EnRoute - October 26, 2017

• By: Shannon Davison
• On: 10/26/2017 17:05:33
• In: EnRoute

TRALA IN THE NEWS

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has sent TRALA an official letter for drivers of commercial vehicles to use if they wish to take advantage of the 8-day short-term truck rental exemption that was granted to TRALA two weeks ago.  FULL STORY




 

TOP STORIES

The American Transportation Research Institute issued its annual Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry.  The top three concerns for 2017 include the driver shortage, the ELD mandate and the inflexibility of hours of service regulations.   FULL STORY
 
The FMCSA is scheduled to host a meeting on October 26 that will be open to the public via conference call to discuss the development and implementation of its carrier registration plan.  FULL STORY




 

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Daimler AG is firming up plans to restructure by transforming itself into a holding company with three units: Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans, Daimler Trucks & Buses and the financial services unit. FULL STORY  
 
Carrier Transicold's new model 35X direct-drive unit provides refrigeration for perishable and frozen cargoes for small- to medium-sized box trucks and large delivery vans. FULL STORY 
 
Bridgestone Americas has launched two new ultra-wide tires, the Greatec M835Ecopia for the drive position and the Greatec R197Ecopia for the trailer position. FULL STORY 
 
Telogis, A Verizon Company, introduced Telogis Workforce. A new extension to its enterprise software platform. FULL STORY 





 

BRIEFLY

To help the community through its DaimlerCares program, DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA'S truck manufacturing plant in Cleveland, N.C., donated $100,000 to the Rowan County Chapter of United Way, along with $20,000 in donations to seven other non-profits. . .J.J. KELLER & ASSOCIATES, INC. has announced the placement of additional J. J. Keller Mobile ELog solutions for iPhone and iPad devices on the FMCSA ELD registry. This brings the total of J.J. Keller certified and FMCSA registered ELD solutions to six. . .VOLVO FINANCIAL SERVICES CANADA was certified as a Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute. . .RYDER SYSTEM, INC. has completed the acquisition of all outstanding equities of Dallas Service Center Inc.. . . MICHELIN NORTH AMERICA INC. has acquired Lehigh Technologies Inc., a company that transforms rubber from end-of-life tires and industrial goods into materials for new tires and other products. . .CUMMINS INC. is acquiring Brammo Inc., which designs and develops battery packs for mobile and stationary applications. . .DECISIV is forming a new "Data Services" business to help it further leverage the analytical capabilities of its Service Relationship Management or "SRM" platform. . .Truckers and fleets using BESTPASS for toll management services will soon be able to use the service for central Florida expressways around Orlando. . .BENDIX COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SYSTEMS will expand its manufacturing capabilities and capacity with a $3.8 million capital investment in equipment to launch two new production lines at its Huntington, IN facility where it has operated for nearly four decades.




 

PEOPLE

Pressure Systems International (P.S.I.) has promoted JIM SHARKEY to the position of vice president of global sales and marketing. . .DAMIEN HARMON will take over the role of president of GCR tires and service for Bridgestone Americas on November 1.  He is succeeding JOHN VASUTA. . .Wells Fargo has named MIKE ROEMER as chief compliance officer. . .Continental Tire the Americas LLC has added several key members including: KRISTIAN KLOTZ has been named director of controlling for the Americas; STEVE POSTEL has joined the company as director of retail for the Americas; CAROLINA WAGNER has been promoted from the company's Brazil office as head of tire marketing to director of marketing for the Americas; DANIEL VASCONCELOS was also promoted from the company's Brazil office where he served as head of commercial vehicle tire sales for export and Brazil replacement market. He will now serve as director of OE truck tire sales for the Americas; CATHERINE HERCHENRODER has been named director of retread worldwide; and MARKO MULTHAUPT has been named head of strategic accounts for the U.S. and Canada. . .The shareholders of Idealease, Inc. have elected TERRY MINOR, president of Cumberland Idealease as their Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2018 and 2019 and JORGE MARTINEZ, owner of Idealease Monterrey as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2018 and 2019. . .ROBERT E. MUHS has been appointed as the new vice president of ACRA.     




 

TAKING STOCK

A look at truck transportation industry Fortune 500 public companies.
 

NUMBERS   

PacLease has reported the demand for medium- and heavy-duty truck rentals has increased over the past four months with Class 8 rentals jumping 20% nationwide and 25% in the West Coasts. FULL STORY 
 
Dana Incorporated has reported financial results for the third quarter of 2017 and announced sales of $1.8 billion which is an increase of 32 percent for the quarter and 23 percent year-to-date. FULL STORY 
 
Rush Enterprises has achieved revenues of $1.257 billion and net income of $29.8 million for the third quarter of 2017 compared with revenues of $1.096 billion and net income of $14.9 million for the same period in 2016. FULL STORY 
 
According to FTR, preliminary September net trailer orders were at 21,500 units, up 47% from August and up 84% year over year. FULL STORY  




 

TRALA ANNOUNCEMENTS

Friendly Reminder: November 1 Deadline Approaching for Industry Scholarship 
 
TRALA members and their dependents are invited to apply for TRALA's Industry Scholarship.  We're moving our industry forward by awarding up to four-$2,500 scholarships to qualified applicants.  Applications can be submitted by November 1, 2017 for consideration.  Visit our website for details: www.trala.org/scholarship.
 
Please contact TRALA's LaTisha Thomas at (703) 299-9120 or lthomas@trala.org with any questions regarding the scholarship program.