Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, June 1, 2022: COVID-related HOS emergency declaration extendedThe Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration confirmed Friday it would continue to offer carriers moving a bevy of commodities relief from maximum drive-time limits in the hours of service with yet another 90-day emergency declaration extension. From June 1 through the end of August, carriers of the following commodities can take advantage of the relief when the haul is in "direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts related to COVID-19," the agency said:
Some commodities formerly covered under the waiver are no longer included, notably vehicles, building materials and others that had been specifically mentioned by the FMCSA as qualifying for the exemption as "supplies to assist individuals impacted by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic." Watchers might expect further narrowing at any time, the agency said in the declaration from Deputy Administrator and acting agency chief Robin Hutcheson. "FMCSA intends to continue to closely monitor the safety impacts of the relief granted under this extension. ... As necessary, FMCSA may take action to modify the Emergency Declaration, including scaling back the commodities covered by the Emergency Declaration or changing the restrictions associated with transporting the commodities." Or, ultimately, to move to terminate the hours relief sooner than the new August end, "if conditions warrant," the agency added. FMCSA's reporting requirement for motor carriers utilizing the waiver remains in place, following its introduction September 1 last year. The agency cited evidence of continued reliance on the hours waivers as the reason for the continuation. Carriers are reporting to FMCSA through their portal accounts on the DOT website "their USDOT number; the number of trips made by commercial vehicles under the COVID Declaration; the type of goods transported; and for multiple goods transported, an indication of which commodity was transported the most." OEMs sue California over latest CARB heavy-duty truck emissions requirementsThe Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) on Friday sued the state of California alleging the state's California Air Resources Board (CARB) did not provide the OEMs enough lead time to meet stricter new emissions goals on new truck and engine builds. The group, in a letter announcing the suit, wrote that on Dec. 22, 2021, "CARB adopted the Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Omnibus Regulation, a package of stringent emission standards, test procedures, and other emission-related requirements applicable to new heavy-duty on-highway engines and vehicles sold in California" requiring compliance by the start of 2024, leaving only two model years of lead time for manufacturers. The lawsuit alleges that this violates the federal Clean Air act by not allowing manufacturers the required four full model years of lead time. “Truck and engine manufacturers are proud that today’s modern engines reduce harmful emissions to near zero levels, and we are committed to building still cleaner products," TEMA President Jed R. Mandel said in the letter. "But CARB must provide manufacturers the minimum four years of lead time mandated by Congress. ... This lawsuit is simply to ensure that CARB follows all of the prescribed rules -- one of which is intended to maximize the likelihood of the smooth and successful implementation of new emission standards." TEMA's lawsuit comes as other trucking-related groups have petitioned California to delay CARB enforcement of its longstanding Statewide Truck & Bus Rule's final phase at the end of the year, as the pandemic has stymied the production and sales of newer model trucks. As it stands, beginning Jan. 1, 2023, an estimated 76,000 owners who live or operates in California with a pre-2010 emissions-spec engine may lose their ability to operate within the state. Mack Academy opens new EV-focused facilityMack Trucks announced this week that the Mack Academy recently opened a new facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, to better support battery-electric vehicle (BEV) training and provide dealers and customers with easier access to training in the central U.S. The Mack LR Electric refuse model, Mack’s first fully electric Class 8 vehicle, is now available for order and is supported by dealers and training facilities in various locations across the U.S. The Mack Academy signed a seven-year lease, with an option to renew, for the 14,865 square-foot Tinley Park facility located in a manufacturing park outside of Chicago. The Tinley Park location is newer, larger and more modern compared with the previous site based in Joliet, Illinois. “The Tinley Park Mack Academy is located in a central location so that dealers and customers needing training can easily travel to the facility,” said Scott Behe, Mack Academy senior manager of operations. “It is in close proximity to both O’Hare and Midway airports, and the facility is about 5,500 square-feet bigger than our previous location, so