EnRoute

Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Top Stories

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  After a successful lobbying effort by the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) and the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), the Canada Revenue Agency will refund carriers the federal excise tax on diesel fuel used to power auxiliary power units (APUs). FULL STORY

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  A draft of the proposed rules of new regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks has been completed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. FULL STORY

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  Truckers are learning that the California Department of Motor Vehicles may refuse registrations, renewal or transfer of registrations for commercial trucks if the trucks owner was cited for violating the state’s five-minute idling limit. FULL STORY

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  To avoid the federal rulemaking by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) which is required if the United Carrier Registration Association (UCRA) wants to change the 2008 fees, UCRA board of directors voted for the fees to remain unchanged. FULL STORY

Technology Trends

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  In an effort to protect its brand, Webb Wheel Products has obtained a federal trademark registration for its 2023 trailer hub. FULL STORY

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  Freightliner Trucks and Eaton Corp. have released a new Class 6 hybrid beverage truck. FULL STORY



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  The “International Advantage” is a new customer program from International Truck and Engine Corp. that is designed to provide customers with tools and insights to better manage their business. FULL STORY

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  A new software release of Karmak’s Legend business management system is expected to include many enhancements for improved management of parts inventory, service, accounting, sales and lease and rental operations. FULL STORY

Briefly

PACCAR has joined PHH First Fleet’s truck maintenance network which allows clients to have their medium and heavy trucks and equipment serviced through a broad supplier network of more than 10,000 truck maintenance locations in the United States and Canada. . .Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire has signed a seven-year agreement with TravelCenters of America to sell Bridgestone and Firestone brand commercial tires. . .International Truck and Engine Corp. will open an assembly plant near St. Petersburg, Russia. . .Cummins Inc. has opened a new onsite Health Center at its Cummins Filtration facility in Cookeville, Tennessee. It is the first location within Cummins to offer a health center providing primary care. . .The Bendix trailer product business has announced an agreement with Vanguard National Trailer Corp. that adds the Bendix SB-4 combination spring brake as standard equipment on all new Vanguard dry van trailer models. . .MicroStrategy, Inc. has selected Kevin Bott, Chief Information Officer for Ryder System, Inc. as the recipient of the MicroStrategy Individual Excellence in Business Intelligence award. . .Sterling Truck Corp. accepted its award for J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Heavy Duty Truck Service. This award is given to the truck manufacturer that ranked highest in J.D. Power’s annual customer survey. . .Michelin North America Inc. is partnering with consumer advocate and family savings expert Kimberly Danger, who will serve as the spokesperson for the Uniroyal brand’s “More Mileage for Your Money” campaign. . .Yokohama Tire Corp. has signed sponsorship deals with National Basketball Association (NBA) teams the San Antonio Spurs, the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. . .Volvo Group North America affiliate companies (Volvo Construction Equipment, Mack Trucks, Inc. and Volvo Rents) joined Habitat for Humanity in building a half-dozen new residences in Las Vegas, Nevada. . .Sysco Corp. has chosen Xata Corp. as its preferred provider of onboard computer technology.

People on the Move

Srikanth Padmanabhan has been selected to head Cummins Emission Solutions and has been named vice president of Cummins Inc.. . .AmeriQuest Transportation Services has hired Neal Weeks to serve as the company’s vice president of financial services. . .Rex Simpson has been named vice president of administration for Yokohama Tire Corp. . .Todco has hired Joseph Carrico as regional sales manager. . . Mack Trucks has named Dennis R. Slagle as president and CEO and Matthew Walsh has vice president-export for its international operations business. . .Jim Micali, chairman and president of Michelin North America Inc. will retire on August 15, 2008 and he will be succeeded by Dick Wilkerson, Michelin’s executive vice president of personnel. . .ArvinMeritor has appointed Sherry Welsh vice president of Sales and Marketing for the company’s Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) business group.

Taking $tock

A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:

SOURCE:  Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com

Money Matters

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  Eaton Corp. reported its fourth quarter net earnings rose to $256 million from $241 million in 2006. FULL STORY

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  December was the third consecutive month for Class 8 truck orders of over 20,000. Orders were reported at 21,835, up 17 percent over year-over-year. FULL STORY

News From TRALA

TRALA's 2008 Annual Meeting

Join us April 2-5 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa as we celebrate TRALA’s 30 years of service to the truck renting and leasing industry. To register for the meeting, simply visit TRALA's website. Hotel accommodations can be made by contacting the Arizona Biltmore directly at (800) 950-0086 and make sure to mention TRALA to receive the discounted rate. Please contact Michelle McCarthy at (703) 299-9120 or mmccarthy@trala.org if you have any questions.

TRALA’s 2008 Driver of the Year Award – Nomination Deadline January 25!

To download an application to have your top driver recognized at TRALA’s 2008 Annual Meeting, please click here to download the application. For more information, contact TRALA’s Shannon Murray at smurray@trala.org or (703) 299-9120.