Blog
EnRoute - May 13, 2015
- By: Shannon Davison
- On: 05/13/2015 16:21:16
- In: EnRoute
Top Stories
The Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA) and 35 other organizations have written a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) which urged the Subcommittee's leaders to include language in the spending bill that would explicitly prevent the FMCSA from spending any funds to advance the rulemaking to increase federally-mandated insurance minimums that currently apply to certain kinds of carriers, or to apply these standards to private motor carriers for the first time. FULL STORY
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) have introduced new legislation, the Move America Act of 2015 which is designed to leverage additional private investment in public infrastructure. The bill seeks to create Move America Bonds and Move America Credits. FULL STORY
The National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) has released a report on the benefits of onboard video systems for commercial trucks and included recommendations to several organizations to improve the use of the systems. FULL STORY
Technology Trends
Daimler Truck North America has presented its new autonomous truck, the Freightliner Inspiration. The truck is equipped with the Highway Pilot sensors and computer hardware is based upon asseries production Freightliner Cascadia Evolution, fully certified to meet all U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. FULL STORY
Truck-Lite has unveiled its latest advancement in the LED forward lighting market, the 4.6 rectangular LED headlight system. FULL STORY
Rush Enterprises, Inc. is expanding into the alternatives fuels arena with a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel systems company, Momentum Fuel Technologies. The new company will design, manufacture, sell and service complete CNG systems for Class 6 through 8 trucks. FULL STORY
Briefly
Ryder System, Inc. is deploying more than 1,000 new automatic transmission trucks that will expand and refresh its North American rental fleet. . .Agility Fuel Systems and Cummins Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership which is intended to improve the natural gas vehicle user experience, and to drive adoption of natural gas as a vehicle fuel for the heavy duty truck and bus markets. . .VT Hackney, Inc. has announced that it is one of several companies selected as a qualified bidder for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). The original truck was built in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, at a facility now owned by VT Hackney. . .Murphy-Hoffman Company (MHC) released an update on its locations and services directory mobile app for iPhone and Android to enhance user experience and seamlessly integrate it with MHC.com. . .Penske Truck Leasing is once again a member of the annual InformationWeek Elite 100 list, placing No. 79. For 16 straight years, the company has graced the InformationWeek 500 rankings, which highlights leading business technology innovators in the United States. . .Paccar Leasing Company will begin offering medium-duty leasing program called the PacLease Value Spec. The company plans to offer its Peterbilt Model 330 and Kenworth T270 as primary leasing options to fill this niche. . .Continental AG is making an immediate donation of 50,000 euros (more than $56,000) to support aid workers in the earthquake zone in Nepal. . .The subsidiaries of Rush Enterprises, Inc. have acquired certain assets of Yancey Truck Centers, located in Georgia. The acquisition includes International Truck dealerships in eight locations in central Georgia and an Idealease truck rental and leasing operation in Albany, Georgia.
People
Leena Lie has been appointed Senior Vice President, Communications at Cargotec Corporation as of August 1, 2015. . .Meritor named President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey “Jay” Craig the company's new CEO, succeeding Ivor “Ike” Evans. Craig was also appointed to the board of directors and will retain his role as president of the company. . .Berend Bracht has been appointed President and CEO for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems. He will join Bendix July 1. . .President Barack Obama will nominate Gregory Nadeau to head the National Highway Administration. . .François Michelin, who led Group Michelin for 47 years, has died. He was 88.
Taking $tock
A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:| Company | Symbol (Click for Chart) | 5/13 Close | Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allison Transmission Holdings | ALSN | $31.20 | $0.03 | -0.10% |
| Avis Budget Group Inc. | CAR | $50.34 | $0.64 | -1.26% |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | $142.31 | $1.08 | +0.76% |
| Dana Holding Corp. | DAN | $21.86 | $0.17 | +0.78% |
| Eaton Corp. | ETN | $72.81 | $0.87 | +1.21% |
| General Electric | GE | $27.21 | $0.18 | +0.67% |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | $30.38 | $0.79 | +2.67% |
| Navistar International Corp. | NAV | $29.48 | $0.01 | -0.03% |
| PACCAR Inc. | PCAR | $66.57 | $0.47 | +0.71% |
| Ryder | R | $93.89 | $0.61 | -0.65% |
SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance
Money Matters
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Penske Truck Leasing a $400,000 grant for the company's Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Demonstration and Enhanced Driver Experience Project. Penske will utilize the funds to further introduce alternative fuel vehicles to its customer base. FULL STORY
Continental Corp. is reporting a 14% increase in sales to about 9.6 billion euros compared to the first quarter of 2014. FULL STORY
A report by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) showed that in 2014 the trucking industry brought in over $700 billion, the highest revenue ever for the industry. FULL STORY
TRALA In the News
The TRALA Membership Directory and Buyer's Guide is a valuable tool for the truck renting and leasing community. We're updating our member contact information for the 2015/2016 Membership Directory and Buyer's Guide, and opening the doors for those who would like to advertise in the upcoming production.
Send your updated company information to LaTisha Thomas, TRALA's Associate Director of Membership, at lthomas@trala.org today or call for details: (703) 299-9120 ext. 205. Deadlines are approaching so don't delay.