it fulfills our need for more space for BEV-specific training.” BEV coursework at Tinley Park is focused on BEV safety training, operation, repair and sales. Other courses include diesel training such as engine overhaul, transmission design and function and parts sales and warranty fundamentals. The Tinley Park facility has two full-time trainers and offers technical training sessions up to four times a day. The site also features meeting spaces so those classes are not disrupted by technician training. The Mack Trucks Academy has six training locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Mack also operates training facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Toronto, Canada. LoadStop TMS raises $5M in seed fundingTransportation management system LoadStop announced recently it has raised nearly $5 million in seed funding. Since 2019, LoadStop has helped hundreds of trucking companies adapt to the ever-changing requirement of growth. In a span of three years, the company has grown to 200-plus clients, 70-plus employees and 10,000-plus trucks. “We started LoadStop with the vision to digitally transform the segmented trucking industry,” said Farhan Rafique, co-founder of LoadStop. “The U.S. trucking industry is still suffering from the inefficiencies of legacy TMS systems and traditional fleet management practices. Amazon's effect on freight visibility, paperless and contactless management due to COVID and ELD and hours of service compliance created an opportunity to digitize, build a collaborative and integrated transportation management system.” The new funding aims to support LoadStop’s product-led growth strategy in three core areas: product enhancement, team growth, and growing and diversifying its customer base. https://ift.tt/MEGWJXD
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CCJ Innovators profiles carriers and fleets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking’s challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact CCJ Chief Editor Jason Cannon at [email protected] or 800-633-5953. Time is money, but miles have long been the preferred unit of measurement when it comes to charging shippers and paying drivers. That can be problematic for shrinking lengths of haul and an industry that's fraught with delays like traffic snarls and shipper/receiver detention – losses in productivity that don't provide fleets with a lot of incentive to convert to an hourly pay structure. Roehl Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 59) this year blended the best of both worlds, offering its national, regional and home daily fleet drivers a mileage band pay plan featuring rates per mile based on the length of haul with added activity pay. Mileage bands start at zero to 50 miles and increase in 25-mile increments to 150 miles, where they jump in 50-mile increments up to 500 miles. According to Tim Norlin, Roehl’s vice president of driver employment, the switch has equated to a 12% to 14% pay raise – the third driver pay bump in two years. Roehl – a Marshfield, Wisconsin-based provider of dry van, refrigerated, flatbed and dedicated services – modeled its address-to-address pay structure off an hourly rate to come up with its mileage bands and mileage rates, which fluctuate by trailer type. For example, a driver running in the flatbed group will earn more per mile than a driver hauling a dry van, with reefer falling somewhere in the middle. There's also consideration for the region in which the driver operations. “These enhanced pay plans, when combined with our address-to-address mileage calculations, 3-cent accident-free pay and performance bonuses, ensure that Roehl drivers receive some of the highest compensation in the industry. In fact, some drivers will earn $1.64 per mile," Norlin said. "It encourages the driver to be productive, but it also takes into consideration the driver's time. We're trying to hit that $27-$28 an hour sweet spot for a driver with with this new compensation plan." Even though the company has a per-hour rate benchmark that it's seeking to provide the driver, Norlin said not going to a full per-hour pay model leaves productivity incentives in-play. "When we have that productivity incentive in there, we think that helps helps the drivers and encourages the drivers to stay productive," he said. "To sweeten that, we also have a quarterly bonus that drivers can earn based on their productivity and miles – anywhere from a penny a mile all the way up to 5 cents per mile, depending on the the miles. It's a point-based system, so it's miles, it's loads, it's on-time performance, and obviously, accident-free is in there as well." Norlin said the shift away from a static CPM on all miles in favor of a sliding mileage scale based on length of haul – and taking into account the value of a driver’s time – has made the company's shorter hauls more appealing to drivers by offering compensation for routes that, while short, are often time consuming. "We know that a 50-mile load isn't gonna take one hour to do. It's probably gonna be on the order of two hours, even a little bit more than that," Norlin