EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Top Stories
A final rule has been issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that makes permanent an existing requirement that trailers with antilock brake systems (ABS) be equipped with an external malfunction indicator lamp. FULL STORY
-
Wireless providers are making an effort to bring new applications and products to the light and medium truck sector where wireless technology is often limited to drivers equipped with cell phones and some form of Global Positioning Services (GPS) devices. FULL STORY
-
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which gives the industry 15 days to comment on a proposed rule that would raise fees for interstate commercial truck and bus companies, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan for the registration year 2010. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
-
HTR2 is Continental Tire’s new all-position wide base tire for construction vehicles that operate mainly on regional roads and offers 20 percent more wear volume than the original HTR. FULL STORY
-
Xata Corp. is launching a new web portal in September that will allow Xata customers to more effectively train on the company’s Xatanet technology. FULL STORY
-
The Classic Truckload is the newest refrigerated trailer by Great Dane Trailers which feature exclusive products like ThermoGuard and CorroGuard. FULL STORY
-
A new study sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute found that anti-idling equipment can trim idling time by as much as 78 percent. FULL STORY
Briefly
Penske Truck Leasing will be making its used trucks inventory available on eBay Motors. Visitors to Penske’s eBay store can bid on light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, utility trucks, buses and sedans. . .Telematics Update has awarded Daimler Trucks North Americawith the Best Telematics Service and Application for Commercial Vehicles award for its RunSmart Predictive Cruise system. . .Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. and Itochu Corp. will jointly establish a company that manufactures and sells tires in Russia. The new company will be called Yokohama R.P.Z. LLC. . .Cummins Filtration is consolidating a significant portion of its North American filter assembly operations into its facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, over the next several months. . .Inbound Logistics magazine has selected Ryder System, Inc. as one of its Green Supply Chain Partners. The magazine selected 25 companies that have represented supply chain sustainability to be part of its inaugural “Green 25” issue. . .Tornadoes and thunderstorms swept through central Mississippi in April 2008 damaging Southern States Utility Trailer in Richland, MS. Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company is pleased to announce that Southern States Utility Trailer has reopened. . .Silver Eagle Manufacturing Co. has announced that its mid-length skirt has been certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a SmartWay Aerodynamics Product.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
9/2 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $9.79 | $0.65 | 7.11% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $44.51 | $0.43 | 0.98% |
| Dana | DAN | $4.65 | $0.20 | 4.21% |
| Eaton | ETN | $52.79 | $0.31 | 0.58% |
| General Electric | GE | $13.19 | $0.15 | 1.12% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $15.63 | $0.21 | 1.33% |
| Navistar International Corp. | NAV | $43.64 | $1.54 | 3.66% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $35.04 | $0.04 | 0.11% |
| Ryder | R | $37.33 |
$0.52 | 1.41% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
Money Matters
SAF-Holland has reported for the first half of 2009 and June being the first month of the year to show a profit. FULL STORY
Allison Transmission is getting a $62.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to continue its efforts to design, develop and manufacture a cost-competitive commercial hybrid truck drive system. FULL STORY
Guaranteed Asset Protection is a new financial program available from Navistar Financial Corp. which is designed to aid owners of Navistar-branded trucks in case their vehicle is destroyed. FULL STORY
During the previous two recessions the heavy-duty aftermarket industry passed through unscathed, however in this current recession one analyst predicts revenue will be down 8% to 10% this year compared to 2008. FULL STORY
News From TRALA
As your high school seniors are getting ready to head back to school, it’s not too early to be thinking about paying for college this time next year. One strategy is for your son or daughter to apply for a TRALA Scholarship that could amount to $20,000 over four years. Applicants must be dependent children (high school seniors only) of full-time employees of TRALA member companies. Employees must have been working full-time for the company a minimum of one year as of the application deadline. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale and plan to enroll in a full-time course of study at an accredited four year college or university. Just click here to apply. The application deadline is January 15, 2010.
Questions? Contact TRALA’s Tonya Gibbs at (703) 299-9120 or tgibbs@trala.org.