May 1, 2007
Editor's Page
Invisibly green
When it comes to trucking's overall environmental impact, an enormous gap exists between public perception and reality. ...
Management: Feature
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Okay, so you can't actually open a can with a van. But think about it. There really isn't a whole lot the Swiss Army Knife of vehicles can't help a business accomplish...
Management: In Box
Congestion on DOT list
In his annual testimony to Congress in March, Dept. of Transportation Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III outlined the top ten management issues facing DOT, and for the first time he put traffic congestion on the list....
Light vehicles must have ESC by 2012
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that all light vehicles must be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) systems by model-year 2012....
ATRI weighs in on speed governors
According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the research arm of the American Trucking Assns. (ATA), preliminary results from an ongoing study of speed governors indicates data is insufficient to make a strong claim about the relationship between fleet size and governor use...
Tax file: IRS calls APUs taxable
The Internal Revenue Service recently released at private letter ruling (PLR) regarding auxiliary power units (APUs). ...
The power of trucking
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) recently hosted its 69th annual convention, called Built on Heritage. It was the future of trucking, not its past, however, which dominated discussion...
going places
BP Lubricants Americas has promoted Paul Waterman to chief executive. Lynn Reinbolt has been named president of Road Systems, the trailer manufacturing subsidiary of Con-Way Inc....
E-manifest mandatory for Mexico
Truck carriers entering the U.S. through all border crossings in California, New Mexico and Texas are now required to transmit advance electronic truck cargo information through U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) truck manifest system....
A century one package at a time
Working out of a basement office in Seattle, James Casey and Claude Ryan borrowed a hundred dollars and started the American Messenger Co. in 1907. They hired other teenagers like themselves to run errands and carry notes for customers by foot or bicycle....
Management: Bottom Line
Follow the freight
Where should you point your trucks to keep them full in an economy that no longer seems to need as many trucks as it did last year? For now at least, Texas looks like a top destination...
Management: Economics
Not so fast
We seem to be entering the initial phase of a huge investment in the production of ethanol as a substitute for fossil fuel a reaction to the public outcry for more environmentally friendly fuels....
Management: Safety Matters
Tougher targeting
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has released an upgrade of its computerized roadside inspection targeting program, known as the Inspection Selection System (ISS)....
Management: Managers Tool Box
Heroes need backup too
No matter one's religious persuasion or lack thereof, anyone of goodwill can take away from reading the parable of the Good Samaritan that we should all be willing to render assistance to all who need it as if they were not strangers but our neighbors....
Management: Private Line
No best only better
On the brink of becoming the world's largest car company, Toyota Motor Co. commands roughly a 16% share of passenger vehicles sold in the United States, the biggest car market on the planet...
Equipment: Feature
TALK OF THE SHOW
The crowds were as large and the smiles as big as ever at this year's Mid-America Trucking Show, probably because 2006 was a great year for both the manufacturers with products on display and the fleets wandering though those booths....
Equipment: Nuts & Bolts
EPA warms up to SCR
EPA has reconsidered its stance against selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as a viable technology for on-highway diesel engines to meet stringent 2010 emissions standards...
SAF-Holland lightens the fifth wheel
SAF-Holland has introduced a lightweight aluminum fifth wheel, the Holland FW, which was designed by SAF-Holland and manufactured by Alcoa. ...
Idling alternative
Sun Power Technologies debuted its battery-based idle reduction solution. The self-contained, 12V system, dubbed Eco-Air, is designed to deliver 10,000 Btu of cooling per hour for up to eight and one-half hours, without using any of the truck's power sources...
Racor launches new products
Racor Division of Parker Hannifin Corp. has released a new additive that it says improves stability and prevents corrosion, Powershot+Diesel Fuel Conditioner....
Sprinter plant up and running
With the South Carolina governor and other state officials on hand, DaimlerChrysler officially launched production of its second-generation Sprinter van yesterday at its Ladson, SC, plant....
bulletins
Eaton Corp. is buying the fuel components division of Saturn Electronics & Engineering, maker of fuel containment valves that are activated during rollover or accident impacts, and shutoff valves to prevent splash back and vapor release during refueling....
