EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Top Stories
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Economists agree that we have reached the bottom of the downturn and should see the beginning of a slow recovery in 2010, however there is still some uncertainty when this recovery will begin to have a positive impact on fleet operations. FULL STORY
Quebec has become the first Canadian province to adopt California’s emissions standards for cars and light-duty trucks. The new rules will impose increasingly stringent limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and light trucks made between 2010 and 2016 that are sold in the province. FULL STORY
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The Department of Transportation has issued a final rule which prohibits truck and bus drivers from sending text messages while driving commercial vehicles. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
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Paccar has introduced the MX diesel engine which will be installed in Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks and will be available with range of 380 to 485 horsepower and torque outputs up to 1,750 lb-ft. FULL STORY
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SkyBitz’s newest asset management system is the GLS400 mobile terminal. It is designed to be more efficient, more reliable and more resistant to damage and is compatible with the company’s current satellite network and can work with any L-band geosynchronous satellite system. FULL STORY
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A new web service from J.J. Keller & Associates, www.kellerpermits.com, helps companies obtain permits for vehicles that are oversized, overweight or not properly permitted to travel to designated locations. FULL STORY
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The Refuse Retrofit Program is a new program from Eaton Corp. that will offer retrofit versions of its Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA) hybrid power system for refuse trucks. FULL STORY
Briefly
PacLease continues to expand and has added 25 new locations throughout the United States and Canada, bringing the PacLease location total to over 400. . .Navistar has acquired certain assets from Holley Performance Products, including intellectual property rights to some of Holley’s valve technology for diesel engine exhaust-gas circulation systems. Navistar’s Pure Power Technologies will manufacture the advanced EGR valve at its Blythewood, SC plant. . .Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has sold its fan drive/clutch business and its related assets to Kit Masters. . .J.J.Keller & Associates, Inc. has announced they will now bundle select online applications under the name of J.J. Keller encompass. The new package includes an online dashboard to alert users of compliance and safety issues, functions to manage driver qualification files, driver training, and online data and document storage. . .Eaton Corp. has donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross International Disaster Relieft Fund and has pledged to match donations of its employees to the United Way Worldwide Disaster Relief Fund. . .Bridgestone Americas Inc. and its parent company Bridgestone Corp. are donating more than $75,000 to help with relief efforts in Haiti.
People
Brian Small has been named executive director for Fleet and Commercial Operations for General Motors. . .Waltco Lift Corp. has named William Kreutinger as vice president of engineering; Robert Tonon as vice president of technical services; and Randy Reid as director for WDV and premium products. . .Steve Mann has been promoted to vice president of engineering for Fontaine Fifth Wheel.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
1/27 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $11.53 | $0.16 | 1.41% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $46.41 | $0.88 | 1.86% |
| Dana | DAN | $10.47 | $0.24 | 2.35% |
| Eaton | ETN | $63.32 | $0.81 | 1.26% |
| General Electric | GE | $16.30 | $0.05 | 0.31% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $14.12 | $0.72 | 5.37% |
| Navistar International Corp. | NAV | $37.41 | $0.29 | 0.77% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $35.91 | $0.23 | 0.64% |
| Ryder | R | $37.20 |
$0.29 | 0.79% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
Money Matters
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Eaton Corp. reported its fourth quarter profits rose 20% from a year ago and the company expects its markets to grow 5% in 2010. FULL STORY
In December 2009, medium and heavy truck sales were up 2% over the same period a year ago. FULL STORY
News From TRALA
Join us April 6-8 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa for TRALA’s 32nd Annual Meeting. To register for the meeting, simply visit TRALA’s website to find out more details and register for the meeting. Hotel accommodations can be reserved online or by contacting the Doral at (800) 713-6725. Please contact Shannon Murray at (703) 299-9120 or smurray@trala.org if you have any questions.
For over 24 years, TRALA has recognized men and women who achieve the highest level of excellence in professional truck driving and demonstrate our industry’s continuing commitment to highway safety and security. We invite you to continue this tradition and nominate your best driver(s) as candidate(s) for TRALA’s 2010 Driver of the Year Award. To download an application, please click here. Deadline for nominations is March 5, 2010. For more information, contact TRALA’s Shannon Murray at smurray@trala.org or (703) 299-9120.