said. "So we wanted to make sure that the drivers are kept whole when they're doing those shorter lengths of haul and they're not able to run as many miles." The new pay structure, Norlin said, kept the best parts of Roehl's Your Choice pay plan (like a point system that allows drivers to earn additional pay), which the company rolled out in January 2012, but simplified how drivers earn their base rate and simultaneously makes take home pay more predictable. "It's a simple pay plan to understand and [drivers] can determine their pay before they take the load," he said, "I guess the biggest thing that this has done for us is, sometimes when a driver is offered a very short haul, they want to refuse it because they want something longer. This takes that pain out of the equation because the driver is going to be more compensated for their time. The pay model is not just about miles anymore. It's about the work that the driver does." Productivity, Norlin said, moved slightly higher following the change, but has since settled back "to near identical levels prior to the increases." With the ability to earn more money on shorter hauls, Norlin said the new pay structure has given drivers incentive to take multiple short drops versus waiting for a single longer one. "I understand that if you give me a 200-mile load, I'm gonna do really well on that load versus waiting around for 400-mile length of haul because we can keep them busy. It takes that pain out of maybe taking a shorter length of haul load and then following that up with either a longer length or even another shorter length of haul. If you can do two 200-mile loads in a day, a driver's gonna do very, very well." With average length of haul continuing to decline industry-wide (Norlin said his company is being offered more and more shorter length of haul freight), the new pay plan has helped Roehl insulate its drivers from a reduction in mileage-based pay and "keep our drivers within that regional boundary and get them home the way we want to get them home – the way they want to get home. This helps us do that and it helps the drivers stay whole and make it good living," Norlin said. Paying on address-to-address practical route miles incentivizes shorter hauls, but Norlin said there's also benefit for drivers who prefer the open road, adding "if you do the math on if I'm running 500 miles at 60 cents a mile versus 200 miles at $1.15, in the end it all works out to be about the same earnings per hour for both loads." "So many drivers don't understand how their miles – their paid miles – are calculated, and they could be leaving a lot on the table if they're at a carrier that pays short route versus address-to-address versus practical route, city center to city center. The miles that we pay our drivers are as close to the actual miles they drive as possible without moving to hub miles," Norlin added. "If you're at a carrier where you're getting 52 cents a mile for all miles, regardless of the length of haul, you probably shy away from those shorter lengths of haul because a 50 mile load paying 50 cents a mile isn't gonna pay you very much for the time that it takes to do that load. But if you come to Roehl we're going to pay $1.45 a mile for that same load. That's almost three times as much as you're making now. Now that makes it worth your while to do that load, and it increases your earnings potential." Roehl company drivers last year earned more than $3.5 million in safety incentives, and the company won a fourth President’s Award from the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Roehl was the first truckload carrier to win the award and the only one to win it four times. Roehl recently made a profit-sharing contribution of 7% of eligible employee wages – the largest contribution in the company’s history. The CCJ Innovators program is brought to you by Comdata, Freightliner Trucks, Omnitracs and Valvoline. https://ift.tt/MEGWJXD FleetUp is now offering a new feature to its AI dashcam that can help fleet managers save time and reduce risky driver behavior. The company has introduced annotation labeling that sorts dashcam videos into risk levels, reducing the voluminous amount of hours it takes a fleet to sift through traditional dashcam footage. Many fleets have implemented dashcams and software that includes event-based recording, but FleetUp CEO Ezra Kwak said there is still the challenge of combing through hours upon hours of footage to find the risky behavior that led to such an event. And it becomes an even bigger task the bigger the fleet. “Most dashcam solutions provide … video but don’t provide the automated workflow to the customer, which makes that customer limited to a fully integrated benefit and limited to control their drivers’ dangerous behaviors,” Kwak told CCJ. “Without annotation labeling, it’s difficult if not impossible to identify the specific footage needed to pinpoint drivers’ worst mistakes. With annotation labeling, fleets have their most important footage at their fingertips,” Kwak said in a news release. Kwak added that the new feature aims to reduce accidents and the costs associated