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Volvo Group subsidiary Mack Defense will continue to provide support services for the Canadian army through 2025. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) recently exercised its option to extend the Mack Trucks subsidiary’s in-service and support contract for an additional five years, running from 2020 to 2025, and covering more than 1,500 rebadged Renault Kerax 8x8 Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) Standard Military Pattern (SMP) vehicles. “Mack Defense’s MSVS SMP vehicle systems provide critical capabilities that the Canadian Armed Forces depend on,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “We look forward to maximizing the uptime of these vehicles as we continue to provide these support services.” The contract covers all MSVS SMP vehicles, trailers and armored protection systems, Mack said, and will enable Mack Defense to provide support services and the provision of spare parts and materials for level one and two maintenance tasks performed by the customer. Equipment requiring in-depth maintenance, such as repair and overhaul activities or warranty repairs, will be handled by a facility in the area of Quebec City, Quebec. Mack Defense will provide support by delivering spare parts to Canadian Forces Depots (CFD) in Edmonton, Alberta and Montreal, Quebec. Mack Defense was awarded two contracts in 2015 valued at $725 million CAD by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada (now PSPC), on behalf of the Department of National Defense, to deliver more than 1,500 8x8 MSVS SMP trucks and to provide in-service support for the fleet. The MSVS SMP is available in a number of variants, including cargo, material handling cranes, load handling systems (LHS) and mobile repair trucks (MRT). The 1,587th and final MSVS SMP vehicle was delivered in February 2020. The program also delivered 322 trailers and 161 armored protection system cabs. .

Jon Harris, The Morning Call / July 17, 2020 For [Volvo Group subsidiary] Mack Trucks, 2020 already was a down year, a cyclical occurrence in the heavy-duty truck market. The coronavirus pandemic has downshifted expectations even further. The truckmaker received 2,973 orders in the second quarter, down 21% from a year earlier, according to a report Friday from Volvo Group, its Swedish parent company. The number of delivered Mack trucks in the quarter hit 2,302, a 71% drop from almost 8,000 a year ago when the Lower Macungie Township assembly plant worked through a hefty order backlog when times were good. “Before the pandemic, we expected the overall North American heavy truck market to be down about 30% compared to 2019, and now the decline will be significantly sharper,” Mack spokesperson Christopher Heffner said. The Lower Macungie plant already had adapted to reduced market demand, laying off 305 employees in February. The plant, which suspended production March 19 to stem the virus’ spread before resuming production mid-May, now employs about 2,100 people and most of them are back at work, Heffner said. He confirmed the plant has had “a few confirmed cases” of the virus among its employees, cases that activated Mack’s tracing and cleaning protocols. “We are not planning further layoffs at this time,” Heffner said. “We will continue to monitor the market and will make employment decisions based on those conditions.” To reduce costs, Volvo is, however, shrinking its white-collar workforce by about 4,100 positions during the second half of 2020. While about 1,250 job cuts will come in Sweden, Heffner said the company plans to eliminate about 450 positions at its U.S. headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, reductions that will affect some Mack employees stationed there. Only two positions will be eliminated in the Lehigh Valley. While the North American truck market was significantly stalled in April, Volvo’s report said customer activity has gradually improved since. “However,” Volvo President and CEO Martin Lundstedt wrote, “there is still significant uncertainty about the future economic development and demand for our products.” Mack’s market share in North America, however, increased to 7.6% in the quarter, up from 6.4% a year ago. “The market mix does favor our traditional strengths in segments like construction and refuse, and at the same time we’re seeing sales with new customers in those traditional segments as well as growth segments like regional and long haul,” Heffner said. Also in the quarter, Mack announced June 25 that its Mack Defense subsidiary relocated its headquarters from Upper Macungie to the Mack Customer Center in Allentown [a cost-cutting measure], giving the defense contracting business access to the facility’s test track and industrial space.

I've been expecting this.

