but more are on the way from other sources, indicated manufacturer representatives during the American Trucking Associations’ recent Natural Gas Summit.

Hot Line Freight System, a regional trucking company based in West Salem, Wis., opened a new terminal in Davenport, Iowa.

Oral arguments in the lawsuit challenging the hours of service rule will be held March 15 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

It typically takes the court two to three months to rule following arguments, which means it should hand down its decision before the new HOS rule is scheduled to take effect in July.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed an agreement that describes in broad terms how their two states will cooperatively build a new bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington.