kscarbel2

From the workers point of view and my own, a straight run is/was more convenient. But sometimes production planning has orders contrary to logic.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6025457/Australian-discovery-World-War-Two-SOLVE-mystery-missing-pilot-Amelia-Earhart.html

Probably Jim. All the U-700s I supported had NH power. Holly Farms taught me with their 903-powered K100s (on "the shore" in Temperanceville, VA) that the 903 didn't make for a good truck engine. They finally replaced them with beautiful new Ford HN80s.

All the Macks I knew with Cherryville (northwest of Gastonia), North Carolina-based Carolina Freight were Mack-powered. They bought some of everything, and ran many White 4000s (local) and 7000s (over-the-road). Winston Salem, North Carolina-based McLean Trucking also ran many makes, including Whites. There was so much trucking going on in North Carolina at one time, we had a factory branch in WInston Salem, in addition to Charlotte, to support the massive fleets up there. We sold the Winston-Salem branch to Jim Bland and Triad Mack was born.

Bob, the cabs on the Cummins-powered U-700s were indeed mounted higher for clearance and a larger radiator. When I recall the U-700, I instinctively think of Columbia, South Carolina-based Southeastern Freight Lines. They had NHs, not 903s. .

I think you'll find that what works in Europe, the global market, can work here. Towing needs to be regulated. A CDL-less 16-year-old kid barreling down a crowded 45mph road doing 55mph in an (insufficiently tow rated) E-250 or F-250 pulling a cheap and overloaded tandem-axle trailer overloaded with a skid loader, breaker and numerous other items that he failed to secure properly (aka. projectiles) is all too common place. These accidents-waiting-to-happen are seen daily coast-to-coast. Such towing should be limited to private property (at your own risk), and banned from public roads. In the 550 range, I'd like to see a (Cargo) low-cab-forward. With that you get the needed weight distribution, with the added benefit of enhanced visibility.

Scania Group Press Release / August 3, 2018 Spanish airports giant adds 14 new firefighting trucks to its emergency fleet. AENA, the Spanish airports authority, has made a significant reinforcement to its firefighting and emergency capabilities with the addition of 14 Scania P 490 6×6 fire trucks. Each of the vehicles is equipped with a 13-litre Scania engine, and nine of the trucks have superstructures built by Iturri, while five have been built by Rosenbauer. Ideally equipped for all airport emergencies According to Eurostat, Spain had the third-largest volume of airport traffic in 2017 (after the UK and Germany), with almost 250 million passengers. And for AENA, which counts 46 airports and two heliports in its national network, the Scania P 490 6×6 is ideally equipped for fighting fires and dealing with other airport emergencies safely and quickly. The new firefighting truck measures up to the stringent specifications that are required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Crucially, the vehicle has rapid speed of response. When fully loaded it can accelerate from 0 to 80 km per hour in less than 35 seconds, and it has a maximum speed of 100 km per hour. The firefighting capability is also impressive. It includes a 6,100-litre water tank, a foam tank with a storage capacity of 750 litres and a chemical dust deposit of 225 kilos. The truck also has a water cannon mounted on the ceiling of the cabin that can provide a variable jet for spraying water and foam, at a distance of more than 65 metres. A secondary front cannon under the windscreen has a range of 40 metres. .

Cummins, Eaton joint venture expected to profit in 2020 Truck News / August 3, 2018 COLUMBUS, Indiana – A Cummins and Eaton joint venture that was developed in 2017 is expected to be profitable by 2020, Cummins president and chief operating officer Richard Freeland said when releasing financial results for the second quarter of 2018. Current losses for Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies are expected to be halved in 2019, with a break-even point to be reached the following year. “The combined powertrain product is doing terrific as we introduced the new product, and more importantly, as we’ve done the integration work between the engine and the transmission,” he said. The first product to emerge through the joint venture was the 12-speed automated Endurant transmission. It isn’t the only partnership playing a role in future business plans, either. Cummins, which recently acquired Efficient Drivetrains Inc. as part of its electrification strategy for commercial vehicles, is also forming a joint venture with Chinese JAC Motors following Navistar’s exit from that business. Tom Linebarger, Cummins chairman and chief executive officer, says the company will benefit from JAC’s strong exporter status in overseas markets that follow China 6 emissions standards. Cummins’ market share in the region is expected to grow significantly – perhaps double – in five years, he said.

Not to be confused with Atlanta-based Builder's Transport, which was acquired by Green bay-based Schneider National in 1998.

Fleet Owner / August 3, 2018 Flatbed and specialized transportation provider Daseke, Inc. has acquired Memphis-based metal hauler Builders Transportation Co. The purchase adds Builders' fleet of more than 300 trucks and nearly 500 spread-axle trailers to Daseke, which already is the largest company of its kind in North America with a combined fleet of over 5,200 trucks and 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers. Builders' traditional flatbed operations through the 48 contiguous states are focused in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. hauling coil steel, wire products, structural and sheet steel, aluminum products, building materials, cast iron, steel pipe, and machinery. "We've had Builders Transportation on our radar for quite some time. We've been impressed with the focus and family-rooted culture of the company," said Don Daseke, CEO of Daseke. "The company has been in business since 1954 and it has a long legacy as a family-run operation. They will be a great addition to the Daseke family." For the 12-month period ending in June 2018, Builders had an estimated $72.4 million in gross revenue and $9.7 million in adjusted EBITDA. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, Daseke acquired Builders for a total consideration of $53.8 million including $3.4 million in Daseke stock. Builders has won "Carrier of the Year" awards from several of its core customers, the company noted. It has been family owned and operated since Frank Phillips Sr. purchased the six-truck operation back in 1961, and along with his sons has steadily grown the business to where it is today. "Over the years, we've had companies approach us but we never took any of that seriously—we didn't want to give up what our family has built,” said Builders CEO John Phillips. "We have a long history and are very protective of our heritage. We have people here who have been with us their entire career. Being with Daseke lets us continue being who we are, and that's critically important to us." Investment analysis and equity research firm Cowen issued a brief today on the Builders acquisition stating it believes there will be "moderate synergies from the deal" with Daseke seeing moderate per-share earnings growth next year. "We view the acquisition as part of [Daseke's] ongoing plan to roll up the heavyweight and transport sectors," Cowen stated in the brief. .

"When I ran Mack International, we averaged sales of 4,000 to 4,500 trucks per year in 1975-79 in Iran (7,000 units in 1975)," Curcio said. "At that time, Iran Drilling was one of our customers. I'm sure they've missed the strength, longevity and reliability of a Mack. We still have between 35,000 and 55,000 Mack trucks operating in Iran." Mack Trucks Chairman John B. Curcio

Reuters / August 3, 2018 Scania’s entire sales into Iran could be lost if the United States reinstates sanctions against the country, the Swedish truckmaker’s head warned on Friday, a day after first-half results showed the company’s Iranian order book was already being hit. CEO Henrik Henriksson said Scania, which was one of the first truck companies to return to Iran after the EU lifted sanctions in early 2016, had cancelled all orders that it could not deliver by mid August as anything after would have been hit by the new sanctions. “Looking at the information we have on hand today, of course if nothing is improving, then (our) whole volume will be in jeopardy,” told Reuters. Among truckmakers, Scania, has one of the larger presences in Iran, selling 5,000-6,000 trucks and buses annually, according to Henriksson. That represents about 5 percent of its global vehicle orders of 109,415 last year. Such a move would be another blow to the Iranian car industry, which unlike the energy and banking sectors, had managed to sign contracts with top European firms after the lifting of sanctions in 2016, attracting sizable foreign investment. French carmaker PSA Group began to suspend its joint venture activities in Iran in June and Germany’s Daimler said it was closely monitoring any further developments and would then evaluate the potential impact on its business. Despite the efforts of European governments to salvage the nuclear deal and provide guarantees to European firms to protect them against secondary U.S. sanctions, many of them are leaving Iran anyway to avoid any possible U.S. penalties. America accounted for 13 percent of Scania’s orders for trucks, buses and coaches in 2017. Scania declined to comment on how much of an impact the decline in orders from Iran, considered as one of their growth markets, had on first half results. The company’s factories in Latin America and Europe are used to produce vehicles for Tehran and it distributes trucks and buses through local partners, which also own Scania’s production and extensive servicing network in Iran. Henriksson said Scania was also pressing for faster payment as sanctions could potentially close financing networks by November. “As it is right now, it’s a wind down window of getting orders out that were in before a certain date and getting payments in as much as you can,” he said. However, Henriksson said Scania was working on a contingency plan so that it could continue to deliver spare parts needed to keep its trucks and buses on Iranian roads running, but that nothing was resolved yet. .