with accidents, including insurance costs and vehicle wear and tear, by managing risk and coaching drivers in a more efficient way. FleetUp’s new technology can detect events from hard braking to driver cellphone use. While the platform provides real-time, in-cab alerts to drivers, it also transmits a 15- to 20-second video of an event to a driver managers’ online interface with annotations marking the activity as high risk, medium risk, low risk or false event. Managers can then determine whether they want to email the video with coaching material to the driver for later review so they can correct their behavior. Managers can sort dashcam footage by risk level. They also have the option to search videos by vehicle type, event type, and more, saving time by reviewing only the risky behaviors rather than a trucker safely braking, looking at their phone while they’re still in park or hitting speed bumps. Managers can also view highlights over the past 30 days to determine the riskiest behaviors across their organizations to pinpoint training needs. Kwak said one safety manager that served as a beta user was able to eradicate the risky behavior of one driver using the new FleetUp feature. “The benefit was very obvious in the first month to second month in that we could see significantly fewer events from the first month to the second month,” he said. “The safety manager after one month understands what the major safety risk factors are in their company and then they … coach the driver. A month later, they're going to see much fewer risky events.” https://ift.tt/MEGWJXD Among the display of its product suite, including its most recent acquisition of Spireon, was Solera’s new product offering: SmartDrive Protect. Vehicle lifecycle management software provider Solera Holdings LLC revealed its newest product at Solera Outlook 2022 in New Orleans last week, along with enhancements and a new tool within its Omnitracs One platform. SmartDrive Protect captures continuous video and uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify driver events like harsh acceleration and braking, cornering, speed limit violations, lane drifting, tailgating, stop sign violations and distracted driving. These events are then transferred into a coachable event workflow to ensure drivers receive feedback and complete coaching exercises to improve driving behaviors. The video-based safety solution is purpose-built for small fleets and provides accident exoneration, among other things. Solera said in a news release that studies show that passenger vehicle drivers are responsible for 70% to 75% of fatal car-truck crashes, but the blame is typically placed on truck drivers. The high costs associated with accident settlements or, worse, nuclear verdicts, have resulted in small fleets closing their doors. Cyndi Brandt, vice president of product marketing at Solera, said this new product could help reduce settlements and nuclear verdicts. Jason Palmer, vice president of dealer solutions at Solera, told CCJ he has been writing depositions on cases like these for 15 years, and a common question is why an involved fleet doesn’t have cameras on its trucks. “Fleets who've invested in these exoneration tools help avoid not only what has been the cost of funding these cases but avoid the risk and exposure to punitive damages that can put a fleet out of business or make them uninsurable, which can have catastrophic effect on their business,” Palmer said. Video of driving events is critical not only for exoneration but also commendation when commercial drivers drive defensively and save lives. SmartDrive Protect also allows fleets to reward safe driving and offers tools to coach and correct unsafe driving habits. Key features of the new technology include AI for both road- and driver-facing cameras that monitor factors such as driver head pose, allowing fleets to see when a driver exhibits distracted behavior and enforce policies around distractions. When the ignition is on, front-facing and driver-facing cameras are always on, recording all events, allowing fleets to host a virtual ride along or pull video from a precise time and location of a specific event. It also includes a dashboard with all data, allowing fleets to easily spot trends from a high-level down to individual trips and drivers. And it identifies risky events or trends and supports personalized closed-loop coaching sessions for drivers. New route modelingSolera also introduced a new route modeling tool available on its Omnitracs One platform that enables large enterprise customers to work through "what-if" routing scenarios without affecting the operational production routes already in place. The tool allows drivers to provide real-time feedback to dispatchers so they can work together to create routing plans in a more time- and cost-efficient manner. Todd Bransford, vice president of product management at Solera, told CCJ the new route modeling tool was born from Solera customers who wanted a better communication method with the person behind the wheel. “You have 1,000 deliveries to make; you’ve got 50 trucks. How do you do it as