Bloomberg / July 20, 2020 Another icon of post-war American suburbia went bust as Briggs & Stratton Corp. declared bankruptcy, felled by weak sales, too much debt and a final push over the edge from the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s biggest maker of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment sought protection from creditors in a St. Louis bankruptcy court on Monday, citing debts of more than $1 billion. The filing included a $550 million bid for the company from KPS Capital Partners, a New York private equity firm, which promised to keep Briggs & Stratton in business without the crushing debt that plagued the century-old company. KPS, whose portfolio includes TaylorMade golf clubs and Life Fitness gym equipment, specializes in manufacturing companies. It agreed to serve as the lead bidder in a court-supervised auction, setting a minimum price for any eventual sale, and it’s contributing to a bankruptcy loan that will keep Briggs & Stratton operating, according to a statement. KPS said it has already negotiated a new contract with the United Steelworkers of America. If you’ve ever pushed or driven a lawn mower in your backyard or wielded a snow-blower, chances are the engine was made by Briggs & Stratton, which supplied brands such as Craftsman and Snapper. If you hired a lawn service instead, some of its equipment probably had Briggs & Stratton components, too; it sold products to Deere & Co., MTD Products Inc. and Husqvarna Outdoor Products Group. The Wisconsin-based company’s product lineup also includes power generators and pressure washers, made by 5,200 employees as of the end of last year. It employed more than 9,000 in 2005. The company has been pressured by falling sales, tied in part to the pricing power of mass merchandisers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart, according to regulatory filings. It didn’t help that Sears Holdings Corp., which accounted for a large chunk of sales, went bankrupt in 2018. Briggs & Stratton said it also faces competition from big rivals such as Honda and Kawasaki. On top of that, Briggs & Stratton’s news release about the bankruptcy cited pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic, which “have made reorganization the difficult but necessary and appropriate path forward to secure our business.” The company, led since 2010 by Chief Executive Officer Todd Teske, is headed for a third straight annual loss, and the stock -- which topped $40 in 2004 -- has been selling for less than 80 cents. Trading was halted Monday while the news was disseminated, but at $550 million, KPS’s offer wouldn’t be enough to cover all the outstanding obligations, which means that shareholders could be wiped out. The company’s junior bonds would have to be paid off before stockholders get anything, and those notes were quoted recently at about 10 cents on the dollar -- a sign that full repayment is unlikely. Acquisitions Planned “KPS intends to grow the new Briggs & Stratton aggressively through strategic acquisitions,” said Michael Psaros, co-founder and co-managing partner of KPS, in a statement. “The new Briggs & Stratton will be conservatively capitalized and not encumbered by its predecessor’s significant liabilities.” The offer by KPS would need court approval and could still be topped by a rival bidder for the company, whose headquarters is in Wauwatosa, less than 10 miles from downtown Milwaukee. Briggs & Stratton said in its statement that it lined up $677.5 million of debtor-in-possession financing that will help fund operations during the court reorganization. KPS said it’s contributing $265 million of that sum, and lenders including Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., BMO Harris Bank and PNC Business Credit will provide exit financing. Briggs & Stratton began as an informal partnership in 1908, initially focused on auto parts under founders Stephen F. Briggs and Harold M. Stratton, according to the company’s website. (“Briggs was the inventor and Stratton was the investor,” the company said.) They ventured into areas such as engine-powered bicycles, electric refrigerators and coin-operated paper towel dispensing machines, and their company blossomed alongside American suburbs dotted with single-family homes and grass-covered yards. Global Reach KPS, based in New York, runs the KPS Special Situations Funds with more than $11.4 billion of assets. The firm said its portfolio companies run 150 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries with about 23,000 employees. Kirkland & Ellis is legal counsel for KPS. Briggs & Stratton previously hired Houlihan Lokey Inc. to advise it on strategic options including refinancing its debt, selling assets and cutting costs. The case is Briggs & Stratton Corporation, 20-43597, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis).

Nikola Plummets After Warrant Call Creates Selling Pressure Bloomberg / July 20, 2020 Nikola Corp. shares nosedived on Monday. Some investors will now be able to buy the company’s stock at a fraction of recent prices. The electric-vehicle company late Friday said a sale of shares related to certain warrants was declared effective, which means the warrant holders will now be able to acquire one share of Nikola at $11.50 -- a 76% discount to Friday’s close of $48.84. Apart from those nearly 24 million shares that are now exercisable through warrants, the filing also registered as many as 53.4 million shares held by private investors, such as mutual funds and other large institutions. “We believe the potential for a portion of these 77 million shares to hit the market through early investors selling, could create large technical selling pressure on Nikola stock,” Deutsche Bank said Monday. Nikola shares dropped as much as 22% to $38 in New York trading, after gaining 373% this year through Friday.

