EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Top Stories
The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has reversed the September 11, 2006 trial court decision in Graham v Dunkley and ruled that the Graves Amendment is constitutional and valid. FULL STORY
-
The rule that would reduce stopping distances for heavy-duty trucks by 20 or 30% is expected to be finalized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this summer. FULL STORY
-
The New York City commission in charge of creating a congestion fee plan for the city voted to approve a scaled-down version of an original proposal. FULL STORY
-
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has held its first workshop that is focused on regulations it plans to officially unveil in mid-2008 regarding methods and guidelines for further reducing harmful emissions in the state. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
-
The new Unisteel G316 LHT linehaul trailer tire featuring DuraSeal Technology is designed by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for allowing semi-trucks to continue operating after a tire is punctured by road debris up to ¼-inch diameter in the repairable tread area. FULL STORY
Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies has received a patent for a new development that has an automatic defrost option for its fiberglass truck bodies that is 100% automatic, requires zero man hours and no water. FULL STORY
OnGuard, the first collision safety system with active braking in North American commercial vehicles has been introduced by Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control System. FULL STORY
For customers running deliveries in harsh weather climates, Maxon Lift Corp. has designed its Severe Duty BMRA (BMRSD) liftgate. FULL STORY
Briefly
Cummins Inc. will add about 500 professional employees, many of them engineers, in Columbus, Indiana, over the next two years. . .Mitch Seavey, the 2004 Iditarod champion sponsored by J.J. Keller & Associates, took first place in last weekend’s 29th Annual Kuskokwim 300 dogsled race in Alaska. . .Michelin North America, Inc., is investing $6.8 million into research and development efforts to improve vehicle fuel economy by lowering rolling resistance. The funds include a $1.9 million research contract with Clemson University and its International Center for Automotive Research. . .ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Aftermarket business has established an improved-service Customer Care Center at both its U.S. and Canadian-parts distribution centers. . .Bandag is offering Bandag Drive Severe Service 2 (BDY2), a retread tire specifically engineered for conditions where superior traction is required from a drive position tire. . .International Truck & Engine Corp. has begun taking orders for its heavy-duty truck powered by its new proprietary MaxxForce 11- and 13-liter diesel engines. . .Randall-Reilly Publishing announced that Investcorp has acquired the company in conjunction with F. Michael Reilly, Randall-Reilly president and chief executive officer, and other members of management. . .Ryder System has been honored by Fiat’s truck division, Iveco, as an International manufacturer and supplier of commercial trucks, parts and diesel engines. . .PACCAR has announced that it will join Detroit Diesel, Volvo and Mack in the use of selective catalytic reduction (scr) as an element in its engine platform to meet 2010 Environmental Protection Agency standards for NOx emissions. . .Cummins Filtration has entered into a cooperation agreement with Elmarco s.r.o., a Czech nanotechnology designer, to develop innovative solutions in nanofiber media technologies to allow Cummins Filtration to better serve global application needs in motor vehicle and related filtration systems. . .Fleet One has been selected by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to a four-year contract for government entities to be able to use the Fleet One Local fuel card at more than 1,000 retail locations throughout the state. . .Volvo Trucks North America will offer a heavy-duty engine made by Cummins Inc. that is certified for 2010 emission standards for its Volvo VN Class 8 trucks, extending an existing agreement between the two. . .Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire has introduced the Bridgestone L315, an aggressive traction on-/off-highway wide base radial designed for axles carrying extra-heavy loads, such as front-discharge cement mixers with front-wheel or all-wheel drive. . .Isuzu Trucks North America will abandon the car market to concentrate efforts on sales of its mid-range and medium-duty cabover trucks.
People on the Move
Tom Kleich has been appointed to the position of sales team manager with Horton, Inc. . .Ford North American Fleet, Lease & Remarketing Operations has named Kevin Koswick as director, replacing John Felice who was appointed general manager, Ford Division Marketing. . .Key Equipment Finance has promoted Chris Jones to vice president, municipal sales manager, Key Government Finance. . .Sherry Welsh has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing for ArvinMeritor’s Light Vehicle Systems business group and Barbara Novak has been appointed as vice president and corporate secretary. . .Webb Wheel Aftermarket has named Fred Brown as director of fleet business development. . .Matthew Walsh has been named vice president – export for international operations for Mack Trucks. . .J.J. Keller & Associates has announced that Thomas Huph has been promoted to vice president of information systems; Anthony LaMalfa has been promoted to vice president of human resource services; Roger Porath has been promoted to vice president of finance and Keith Keller has been promoted to director of product development. . .John Gamauf, president, consumer replacement tire sales and vice president of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC (BFNT) will retire on May 1, 2008 and he will be replaced by John Baratta, currently vice president, North American consumer tire sales for BFNT. . .The Federal Highway Administration has announced that J. Richard Capka has resigned from the agency.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
02/06 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArvinMeritor | ARM | $12.98 | $0.05 | 0.38% |
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $11.86 | $0.27 | 2.23% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | CAT | $67.98 | $0.46 | 0.68% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $47.02 | $0.60 | 1.26% |
| Eaton | ETN | $80.41 | $1.43 | 1.75% |
| General Electric | GE | $34.20 | $0.01 | 0.03% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $23.97 | $0.50 | 2.04% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $43.30 | $1.21 | 2.87% |
| Ryder | R | $58.73 | $1.81 | 3.18% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
Money Matters
Ryder System showed a nine percent increase between its $71.9 million earnings in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with $65.8 million in the 2006 quarter. FULL STORY
Cummins completed a year of record earnings and sales with sales up 15 percent to $13.05 billion, from $11.36 billion in 2006. FULL STORY
PACCAR Financial Services had a record year with assets climbing to $10.7 billion in 2007. 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.