efficiently as possible? How do you show up at the customer site when you told them you’d show up? You have all these roads and permutations and combinations. It's a really hard problem to solve just because there's so many possible answers,” he said. “With our system, we could often drive (fleets’) costs significantly down by the automation we provide, and yet we still have drivers who will go out and say, ‘I didn't like that route. I could drive it better, cheaper, faster,’ and they want to make a suggestion back to the router. Before, they would come back and have to have a manual conversation that probably never got written down. Now, there’s a way for the drivers to input that information … that the router can evaluate.” The tool allows drivers and fleet managers to test changes to stop sequences, route start times, pre- and post-trip time, breaks and layovers to measure a suggested route's impact on cost and service windows. Fleets can simulate the positive or negative impact of route changes with an enhanced route scorecard, providing instant feedback supported by real-life data, and they can work through those simulated routes before or after a route is performed. Solera said it also saves thousands of hours per year in labor by streamlining communication, eliminating the use of hardcopy scanning, phone calls, instant messaging and email communication between routers and local facilities. And Bransford said the best part is the system gets smarter by crowdsourcing information from drivers – who know and understand their territory – when they provide feedback on routes. Omnitracs already has a significant amount of data surrounding the locations to which drivers travel that it has been collecting for years, like places truckers can park overnight or whether there are public restrooms at their next stop. Bransford said the system uses data from GPS signals to give drivers the most common ingress and egress points to locations so they can save time by navigating themselves most efficiently to the dock. The web-based application is available to Omnitracs One customers. https://ift.tt/8QV7vht Trucking news and briefs for Monday, May 30, 2022: CarriersEdge launches auto-hauler training courseCarriersEdge has unveiled a new series of online training courses for auto-hauler drivers. The new suite includes “Auto-Hauler Cargo Inspection” and “Vehicle Inspections - Stinger Steer” courses. A third course, dedicated to unloading cargo, is scheduled for release this summer. “Auto-hauling is a specialty area with unique needs,” said Mark Murrell, President of CarriersEdge. “There is a lack of written information available to auto-hauler drivers, as standard tractor-trailer courses do not offer enough relevant information. There was a need for auto-hauler courses that walk drivers through inspection procedures and detailed the best practices for completing these inspections.” The “Auto-Hauler Cargo Inspection” course outlines how to properly conduct a vehicle inspection, identify damage or defects on the vehicles being transported and how to accurately report exceptions. After completing this course, drivers will be able to:
Stinger steers are unique truck-trailer combinations with distinct parts that drivers need to regularly inspect. The “Vehicle Inspections - Stinger Steer” course outlines what drivers need to look for, specific to their truck, to ensure compliance with regulations and to remain safe when transporting cargo. Through this course, drivers will learn:
Both auto-hauler courses incorporate a combination of 3D models and real photographs, providing drivers with a complete picture of the vehicle and what to look for. The courses include inspection “hotspots” detailing how to inspect each area. “Auto-Hauler Cargo Inspection” and “Vehicle Inspections - Stinger Steer” are available to CarriersEdge customers now at no extra charge, as part of the CarriersEdge subscription service. There are more than 90 titles in the CarriersEdge monthly subscription package, with new and updated titles added regularly. Courses are offered as full-length orientation, short refresher and remedial titles, and as standalone knowledge tests. FedEx Express delivers baby formula in time of needOn May 25, a FedEx Express MD-11 cargo plane delivered 100,000 pounds of Gerber baby formula, equivalent to 1 million 8-ounce bottles, to Dulles International Airport from Ramstein, Germany. For the second time during the week, FedEx Express supported the U.S. government’s Operation Fly Formula with the movement of the shipment through the FedEx Express air and ground network. The shipment was offloaded and moved onto FedEx Express trucks for transport to a Nestle distribution center in Pennsylvania. FedEx said it remains engaged with the U.S. administration and agencies to provide logistics and transportation support as needed for Operation Fly Formula. “Our network was designed for missions like this – to move time-sensitive shipments safely and quickly,” said Gina Adams, senior vice president for Government and Regulatory Affairs, FedEx. “The FedEx Express integrated air and ground network