It's been years. I can't imagine how the lines to the valve would be all wrong.

In the year 2020, there remain a loyal following of 7.8L-powered Ford Louisville Series operators. They take those trouble-free dump trucks out and make money every day.

The parking brake control valve is located between the driver’s seat and the passenger bench seat.

Excellent work! I like your tilt hood conversions!

Bob, the once great WSJ has lost all my respect. Though more subtle than CNN, the WSJ is clearly trying to steer people’s opinions with biased press rather than merely reporting the news.

Ford Trucks International / July 11, 2020

DAF Trucks Press Release / July 16, 2020 Service, reliability and total package behind decision to choose DAF DAF has delivered 44 fully-fitted city sanitation vehicles to Belgrade, the capital of the Republic of Serbia. The consignment consists of LF and CF trucks with diverse chassis configurations and a wide range of bodies. DAF vehicles now make up half of the fleet of 200 city sanitation vehicles in Belgrade. The decision to award the most recent tender once again to DAF was based on three key elements: a proven track record on service, fleet reliability and the fact that the Gradska Ćistoća city cleaning company can purchase and service the fully-fitted vehicles, including bodies and equipment, directly from its local dealer, Braca Crnomarkovic. Garbage trucks Gradska Ćistoća is responsible not only for all household waste collection in Belgrade but also for cleaning the streets and keeping the roads passable during snowfall. In addition to waste collection trucks fitted with rear loaders, side loaders and top loaders with a capacity of 18 and 22 m3, the order also includes tank trucks for spraying the streets and sweeper trucks that can be easily converted into snow ploughs in the winter. Serbian capital growing “Belgrade continues to grow as a city, as does its population,” according to Marko Popadic, director of Gradska Ćistoća. “Currently, there are 1.7 million people living in the city and its suburbs. So the workload is increasing and that’s why our services have to become better and faster. This means that the service provided by the DAF dealer organisation and the reliability of the vehicles is of crucial importance to us. Replacing our existing vehicles with new DAFs has helped make our staff’s work more efficient, safer and cleaner.” Extremely proud “We have never seen an order of this size before in Serbia,” says Richard Zink, member of the DAF Board of Management with responsibility for Marketing & Sales. “Together with DAF dealer Braca Crnomarkovic we have delivered a total package that perfectly matches the needs of Gradska Ćistoća. This city cleaning company now has a fleet of around 100 DAFs working to keep the streets of Belgrade clean. And that’s something we’re extremely proud of.” .

Ford Trucks International / July 17, 2020 In southeastern Spain, Ford Trucks has a new dealership in the port city of Almería. Almerisan S.L. has a great location and an excellent team of professional truck people! #PoweredByFordTrucks #SharingTheLoad .

However, if your under 19,500 truck pulls a large trailer, welcome to a new world of regulation.

Volvo doesn't even offer the MD as a tractor, and you're dreaming they might offer a tandem configuration ?

Mack part-no. 20QE3183R

You're thinking logically, like a truck people would.

It would not surprise me if the MD medium is cancelled right out of the gate. Volvo is far too late, that segment is already full. Remember, they're renting the plant in a low-buck way that allows them to quickly and cheaply walk away. There's zero commitment to the MD.

Introduced in 2011 but never promoted, Volvo's Mack-branded Granite MHD (medium/heavy duty) is being discontinued. Without ever being properly promoted, or priced appropriately for its target customer base, MHD sales have been abysmal throughout its production run. The MHD was supposed to be a cheaper Granite, equipped with the 8.9L Cummins ISL, to gain greater sales with municipalities and other price-sensitive operators. The MHD was simply a Granite with a marginally cheaper engine. It was not purpose-designed for it's mission, like Kenworth's T370 and International's HV (formerly WorkStar) which were. The new Mack MD series medium truck is not available with a tandem bogie, and is powered by the small Cummins 6.7L ISB unsuitable for many medium/heavy duty requirements. Hence, Mack dealers will have to rely on their other brands to meet customer demand for 6x4 chassis in this space. .

