EnRoute

Technology Trends

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC will begin to offer in the fourth quarter the automatic braking system called, “adaptive cruise control”, for heavy-duty trucks. FULL STORY
Cummins Filtration has introduced a new environmentally friendly formula, the FleetGuard ES Compleat Gycerin, a heavy-duty engine antifreeze/coolant that uses nontoxic glycerin in lieu of traditional ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. FULL STORY
ThermoGuard and CorroGuard are two new products unveiled by Great Dane Trailers that are designed to extend the life of a refrigerated trailer and combat corrosion. FULL STORY
A new M-Series aluminum wheel for the Sprinter 3500 chassis has been introduced by Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products. FULL STORY

Briefly

Penske Truck Leasing has received certification from the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) for the company’s Continuing Automotive Service Education program. . . has opened its newly designed Innovation Center which will provide customers with an environment to brainstorm with technical staff of experienced designers about the creative concepts and design of their parts. . .PHH Arval’s Used-Vehicle Remarketing Department has announced a nationwide auction summer gas giveaway program, “Tanks a Lot”, where buyers of select mystery cars at PHH Auctions will receive instant $100 gas cards on the spot. . .Spruill Mayhem, business development manager for Logistic Leasing LLC has become the youngest person to receive The Masters Club Platinum award for sales excellence from NationaLease. . .For the second consecutive year, Cummins Inc. was selected as one of the “100 Best Place to Work in IT” by IDG Computerworld. . .Michelin has expanded its U.S. truck stop distribution network by adding 32 new truck stop locations in the first half of 2008. . .ArvinMeritor has entered into an agreement to acquire Trucktechnic, a remanufacturer and distributor of commercial vehicle disc and foundation brakes and components based in Liege, Belgium. . .Budget Truck Rental has made enhancements to the company’s website to include a simplified booking process that guides customers step-by-step through the entire reservation process, as well as enhanced mapping tools for finding Budget Truck locations. In addition to the website enhancements, Budget is the first consumer truck rental company to offer Global Positioning System (GPS) units to its customers. . .Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has been recognized as one of America’s most respected companies by the Reputation Institute (RI) and Forbes magazine. . .Carrier Transicold has launched a new website, www.carrierprioritycard.com, for its Priority Card holders, giving customers and dealers instant access to helpful information to manage their accounts. . .The Jost Group, parent company of Jost International, is being acquired by Civen, an international private equity firm.

People on the Move

Todd Joseph has been named senior vice president of Information Technology for Comdata Corporation. . .Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Joe Ruocco senior vice president of human resources. . .Bill Canton has been named chief risk officer and Terry Endsley succeeds Canton as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Navistar International Corporation. . .Workhorse Custom Chassis has appointed Jim Gavaghan to the newly created position of vice president of sales for commercial and RV chassis. . .Bridgestone Corp. will transfer Yutaka Yamaguchi, executive vice president of tire development and technology for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC, to Bridgestone Europe and Yasutaka Enoki will succeed Yamaguchi at the Akron facility. . . Elaine Litwer, legislative coordinator for the National Vehicle Leasing Association (NVLA), was recently presented with the NVLA’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.

Taking $tock

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

Company	Symbol (Click for Chart)	07/16 Close	Two Week Performance
ArvinMeritor	ARM	$11.31	$0.75	7.10%
Avis Budget Group Inc.	CAR	$5.20	$0.36	7.44%
Caterpillar Inc.	CAT	$70.53	$3.49	5.21%
Cummins Inc.	CMI	$65.02	$1.55	2.44%
Dana	DAN	$6.56	$0.46	7.54%
Eaton	ETN	$73.37	$1.10	1.48%
General Electric	GE	$27.68	$1.03	3.68%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber	GT	$17.99	$1.32	7.92%
PACCAR Inc.	PCAR	$42.78	$2.48	6.15%
Ryder	R	$67.84	$3.68	5.74%

SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com

Money Matters

Penske Automotive Group Inc. has bought a 9 percent limited partnership interest in Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P. from GE Capital for $219 million. FULL STORY
Eaton Corp.’s second quarter sale rose 32 percent to $4.28 billion, up from $3.25 billion during the same quarter in 2007. FULL STORY
XATA Corp. has reported shipments of Xatanet systems in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 have grown about 278 percent compared to the same quarter in 2007. FULL STORY

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