expedited the movement of baby formula from manufacturers overseas to the United States for distribution to retail locations and hospitals throughout the country. We’re proud to be working with the U.S. government and our healthcare customers to help alleviate this crisis.” https://ift.tt/8QV7vht Availability of various truck parts have been problematic for more than a year, shining an even brighter light on maintenance. The supply chain crunch that has truck fleets scrambling for everything from EGR valves to DEF sensors – and a host of other items – took no prisoners. This has truly been a case of "we're all in this together," with fleets, dealers and aftermarket providers shaking the same trees for the same parts. And in the case of dealers, helping fleets acquire trucks and trailers that simply can't get build fast enough. Trucks, Parts, Service – a sister publication to CCJ – has opened the nomination periods for its annual awards celebrating our industry's best dealers and independent aftermarket distributors — the Successful Dealer Award and the Distributor of the Year. Did a truck or trailer dealer come through for you in crunch time? Do you have a rock star independent service provider that's always quick with a solution when it seems no one else has any ideas – even a dealer? Do either consistently go the extra mile to get you back on the road (and keep you there)? Give them a nod of appreciation and nominate them for the appropriate award. [NOMINATE A DEALER FOR THE SUCCESSFUL DEALER AWARD HERE] Last year's Successful Dealer Award was presented to CIT Trucks, headquartered in Normal, Illinois, at a special Successful Dealer Award awards banquet on Dec. 1, in Phoenix. Midwest Wheel Companies beat out a competitive group of finalists to earn its third Distributor of the Year Award earlier this year. [NOMINATE A DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD HERE] With the exception of last year's winners, all members of the trucking dealer and aftermarket communities are eligible for their respective awards. For dealers, this includes new and used truck dealers as well as trailer dealers. Within the aftermarket, all independent distributors regardless of size or market specialization can be nominated for and win the Distributor of the Year. The nomination periods for both awards will run until June 30, 2022, and motor carriers are encouraged to nominate dealers and distributors for both awards. Interested parties can nominate as many businesses as they want, and the five dealers and distributors earning the most nominations from the industry at-large will be selected as award finalists later this year. For more information about each program, and to learn more about last year's winners and finalists, please go to the Successful Dealer Award and Distributor of the Year Award pages. https://ift.tt/dNEp92T Meritor shareholders voted to approve a previously announced acquisition by Cummins at a special meeting, the company announced Thursday. The two companies in February entered into a definitive agreement under which Cummins would pay $36.50 in cash per Meritor share – a total of approximately $3.7 billion. More than 57 million votes were cast in favor of the deal (99.76%), compared to just 137,525 opposed. "The strong support our shareholders have expressed for this transaction reflects the compelling value and important opportunity to shape the future of powertrain components and accelerate development of electrified power solutions for commercial vehicles," said Chris Villavarayan, CEO and president of Meritor. "We look forward to securing the remaining regulatory approvals and closing the transaction." Meritor continues to work toward completing the transaction by the end of the year. Cummins was drawn to Meritor in part by the latter's eAxles – 12Xe, 14Xe and 17Xe ePowertrain – seeing them as a critical integration point within hybrid and electric drivetrains, and by accelerating Meritor’s investment in electrification and integrating development within its New Power business, Cummins expects to deliver market-leading solutions to global customers. Meritor last week entered into an agreement with Siemens to acquire its commercial vehicles business for approximately $200 million in cash. Siemens' commercial vehicles business develops, designs and produces high-performance electric drive systems with product offerings that include direct drive and transmission-based remote mount electric motors, inverters, software and related services, which Meritor expects to be critical elements in the next generation of electric powertrains. https://ift.tt/nwZf2M5 Trucking news and briefs for Friday, May 27, 2022: Speed limiter comment period extended 45 daysAfter receiving requests from the American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association to extend the comment period of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s speed limiter proposal, the agency agreed and is adding 45 days for industry experts to weigh in. The advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking docket will now remain open for comments through July 