EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Top Stories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to require onboard diagnostics (OBD) systems on heavy-duty engines used in vehicles weighing over 14, 000 lbs. and made changes to existing requirements for diesel highway heavy-duty vehicles less than 14,000 lbs. FULL STORY
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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted unanimously to require nearly a million vehicles to be replaced or retrofitted with smog traps, filters or cleaner-burning technology beginning in 2011. By 2014, all trucks must have soot filters, and by the time the rule is fully implemented in 2023, no truck or bus in California will be allowed to be older than 13 years unless it has equipment to cut nitrogen oxide emissions. FULL STORY
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A new report published by the American Trucking Associations, American Trucking Trends 2008-2009, shows the trucking industry still continues to be a major employer in the United States with 8.9 million people in truck-related jobs in 2007. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
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The V-Force fan is now a standard feature on all of Carrier Transicold’s X2 series trailer refrigeration units which is seven decibels quieter than the traditional condenser fan it replaced. FULL STORY
A new product from Truck-Lite is a truck body Quick Connect Box that mounts on the bumper of a truck and provides a secure connection between the truck and consumer trailer. FULL STORY
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The fuel-efficient XZA3 truck tire from Michelin now has an anti-splash version which reduces splash trajectory by more than half when rolling through standing water. FULL STORY
Ryder lease customers now have the opportunity to order from the RydeGreenSM Hybrid straight truck line which is a medium-duty straight truck featuring the Navistar MaxxForce DT diesel engine and the Eaton Hybrid Electric System integrated into the International DuraStar Hybrid Chassis. FULL STORY
Briefly
Volvo Trucks North America is showing its appreciation to the drivers that will be working over the holidays by providing them a free turkey buffet dinner and beverage on Christmas Eve. The buffet will be available at any of the 163 Flying J travel plazas in the United States and Canada between 5 and 7 p.m. on December 24 to any driver showing a commercial driver’s license. . .The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. received the 2008 Award for Industrial Innovation from the Luxembourg Business Federation (FEDIL) for the company’s Goodyear OptiGrip tire with SmartWear Technology. . .Peterbilt Motors Co. celebrated a significant milestone at the company’s manufacturing facility in Denton, TX, with the completion of its 300,000th production truck. . .Penske Truck Leasing has teamed with PeopleNet for onboard commercial truck technology solutions which marks a shift in the company’s Fleet I.Q. strategy from offering a single private-labeled product to a suite of products and services. . .Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of SmarTire Systems Inc. which will immediately incorporate the company’s assets into Bendix’s electronics business unit. . .Truck-Lite’s corporate website, www.truck-lite.com is now home to a Distributor Search function which makes the task of locating a Truck-Lite distributor much easier. . .Peterbilt Motors Co. and its employees announced a $452,995 contribution to the United Way of Denton County’s 2008-2009 fundraising campaign.
People on the Move
Aim NationaLease recently appointed Michael Oetjen as vice president of its dedicated logistics division. . .Jeff Bunch has been named vice president of dealer services for Manheim. . .Dana Corp. has appointed Frank Sheehan as president of international business for Dana’s Heavy Vehicle Systems Group; James Wojciehowski was named vice president and general manager of marketing, sales and service for Dana’s Commercial Vehicle Products group; and Brian Couch was named general manager of service and support for Dana Spicer Service Parts. . .Jeff VanPoucke has been appointed to the position of Paccar account executive for Cummins Canada. . .Odessa Technologies, Inc. has named Jim Humphrey as vice president of sales and marketing. . .Damon Audia, former vice president and treasurer for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has been appointed senior vice president of finance and treasurer; Richard Noechel, formerly vice president and corporate controller, has been appointed vice president of finance for Goodyear’s North American Tire business and will be replacing Marc Voorhees who has been named chief operating officer of North American Tire’s consumer tire business; and Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Thomas Connell, will replace Noechel as vice president and controller while retaining is current leadership role for information technology.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
12/16 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArvinMeritor | ARM | $3.24 | $0.1 | 3.51% |
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $0.69 | $0.06 | 8.00% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | CAT | $43.79 | $1.58 | 3.74% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $25.44 | $1.41 | 5.87% |
| Dana | DAN | $0.72 | $0.03 | 4.35% |
| Eaton | ETN | $42.96 | $0.95 | 2.16% |
| General Electric | GE | $18.00 | $1.05 | 6.19% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $6.37 | $0.47 | 7.97% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $28.52 | $1.67 | 6.22% |
| Ryder | R | $34.50 | $1.81 | 5.54% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
News From TRALA
Promote Your Company through TRALA's 2009 Driver of the Year Award
For over 23 years, TRALA has recognized men and women who achieve the highest level of excellence in professional truck driving and demonstrate our industry’s continuing commitment to highway safety and security. We invite you to continue this tradition and nominate your best driver as a candidate for TRALA’s 2009 Driver of the Year Award. To download an application, please click here. Deadline for nominations is January 9, 2009. For more information, contact TRALA’s Shannon Murray at smurray@trala.org or (703) 299-9120.
TRALA Scholarship Application Deadline - January 9!
What family can’t use some help with paying for the costs of today’s higher education? Don’t miss the opportunity for your son or daughter to apply for a $5,000 college scholarship that is renewable for up to four years for a total of $20,000. Visit TRALA’s website www.trala.org and click on the button for complete details and the online application. The deadline for applying is January 15, 2009. If you have questions or need other information, please contact TRALA’s Tonya Gibbs at (703) 299-9120 or tgibbs@trala.org.