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EnRoute - January 23, 2013


Top Stories

U.S. House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has appointed Congressman John Duncan (R-TN) as vice chairman of the House transportation committee as well as several representatives to subcommittee chairman positions.   FULL STORY

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General has initiated an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program.   FULL STORY  

The American Society of Civil Engineer's Failure to Act report, “The Impact of Current Infrastructure Investment on America's Economic Future,“ states that unless an additional $1.57 billion per year is invested in U.S. infrastructure, the nation stands to lose a great deal of money.  FULL STORY

 

Technology Trends

According to J.D. Power and Associates “2010 U.S. Heavy-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Study,” problem rates for heavy-duty truck engines are nearly twice as high as rates for engines manufactured prior to the emission revisions that were implemented in 2004 and 2007 which enforces the need for fleet managers to have a preventative maintenance plan in place.  FULL STORY  

Volvo Trucks new initiative effective April 2013 is to place QR codes on all new vehicles.  The codes, uniquely tied to a vehicle's VIN number, provide technicians access to detailed service records through the company MVASIST system.  FULL STORY  

J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. has released “Compliance for the Future,” a free 13-page E-book examining current DOT regulatory pressures and offering carriers comprehensive solutions to help them achieve compliance now and in the future.  FULL STORY  

Allison Transmission has come out with its fifth generation electronic controls, which will match the new generation of global vehicle electrical-electronic architectures for easier integration during the vehicle assembly process, and will also result in better on-road performances. FULL STORY  


Briefly

Aim NationaLease has purchased Larsen Leasing Limited of Bensenville, IL.  The new acquisition adds another facility, increasing the number of Aim's Chicagoland facilities to five. . .Hino Motors Canada has donated a 2012 Hino 155 to Fanshawe College which will be used in the school's Truck and Coach Apprenticeship and Motive Power Technician-Diesel Programs. . .Michelin is investing $64.1 million in expanding its Waterville, Nova Scotia factory and the Province of Nova Scotia is adding up to $8.9 million.  The expansion is expected to add 50 new high-value jobs in the Annapolis Valley region. . .JX Enterprises (JXE) has expanded its dealer network to 16 locations with the opening of JX Peterbilt – Lansing, its seventh Illinois branch. . .Mack Trucks now offers the Mack Purebred Overhaul Program which offers extended warranty coverage of up to three years or 350,000 miles for Mack E7 legacy engines. . .Meritor Wabco has been named the standard position steer axle service brake chamber supplier for all Daimler Trucks North America air brake vehicles. . .J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. have announced their sponsorship of the J.J. Keller/Dallas Seavey Iditarod Racing Team for the seventh consecutive year and will also sponsor longtime Iditarod musher Mitch Seavey, Dallas Seavey's father. . .MHC Kenworth  has officially opened the most environmentally friendly dealership in its network in Odessa, Texas.

 

People

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Swienton of Ryder System, Inc. will be retiring at the Company's annual meeting of shareholders on May 1, 2013.  Effective January 1, 2013, Ryder's President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Sanchez assumed the company's chief executive role, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer. . .Truck-Lite appoints Bob Ives as executive vice president of business development and names Beth English as vice president, marketing. . .Great Dane Trailers has named Dave Gilliland as vice president of national accounts; Frank Stewart has been promoted to vice-president of branch sales; Tony Neven has been added to the aftermarket group as aftermarket service manager; Rob Fortney has rejoined the company in a new role as a regional dealers sales director, responsible for Great Dane's northeastern U.S.  and Canadian dealers; Chuck Yocum is now regional dealer sales director for Great Dane's Midwest and western US dealer network; John Schmidt and Mike Wright were also named dealer sales directors and will maintain their current roles; Al Cox has added the position of branch manager of Great Dane's Atlanta branch to his current responsibilities; and David Hood has been promoted to branch manager of Great Dane's Memphis and Little Rock branches. . .Ed Pence will lead the Cummins High Horsepower Business and Dave Crompton will lead the Heavy Duty, Midrange and Light Duty Worldwide Product businesses.  Pence will be replacing Mark Levett, who will take on a new role at Cummins as vice president of corporate responsibility and community relations and CEO of the Cummins Foundation. . .PHH Arval appointed Jim Halliday as senior vice president and chief business development officer for North America. . .Ken Coltrane is the new vice president, consumer tires for Double Coin Tires and CMA.


Taking $tock

A look at truck transportation-industry Fortune 500 public companies:
Company Symbol (Click for Chart) 01/23 Close Performance
Allison Transmission Holdings ALSN $20.85 $0.05 +0.24%
Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR $21.20 $0.10 -0.47%
Cummins Inc. CMI $115.27 $0.48 -0.41%
Dana DAN $15.56 $0.01 -0.06%
Eaton ETN $56.56 $0.42 -0.74%
General Electric GE $21.94 $0.07 -0.32%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber GT $13.71 $0.16 -1.15%
Navistar International Corp. NAV $22.98 $0.48 -2.05%
PACCAR Inc. PCAR $46.19 $0.28 -0.60%
Ryder R $55.19 $0.17 -0.31%

SOURCE: Yahoo! Finance and bigcharts.com

 

Money Matters

Rush Enterprises has acquired certain assets of MVI Group, which operates commercial truck and bus dealerships in Ohio under the names of Miami Valley International, Center City International, CCI North Coast and Buckeye Truck Centers.  The purchase price for the assets, goodwill and the three dealership properties that were purchased were approximately $107 million.  FULL STORY

 

News From TRALA

Early Bird Rate Extended for TRALA's 2013 Annual Meeting

TRALA members now have until February 1, 2013 to register to attend TRALA's Annual Meeting. You don't want to miss out on attending one of the largest gathering of rental and leasing executives in North America. The 2013 Annual Meeting is scheduled for March 11-14 at the Waldorf Astoria Naples in Naples, Florida Click here to register to attend this important meeting.

Mack Leasing/Volvo Truck Leasing, NationaLease, and PacLease are scheduled to hold meetings in conjunction with the TRALA meeting, which will create more efficiencies for attendees wanting to connect with the entire industry. To view the meetings and events scheduled for March 11 through March 14, please click here.

Hotel reservations for the Annual Meeting will only be accepted through the Annual Meeting registration form or by contacting TRALA's Shannon Davison. The information provided in the registration form will be submitted to the hotel on your behalf. No credit cards are required to guarantee your reservation at this time. Hotel confirmation numbers will be forwarded to all guests by a member of the TRALA staff by March 1.

Any questions should be directed to TRALA's Shannon Davison at (703) 299-9120 or by email at sdavison@trala.org

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