EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Top Stories
U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) has introduced TRALA-supported legislation that would provide tax credits for fleets purchasing trucks with certain types of safety technology such as brake monitoring, lane-departure warning, collision warning and vehicle stability systems. FULL STORY
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A Florida Court of Appeals considering the case, Kumarsingh v. Avis, recently upheld the Graves Amendment prohibiting states from imposing vicarious liability. FULL STORY
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As the one year anniversary of ultra-low sulfur diesel’s (ULSD) arrival at North American fueling stations nationwide approaches, the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) reports that the transition to ULSD fuel has been nearly seamless with virtually no supply interruptions nor technical glitches. FULL STORY
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The U.S. Department of Transportation conducted a safety check of a U.S. truck and a Mexican truck to demonstrate that both vehicles meet current safety regulations. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
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Detroit Diesel has unveiled the new heavy-duty DD15 engine that took nearly five years and $1.5 billion to develop. FULL STORY
Cargo sensors and tractor/trailer ids are two new products that SkyBitz has added to its existing suite to increase wireless asset tracking capabilities. FULL STORY
Workhorse Custom Chassis is giving their walk-in truck a new nose and front grill that will clearly define it as a Workhorse truck. FULL STORY
Briefly
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced that its commercial tires are now available for specification on all International Truck & Engine Corp. vehicles. . .Supreme Corporation of Texas has been awarded a contract by the U.S. State Department to manufacture armored vehicles. The initial order is for $500,000, with a total contract potential of up to $100 million over a five-year period conditioned on receipt by Supreme Texas of future purchase orders. . .Azure Dynamics Corp. has signed a supply agreement with Kidron Inc. that encompasses branding, marketing and sales of Azure’s Low Emission Electric Power (LEEP) systems throughout the North American refrigerated truck body market. . .ArvinMeritor announced that Regina Salazar, director of operations, quality and supply chain processes for information systems is the recipient of a Young Leadership and Excellence Award, which recognizes individuals ages 35 and under who demonstrate significant potential as future leaders within the automotive industry. . .The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) is teaming up with J.J. Keller & Associates to present a free webcast, “Driver Performance Management: Case Studies in Excellence, “ on Wednesday, October 31, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (CT). . .Bridgestone Corp. is investing 32 billion yen to expand its large OTR plant in Kitakyushu, Japan, and to increase capacity at its OTR steel cord plant in Saga, Japan. . .The U.S. Marine Corps ordered 1,000 additional International MaxxPro military vehicles valued at approximately $509 million from Navistar International Corporation. . .Michelin North America Inc.’s Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, plant recently produced its 100 millionth unit, the Michelin LTX A/T 2, a new light truck tire. . .R.L. Polk & Co. has formed an advisory board to help the company focus on its General Motors business globally. . .In their respective segments, Caterpillar and Cummins rank highest in satisfying customers with heavy-duty truck engines and transmissions, according to a recent J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Heavy-Duty Truck Engine/Transmission Study. . .Visual Marking Systems was named by International Truck & Engine as a Diamond Supplier, an honor that recognizes the company’s good performance and ability to meet customer expectations for quality, cost, delivery, technology and responsiveness requirements. . .SkyBitz has been named #2 in the first ever Deloitte Technology Wireless Fast 5.0, a ranking of the fastest growing wireless companies, and has also been named #2 in the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies in North America. . .The TABS Group Accountancy Corp. (formerly Doyle, Hull and Gregory, CPAs), a CPA firm well versed in leasing industry issues, has launched a new website dedicated to leasing, www.leaseaccountants.com.
People on the Move
Robert E. Sanchez has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ryder System. . .Caterpillar vice president of the North American Commercial Division (NACD) Bill Mayo will retire Feb. 1, 2008 and he will be replaced by Jim Parker. Also at Caterpillar, Ed Rapp has been appointed group president and Mary Bell will replace him as vice president for the Building Construction Products Division. . .FleetCor has appointed Peter Bridgen as managing director of Keyfuels, its leading UK fuel card company. . .David B. Templeton has assumed responsibilities as vice president of human resources for Hendrickson. . .Manheim has named Mike Broe as executive vice president; Kelly Conger as group vice president of Frontline Services; and David Young as group vice president of the Service Businesses. . .Bendix has appointed Rick Nork as vice president and chief financial officer and Eddie Wilkinson as vice president of quality and product safety. . .Per Carlsson has been appointed as the new president and chief executive officer of Volvo Trucks North America Division, succeeding Peter Karlsten who will be taking on the position of president and chief executive officer of Volvo Power Train and senior vice president - technology for the Volvo Group. . .SAF-Holland has promoted Frank Puciul to OEM account manager – Powered Vehicle Systems. . .SkyBitz’s Board of Directors has elected Dr. Homaira Akbari as chief executive officer.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
10/24 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArvinMeritor | ARM | $14.56 | $0.29 | 2.03% |
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $21.62 | $0.36 | 1.69% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | CAT | $74.42 | $0.92 | 1.25% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $134.87 | $1.20 | 0.90% |
| Eaton | ETN | $92.13 | $0.03 | 0.03% |
| General Electric | GE | $40.48 | $0.31 | 0.77% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $27.95 | $0.19 | 0.68% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $50.38 | $0.59 | 1.18% |
| Ryder | R | $47.37 | $0.46 | 0.98% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
Money Matters
PACCAR reported a nine month net income of $966.2 million, the second highest nine months’ results in the company’s 102-year history. FULL STORY
Eaton Corp. announced a record net income per share of $1.71 for the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 6 percent over net income per share of $1.62 for the same period in 2006. FULL STORY
According to Bear Stearns, incentive packages being offered by truck dealers have some smaller carriers reconsidering adding new ’07 trucks. FULL STORY
Caterpillar reported profit of $927 million for the third quarter ending on September 30, 2007, the highest ever for a third quarter. FULL STORY
News From TRALA
You won’t want to miss TRALA’s Council Meetings and Washington Briefing taking place November 6-7 in our Nation’s Capitol. Join us to hear political commentary from former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and the latest economic forecast from US Chamber of Commerce Chief Economist Martin Regalia. To register for the meeting, visit www.trala.org. If you have any questions, please contact Anne Riser at (703) 299-9120 or ariser@trala.org.