18. It was previously set to close June 3. As of Thursday morning, the proposal had received more than 12,000 comments since the comment period opened May 4, with the majority of those comments coming in opposition to any sort of speed limiter mandate. FMCSA’s notice is more of an exploratory measure to determine how best to potentially implement speed limiters and does not offer specifics as to the speed to which trucks would be limited. The agency’s notice leans heavily on trucks’ engine control unit (ECU) as the means to limit trucks to a certain speed. Kenworth delivers 10,000th next-gen T680 to System TransportKenworth recently delivered its 10,000th T680 Next Generation to System Transport at the company’s 50th anniversary celebration in Spokane, Washington. The truck, equipped with a 76-inch mid-roof sleeper, was built by the employees at the Kenworth assembly plant in Chillicothe, Ohio. “This is a special moment for Kenworth and Kenworth Sales Company – Spokane as we deliver the 10,000th T680 Next Generation just 15 months after product launch to System Transport in celebration of its 50th anniversary,” said Hank Johnson, Kenworth general sales manager. “We thank System Transport – and all our T680 Next Gen customers – for their business.” System Transport hauls all types of flatbed freight, primarily throughout the West Coast to the Midwest. Last year, System Transport transported the 2021 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the Six Rivers National Forest in California to Washington, D.C. A team of its drivers used a T680 Next Gen 76-inch mid-roof sleeper to successfully complete the special 3,300-mile haul. “It is an honor for System Transport to be selected to receive Kenworth’s 10,000th T680 Next Generation,” said Jim Williams, founder and chairman of Trans-System (CCJ Top 250, No. 95), the parent company of System Transport. “We have purchased Kenworth trucks from our Kenworth dealer in Spokane for more than 30 years and have ordered more than 60 T680 Next Gen trucks so far.” During the event, Kyle Treadway, president of Kenworth Sales Company, presented System Transport with a special anniversary gift – a refurbished and fully operational 1965 Kenworth W900. Volvo Trucks Academy opens new facility focused on electric truck trainingVolvo Trucks North America announced that the Volvo Trucks Academy opened a new facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, to expand access to battery-electric truck training in the central U.S. The new 14,865-square-foot facility is larger and more modern than the previous Illinois training facility, enabling Volvo Trucks to provide more robust, hands-on learning opportunities for customers and dealers interested in electromobility solutions, including the Volvo VNR Electric model. “The programs at Tinley Park will help provide our dealership partners with the robust sales and service training required to become Volvo Trucks Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) Dealers and to support customers with their zero-emission transportation goals,” said Leanne Fitzpatrick, strategic programs manager, Volvo Trucks Academy. “As interest in the Volvo VNR Electric model continues to build across North America, the Tinley Park facility will serve an important role servicing dealers and customers in the Central U.S., as it is easily accessible from both O’Hare and Midway airports.” Course work at Tinley Park will provide technicians with the proper training and understanding of all safety procedures when servicing high-voltage electric drivetrains and components. Other courses will focus on Volvo VNR Electric sales and operations support, in addition to offering continued guidance for diesel trucks, such as engine overhaul, transmission design and function, and parts sales and warranty fundamentals. The Tinley Park facility has two full-time instructors who provide two technical courses per day, plus a third course (sales, parts, warranty, or leadership). Most courses are a full day, and instructors teach up to five days a week depending on the schedule. The site also features meeting spaces, so those classes are not disrupted by technician training. These courses are available in one of eight Volvo Trucks Academy Learning Centers across North America. In addition to the new Tinley Park facility, Volvo Trucks’ other U.S. locations include Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Greensboro, North Carolina; Hagerstown, Maryland; and Hayward, California, as well as two in Canada in Woodbridge, Ontario, and Quebec City, Quebec. https://ift.tt/nwZf2M5 Used Class 8 retail volumes in April were 24% lower month-over-month, according to data published by ACT Research, and down 40% year-over-year. Average prices slid 1% compared to March, but trucks were still 75% more expensive than April 2021. Average miles and age were up slightly (+3% and +4%, respectively) from March, with miles up 6% year-over-year and age 7% higher than last April. While seasonality predicted an 8% decline, ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said lumpy new truck sales and the lack of used truck