Transport Topics / July 15, 2020 U.S. retail sales of Classes 4-7 medium-duty trucks in June dropped 18.8% to just under 18,000 units, WardsAuto.com reported, with long slides down in the two heaviest segments and a small combined step up for the lowest two. Sales fell to 17,515 compared with 21,574 a year earlier. Sales for the first six months were down 18.6% to 99,281 compared with 121,991 in the 2019 period. Class 7 sales were 3,798, down 25.9% compared with 5,123 a year earlier. Freightliner was the sales leader. International was second. They were separated by 479 trucks, and their combined sales accounted for 68.2% of the total sales in Class 7. Class 6 sales plunged 46.7% to 3,575 compared with 6,711 in the 2019 period. International edged out Freightliner 966-956 for the top spot. Four other brands sold a combined 1,653 trucks in the class. Classes 4-5 sales inched up 4.1% to 10,142 compared with 9,740 a year earlier. “Classes 4-5 continue to outperform expectations,” said one analyst. “Our current call is for this segment to drop about 30% [in 2020]. For the larger medium-duty vehicles, we are looking for Classes 6-7 to fall about 35%, with similar expectations for the whole of the Classes 4-7 market.” He said things are progressing as expected for Classes 6-7. “This continues to be largely a lease-rental and private-fleet story, with capital budgets being cut, leading to below replacement demand,” he said. “Same for government and municipal markets, whose tax revenues are suffering mightily.” He added, “Honestly, there is no magic between classes. All of the configurations that go on these chassis are scalable. So a small beverage-delivery truck could be a Class 6, but it could also be a Class 5 or a Class 7. “Just change the length of the frame rails and either add to or take away from suspension slash weight carrying capacity, and it is what you want it to be. Perhaps Class 6 is a just a good middle ground from which to move up or down.” In related news, Mack Trucks, a unit of Sweden's Volvo Group, announced serial production of its MD Series of Classes 6-7 trucks was rescheduled to Sept. 1 from July 1. Mack invested $13 million in a new manufacturing facility in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley. “The start was delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic,” a spokesman said.

Hyundai Group Press Release / July 6, 2020 Hyundai Motor is shipping the first 10 units of XCIENT Fuel Cell, the world’s first fuel cell heavy-duty truck, to Switzerland • Hyundai will roll out 50 trucks this year and total of 1,600 units by 2025 • Powered by 190-kW hydrogen fuel cell system, XCIENT Fuel Cell can travel approximately 400 km on a single charge • Developed independently by Hyundai Motor, XCIENT Fuel Cell will help decarbonize the world • Hyundai to develop tractor unit with driving range of 1,000 kilometers on a single charge SEOUL – Hyundai Motor Company today shipped the first 10 units of the Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell, the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell heavy-duty truck, to Switzerland. The company plans to ship a total of 50 XCIENT Fuel Cells to Switzerland this year, with handover to commercial fleet customers starting in September. Hyundai plans to roll out a total of 1,600 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks by 2025, reflecting the company’s environmental commitment and technological prowess as it works toward reducing carbon emissions through zero-emission solutions. “XCIENT Fuel Cell is a present-day reality, not as a mere future drawing board project. By putting this groundbreaking vehicle on the road now, Hyundai marks a significant milestone in the history of commercial vehicles and the development of hydrogen society,” said In Cheol Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Vehicle Division at Hyundai Motor. “Building a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem, where critical transportation needs are met by vehicles like XCIENT Fuel Cell, will lead to a paradigm shift that removes automobile emissions from the environmental equation.” “Having introduced the world’s first mass-produced fuel-cell electric passenger vehicle, the ix35, and the second-generation fuel cell electric vehicle, the NEXO, Hyundai is now leveraging decades of experience, world-leading fuel-cell technology, and mass-production capability to advance hydrogen in the commercial vehicle sector with the XCIENT Fuel Cell,” he added. XCIENT Fuel Cell XCIENT is powered by a 190-kW hydrogen fuel cell system with dual 95-kW fuel cell stacks. Seven large hydrogen tanks offer a combined storage capacity of around 32.09 kg of hydrogen. The driving range per charge for XCIENT Fuel Cell is about 400km*, which was developed with an optimal balance between the specific requirements from the potential commercial fleet customers and the charging infrastructure in Switzerland. Refueling time for each truck takes approximately 8~20 minutes. Fuel cell technology is particularly well-suited to commercial shipping and logistics due to long ranges and short refueling times. The dual-mounted fuel cell system provides enough energy to drive the heavy-duty trucks up and down the mountainous terrain in the region. Hyundai Motor is developing a long-distance tractor unit capable of traveling 1,000 kilometers on a single charge equipped with an enhanced fuel cell system with high durability and power, aimed at global markets including North America and Europe. Green Hydrogen Ecosystem In 2019, Hyundai Motor Company formed Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), a joint venture with Swiss company H2 Energy, which will lease the trucks to commercial truck operators on a pay-per-use basis, meaning there is no initial investment for the commercial fleet customers. Hyundai chose Switzerland as the starting point for its business venture for various reasons. One of the reasons is the Swiss LSVA road tax on commercial vehicles, which does not apply for zero-emission trucks. That nearly equalizes the hauling costs per kilometer of the fuel cell truck compared to a regular diesel truck. Hyundai’s business case involves using purely clean hydrogen generated from hydropower. To truly reduce carbon emissions, all of the trucks need to run on only green hydrogen. Switzerland is the country with one of the highest shares of hydropower globally, and can therefore deliver sufficient green energy for the production of hydrogen. Once the project is underway in Switzerland, Hyundai plans to expand it to other European countries as well. Hyundai Hydrogen Leadership As Hyundai looks to the future, zero-emissions mobility will play a significant role in the company’s strategy. In addition to the XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, Hyundai is also the manufacturer of NEXO, its second-generation hydrogen-powered SUV. By 2025, the company aims to sell 670,000 electric vehicles annually, including 110,000 FCEVs. In December 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced its long-term roadmap, “Fuel Cell Vision 2030”, and reaffirmed its commitment to accelerate the development of a hydrogen society by leveraging its global leadership in fuel cell technologies. As part of this plan, Hyundai Motor Group aims to secure a 700,000-unit-a-year capacity of fuel cell systems for automobiles as well as vessels, rail cars, drones and power generators by 2030. * Driving distance range around 400km in the 4x2 truck with refrigerated upfit configuration while operating 34 tonne truck + trailer combination .