Goodyear offers new Dunlop steer tire
To breathe some new life into a venerable truck tire brand, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will market its latest tractor steer tire under the Dunlop name....
Multi-network fuel card
Plavan Fleet, a provider of fuel and information management solutions, recently introduced a multi-network fuel card that can be used at 30,000 commercial fueling locations across N.A....
Next-generation tire monitoring
Mobile Awareness has released its latest line of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) for commercial trucks and trailers. ...
Equipment: Under Eight
Hybrids rising
Just over a year ago I talked in this column about whether or not hybrid vehicles made economic sense. Sure, slaving a diesel or gasoline engine to an electric motor and battery pack obviously reduced emissions and saved fuel, but did it save enough fuel to make it worth the extra cost? ...
Equipment: Tire Tracks
Stepping up the pressure
Starting with the 2008 model year, all new vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lb. or less must be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). ...
Equipment: Maintenance Bay
Streamlined outsourcing
PROBLEM Joe Smolar says he realized pretty quickly that trying to make contract maintenance more efficient yet save money is a complicated if not impossible challenge when you're dealing with vendors numbering in the double digits....
Equipment: Whats New In
what's new in: Refrigeration units
Today's reefer operators are looking for improvements in the performance and reliability of refrigeration units, as higher fuel and truck operating costs continue to put pressure on their bottom lines....
Equipment: Used Trucks
Werner selling fewer trucks in '07
Fleet Truck Sales, the wholly owned used-truck remarketing subsidiary of Werner Enterprises, saw sales of its trucks and trailers drop to $6.2 million for the first quarter of 2007...
Truck Blue Book hosting 25th conference
Dealers, industry suppliers and fleet executives will all be among the participants in the 25th annual Truck Blue Book Conference in Las Vegas on June 6 and 7....
Used sales stay level for Rush
Compared to the first quarter of 2006, used truck sales are holding steady for Rush Enterprises Inc., which calls itself the largest network of heavy- and medium-duty truck dealerships in North America. ...
Equipment: Vocational Profile
Mission Possible
For the last ten years, things have been running along smoothly on the transportation end of Mission Concrete Products' business. But that wasn't always the case....
IT: Feature
Managing Security with IT
It would make life a lot easier if you could buy a reasonably priced, off-the-shelf security system for your fleet the way you can for your home. Unfortunately, IT-based solutions, such as global positioning systems (GPS) or those using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, are far too expensive if their only purpose is to improve security....
IT: truck.com
fleets online
Problem: One of four fleet support companies that make up First Group America, First Vehicle Services (FVS) provides contract maintenance for 46,000 vehicles operated out of 130 locations. ...
ACE benefits mixed
Trucking companies using the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) e-manifest system report that although border crossings are smoother, workload and costs have increased....
Prepass package for small fleets
PrePass and BestPass have announced they've agreed to offer their weigh-station bypass and toll-collection services as a package to motor carriers operating five or fewer trucks....
Intermodal RFID network going national
Horizon Services Group is working with federal and local governments to create a national network for real-time intermodal container tracking using the existing RFID reader infrastructure on highways....
Re-routing on the fly
Changing the destination of freight while in transit isn't easy, but United Parcel Service (UPS) has rolled out a new service that allows shippers to intercept and re-route packages in transit all via the Internet 24/7, anywhere in the United States and Puerto Rico. ...
off the wire
Cargo Transporters, a North Carolina-based truckload carrier, says it will install the new Qualcomm OmniVision mobile computing and communications system in its fleet of 440 vehicles....
Cellular/satellite solution from WebTech
Fleet telematics service provider WebTech Wireless Inc. and mobile voice and data communications provider Iridium Satellite have introduced a new dual-mode cellular and satellite asset tracking and management solution for the transportation industry...
NPTC backhaul service now online
The National Private Truck Council (NPTC) has launched a backhaul networking program to help its fleet members fill empty miles through strategic fleet partnerships....
IT: Patent Pending
Not a shoe-in
In the early days of telematics, I used to go to a technology trade show where almost every was a little black box displayed on a four-foot high, draped table....
The Last Word
the last word
Everyone knows there are Volvo cars and there are Volvo trucks, but who knew both got rolling nearly at the same time? ...
