EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Top Stories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Diesel Campaign will award $3.4 million in grants to established projects using emerging technologies to reduce emissions from diesel fleet engines. FULL STORY
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As the cost of fuel and commodities continues to rise, manufacturers are becoming increasingly concerned over more counterfeit products entering into the marketplace trying to take advantage of fleets looking to cut costs. FULL STORY
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The Environmental Protection Agency has released a nearly 600-page Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on the effects of climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. FULL STORY
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Ontario’s Bill 41 on speed limiters received Royal Assent on July 18 and the Ministry of Transportation has opened the comment period seeking input on how the law could be implemented and enforced. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
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The Fleetrite Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) is the new aftermarket APU that Navistar is offering on any make of International Class 8 trucks. FULL STORY
Truck-Lite has unveiled a new 7” LED headlamp for the heavy-duty commercial vehicle market which meets or exceeds all applicable Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements and all Federal motor vehicle safety standards pertaining to headlights. FULL STORY
The new SB+ line of temperature control units for trailers . which were developed to offset the growing challenges of higher fuel costs, higher operating costs and increased driver turnover, has been launched by Thermo King Corp. FULL STORY
Briefly
Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. has donated $100,000 to American Red Cross flood relief efforts across Iowa. . .SAF-Holland plans to hit the road this summer with its new Road Tour 08 show vehicle, which is a traveling showroom and training center to educate customers on the company’s expanded product line and exciting new technologies. . . Stemco Kaiser has announced that it is expanding its market presence outside of the United States by launching its product line in Canada. . .PHH Arval has launched two new functionalities, enhanced notifications and new home page view, in PHH InterActive, the company’s B2B website. . .Michelin North America Inc. is sponsoring an international rugby match to be held August 9. A part of the proceeds from each ticket to “Michelin Challenge Rugby” will benefit autism research being conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina. . .Sylvite Transportation Group has selected PeopleNet for its truckload, LTL and dedicated trucking operations in North America. . .Kenworth has announced that PACCAR Financial is offering a special extended warranty program for customers who buy new, eligible Kenworth Class 8 vocational trucks and finance the purchase or lease through PACCAR Financial. . .Continental Tire North America Inc. will invest more than $60 million in its Mt. Vernon, IL, plant over the next three years to expand production of passenger, light truck and commercial tires. . .Fontaine Parts Connection has introduced a new, full-color parts and service catalog which covers the complete line of Genuine Fontaine Parts for Fontaine fifth wheels, maintenance information and includes materials previously spread among 100 pages in multiple parts and schematics brochures. . .Visual Marking Systems, Inc. is the first company to be granted certification from an American Public Transportation Association (APTA) approved independent testing facility, verifying that all high-performance photoluminescent (HPPL) products manufactured by VMS meet or exceed the new HPPL standards.
People on the Move
Karmak has hired Phillip Hirsch is the new regional manager for Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia and Steven Stockdale as regional manager for California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. . .John Harris has been appointed to director of purchasing and logistics for Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co. . .Keela Wofford has been promoted to senior vice president, financial services for Comdata Corporation. . .Enterprise Rent-A-Car has named Michael V. Bystrom vice president of remarketing operations – North America. . .John Habermann has been named Telematics product manager for Thermo King Corporation. . .Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has named Richard Pegher vice president of internal audit. . .PACCAR Inc.’s president, Tom Plimpton, will become vice chairman and Jim Cardillo will become its president on September 1, 2008. . .Horton Inc. has appointed Jeff Lindgren as senior vice president of sales and marketing and general manager of the Britton, SD, plant and fan drive product lines and Steve Wardleworth as senior vice president of operations and general manager of the Carmel, IN, plant and fan and shroud product lines. . .Nicole Nason, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has announced she is leaving the agency in August.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
07/30 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArvinMeritor | ARM | $13.99 | $0.10 | 0.71% |
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $6.15 | $0.12 | 1.91% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | CAT | $72.07 | $1.08 | 1.52% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $70.50 | $4.48 | 6.79% |
| Dana | DAN | $6.36 | $0.11 | 1.70% |
| Eaton | ETN | $72.59 | $2.61 | 3.73% |
| General Electric | GE | $28.97 | $0.57 | 2.01% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $19.56 | $0.39 | 2.03% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $42.53 | $0.36 | 0.84% |
| Ryder | R | $67.11 | $1.24 | 1.81% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
Money Matters
ArvinMeritor has reported third quarter earnings of $44 million, up from a loss of $70 million compared to the same quarter in 2007. FULL STORY
Caterpillar Inc.’s second quarter net income jumped to $1.11 billion, up from $823 million a year earlier. FULL STORY
PACCAR Inc. reported higher European sales as a factor in the company’s 11 percent increase to $4.11 billion in sales for the second quarter of 2008 FULL STORY
News From TRALA
2008-2009 TRALA Membership Directory and Buyers Guide
The 2008-2009 TRALA Membership Directory and Buyer’s Guide has been mailed! The Membership Directory is the industry reference guide and lists TRALA members alphabetically, by geographic location and by leasing system affiliation. The Buyers Guide provides a simple way to find a wide variety of products and services offered by TRALA supplier members. For more information, contact TRALA’s Maggie Brown at (703) 299-9120 or mbrown@trala.org.