A German-controlled American truckmaker cooperating with a Chinese Communist Party-led autonomous truck company........what could possible go wrong? https://www.tusimple.com/cn/

Nick Carey, Reuters / July 15, 2020 Truck maker Navistar International Corp. has bought a minority stake in TuSimple [Beijing TuSimple Future Technology Co., ltd.] and aims to co-develop self-driving trucks by 2024 with the technology company as it rolls out a national U.S. autonomous freight network, the two companies said Wednesday. Self-driving technology for freight trucks has attracted investor attention as it should be easier and cheaper to roll out than in self-driving cars and autonomous taxis, while providing a clearer path to profitability. Unlike self-driving cars and robotaxis, self-driving freight services run on fixed routes between predefined points -- almost all of that on major highways with no intersections or pedestrians. That business is more predictable and requires less mapping than driving customers between random points. Navistar and TuSimple did not disclose the size of the stake. TuSimple recently announced it was launching a self-driving truck network with United Parcel Service Inc., trucking firm US Xpress Enterprises Inc., and McLane, a supply chain unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Navistar CEO Persio Lisboa, who said the truck maker chose TuSimple because its software was more developed than its competitors' and because of its relations with customers, said the minority stake could "turn into something bigger as we go to the next phase of development." TuSimple's president, Cheng Lu, said because its network runs using points on a fixed network -- which he likens to a railroad -- the trucks the company will co-develop with Navistar will operate at Level 4 autonomy where vehicles can operate without a driver under set conditions. Self-driving car developers are aiming for Level 5, or full autonomy, which will require far greater investments of money, time and research to develop. "You don't need to over-engineer this," Lu said. "Trucking is always about taking freight from point to point on predefined routes and this is where we can add value by addressing pain points in the industry." In addition to running tests on TuSimple's network, UPS also owns a stake in the company. "This is the type of developmental production partnership we are excited to view in this market," Philip Aiello, the director of UPS's advanced technology group, said of the partnership between Navistar and TuSimple. The two companies have worked together since 2018 and Navistar CEO Lisboa said much of what needs to be done by 2024 consists of testing technology the truck maker has already developed on TuSimple's network. In January, Volkswagen Group's truck unit, Traton , offered $35 a share, or $2.9 billion, for the Navistar shares it does not already own. Lisboa declined to comment on buyout talks, but said as Traton has two seats on Navistar's board, it is well aware of the move to work with and invest in TuSimple. .