inventory are the more likely culprits in April’s slowing. "Waning April new truck sales portend more weakness ahead in the secondary market, though March’s uptick has yet to make its way through the inventory maze,” Tam added, “The April deficit marks the tenth straight month of shrinking year-over-year sales, which have been hamstrung by the curtailed flow of units into used truck inventory. A peek ahead at near-term expectations suggests sales are usually below average in May, then return to normal in June and July before picking up in August.” OEMs would love to boost new truck production and sales, which Tam said would presumably benefit the used truck market, "[but] the relief they seek on the supply-chain front has proven elusive," he said. Also, he added, inflation is taking a toll on consumer confidence and spending. "While the spot freight markets have borne the brunt of the initial slowing, contract markets are not expected to escape unscathed," Tam added. "Collectively, lower demand for trucks at the same time capacity additions are still occurring are having the predicted and understandable effect of driving prices for both freight hauling and used trucks lower.” There are bargains to be had (if you can find them)The latest Sandhills Global Market Report shows that as more late-model sleeper trucks enter the market, sleeper trucks in the 7-year or older age group have dropped in value more steeply. Year-over-year auction values for sleeper trucks manufactured since 2015 decreased just 10% since the beginning of the year, while year-over-year auction values for sleeper trucks 7 years and older have posted 40% to 60% decreases over the same time. With a lack of new production to replace late-model sleeper trucks, asking values for used sleeper trucks made after 2017 remain positive, posting an 8% improvement since January. Heavy-duty sleeper trucks in the 7-year-plus age group historically represent 27% of the total sleeper truck inventory. As of April, that age group accounts for 36% of the total sleeper truck inventory. April marked the fifth straight month-over-month increase in heavy-duty sleeper truck inventory. April 2022 inventory levels were down 14.8% year-over-year, a dramatic improvement from March when inventory levels were down 33.9.% year-over-year. The Sandhills Equipment Value Index indicates heavy-duty sleeper auction values increased 62.3% year-over-year, a 7% decrease from the start of the year when auction values were up 69% year-over-year. Asking values for late-model sleeper trucks have displayed less decline than older models, likely due to the lack of new production available to replace the commercial trucks. While auction values for sleeper trucks manufactured prior to 2015 have declined sharply, posting 40% to 60% year-over-year decreases since January, asking prices for sleeper trucks in that age group have decreased by just 10%. https://ift.tt/nwZf2M5 ShipX, a tech-enabled e-commerce transportation delivery service provider, has acquired Princeton Logistics Group (PLG) and its subsidiary, TriStar Carriers. The companies will be renamed ShipX but will continue to serve their carrier, retailer and private fleet customers. With the acquisition, ShipX expands its focus beyond final mile parcel delivery and will be able to offer a more complete suite of e-commerce transportation services. “We’re so happy to have the amazing employees of Princeton Logistics and TriStar Carriers join the ShipX family,” said Solomon Zakinov, ShipX’s CEO and founder. “This acquisition ensures that we’ll continue to meet the ever-evolving needs of today’s e-commerce shippers — especially in the major markets — while still offering affordable, reliable logistics services.” PLG customers range from major big-box retailers, e-commerce shippers, major carriers and private fleets, but its niche is harnessing small to medium carriers in its service area along the East Coast, stretching from Maine to Florida. TriStar’s two main service areas are middle mile trucking and air cargo services. This addition of PLG's and TriStar's capabilities will enable ShipX to arrange first and middle mile transportation services to e-commerce customers needing specialized trucking options, as well as help strengthen its door-to-door parcel delivery services across North America. It allows the company to provide e-commerce final mile delivery; middle mile truckload and contract capacity services; direct-to-store distribution; direct carrier, air cargo injection; local sortation and transfer; coast-to-coast zone skipping; power-only; Sprinters, 26-foot Box, 53-foot trailers; and peak capacity. "We’re thrilled to join forces with ShipX and even more excited to be able to offer our clients a more complete, turnkey shipping solution, '' said Jim Neebling, former president of Princeton Logistics, and now Chief Logistics Officer for ShipX. “Shippers have wanted a new end-to-end shipping solution and we’re happy to be offering one starting today.” https://ift.tt/nwZf2M5 |
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April 2023
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