EnRoute
Headlines From The Vehicle Renting and Leasing Industry
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Top Stories
Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has issued a white paper on the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 that includes language requiring the mandatory use of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to ensure compliance with trucker hours-of-service (HOS) rules. FULL STORY
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The first phase of a five-year comprehensive emissions testing program has been completed. A study sponsored by the EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Air Resources Board and the Engine Manufacturers Association showed that clean diesel technologies in engines manufactured beginning in 2007 not only reduced certain emissions by 90 percent over 2004 models, but far exceeded expectations in their performance in cleaning up the nation’s air quality. FULL STORY
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A final rule is expected to be published in September on the long-awaited NHTSA proposal to reduce the mandated stopping distance for truck tractors equipped with air brake systems. FULL STORY
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New Brunswick Department of Public Safety is working on legislation to adopt a mandatory speed limiter rule similar to the laws in Quebec and Ontario. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
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The Volvo Group has developed a medium-heavy diesel engine that the company is scheduled to roll out in 2010. FULL STORY
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China’s Double Coin Holding Ltd. and CMA have debuted six new Double Coin truck tires across three product lines and three of the radials are considered fuel-efficient, ultra-premium tires. FULL STORY
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Kenworth Truck Company has expanded its product line to include the Kenworth T470 which offers durability and performance and is serviced by the company’s dealer organization for snowplow, dump, mixer, winch, refuse, and other heavy front-axle vocational and municipal applications. FULL STORY
J.J. Keller & Associates has launched their professional services portal, www.jjkellerservices.com which is designed to assist individuals and companies working in mitigating exposure and reducing risk and liability associated with complex regulatory and business management practices. FULL STORY
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The Business Class M2 112 model is a medium-duty truck that will be offered in six liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) tractor/truck configurations by Freightliner and already complies with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards set to go into effect in January 2010. FULL STORY
Briefly
Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks Inc. have named Terra Environmental Technologies its preferred supplier of the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). . .Rebates of up to $250 are available for purchasing qualifying parts for Thermo King and Carrier refrigeration units from participating Thermo King dealers in the U.S. and Canada. The program runs through September 30. . .Hino Trucks announced a new cooperative agreement that will give Hino access to Castrol and BP branded lubricants specially designed to meet or exceed industry standards for maintaining and servicing medium and heavy-duty trucks. . .Mazda North American Operations is extending and expanding its contract with Ryder System, Inc. for the distribution management of auto parts throughout its Mexico network of dealers. . .SAF-Holland is joining forces with Volvo Truck Corp. in the aftermarket business and as part of the agreement, Volvo Truck Corp. has started to include SAF-Holland parts in its European Truck Shop product range and thus supply service centers across Europe. . .Daimler Trucks North America, Daimler Financial Services and Johnson Refrigerated Truck Bodies have donated a Class 7 hybrid-powered Freightliner truck to Forgotten Harvest, Metro Detroit’s only mobile food rescue organization. . .Four of Hendrickson’s divisions: Truck Suspension Systems, Trailer Suspension Systems, Auxiliary Axle Systems and Bumper and Trim, have joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership. Hendrickson will contribute to the Partnership’s goal to reduce 33 to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide per year by 2012 by improving the environmental performance of freight operations. . .Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. unveiled its G289 WHA line of waste-hauling tires that feature wider, deeper 24/32-inch tread, a sidewall protector rib, DuraSeal Technology and a shoulder design that helps direct pressure away from the outer tread for uniform tread wear. . .Cummins Filtration has expanded its product line to include convenient smaller-sized packaging options as well as dispensing equipment for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) that includes air and electric pumps for both drums and totes. . .Karmak, Inc. will host the 2009 Karmak Technology Conference and Expo on October 20-23 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark Hotel in St. Louis, MO. The conference will focus on leading technologies to help dealers, distributors, service shops and leasing companies improve profit margins, strengthen infrastructure, control costs and create new revenue channels.
People
Eaton Corp. has named Yannis P. Tsavalas president of the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region and will succeed Jean-Pierre Lacombe who is retiring. . .George Kilroy has been appointed acting chief executive officer and president of PHH Corporation and James Egan as chairman of the Board of Directors. . .Peter Collins has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Waltco Lift Corp. . .President Obama has nominated Deborah Hersman as the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) |
6/24 Close | Two Week Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArvinMeritor | ARM | $3.62 | $0.19 | 5.54% |
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $4.52 | $0.03 | 0.67% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $32.53 | $1.07 | 3.40% |
| Dana | DAN | $1.14 | $0.05 | 4.20% |
| Eaton | ETN | $43.08 | $0.27 | 0.63% |
| General Electric | GE | $11.70 | $0.10 | 0.86% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $11.24 | $0.16 | 1.44% |
| Navistar International Corp. | NAV | $45.96 | $1.73 | 3.91% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $31.12 | $0.45 | 1.47% |
| Ryder | R | $27.08 |
$0.07 | 0.26% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com
Money Matters
The truck tax, which would be levied on trucks using France’s government-owned roads, has been delayed to 2013 in order to allow the government more time to set up the satellite-based tracking system. FULL STORY
ACT Research Company has published the “North American Commercial Vehicle Outlook” which is forecasting 2009 Class 8 retail sales will be 43% below 2008 levels only about half of that decline will be recovered in 2010. FULL STORY
News From TRALA
Access the Entire Renting and Leasing Industry!!
Advertising space is still available in TRALA’s 2009-2010 Membership Directory and Buyers Guide! Contact TRALA’s Brian Hefner at (703) 299-9120 or bhefner@trala.org for more information on the rates and guidelines.