Billy, the sum of kickbacks from truckmakers into the pockets of trucking company executives over the years runs into the billions of dollars, and Roadway was no exception.

The dropside bed is functional/versatile. Our archaic fixed shape pickup beds offer no such flexibility. The crew cab Transit dropside pickup is so much more efficient in form and function than a typical US conventional cab pickup. Weight distribution is far better. No fuel guzzling engine. More maneuverable. A spacious cab designed for work. Unparalleled visibility. The list goes on and on.

https://www.ford.com.au/commercial/transit-cab-chassis/?gmbxtid=ford_transit_first-kba-001-transit_cab_chassis_1 . .

The driver shortage is fiction, to jack up rates and profits over the summer. Look at lumber. It shot up in June under the excuse of a truck (driver) shortage. But in fact there hasn't been a supply shortage because truck shipments have been adequate. Now watch lumber prices will fall back down by the end of this month. This is how the lumber distributors make extra money.

UPS to Test Fully Electric Thor Delivery Truck Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / August 2, 2018 UPS and electric truck maker Thor Trucks are collaborating on a fully electric Class 6 to be developed and tested in Los Angeles. The truck is expected to be ready to deploy later this year, according to UPS. It will have a driving range of approximately 100 miles and is powered by a Thor-designed and built battery made to be lightweight and durable. The plan is for UPS to test the medium-duty delivery truck in in fleet operations for six months. Testing will include both on- and off-road evaluations where aspects such as durability, battery capacity, and technical integration can be studied. “UPS is committed to sustainability and operates one of the most well-respected and complex fleets in the country,” said Dakota Semler, co-founder and CEO of Thor Trucks. “This is also an incredibly valuable opportunity to gain insight into what it will take to fulfill our mission of getting entire electric fleets on the road.” This is the latest project to be announced as part of UPS’s Rolling Laboratory approach that deploys low-emissions vehicles in the real world to determine what technology works best on each route. So far the company has 9,300 low-emissions vehicles including all-electric, hybrid electric, compressed natural gas, and other alternative powertrain types. On the electric vehicle front, UPS is working with several manufacturers including Arrival, Daimler, Tesla, Thor, and Workhorse. As a company UPS has announced several initiatives to lower its environmental impact. It has a 2020 goal of making one in four new vehicles purchased an alternative fuel or advanced technology vehicle. The company also set a goal of replacing 40% of all ground fuel with sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel. Ultimately, UPS has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from global ground operations 12% by 2025. “UPS believes in the future of commercial electric vehicles. We want to support the research needed to make advances and the companies developing those innovative products,” said Carlton Rose, president, global fleet maintenance and engineering for UPS. “Performance is critical in our fleet." .

Transport Topics / August 2, 2018 Class 8 orders in July set an all-time monthly high and soared past 52,000 as the crush continues. Orders hit 52,400, based on a preliminary figure that will be adjusted when final data is out. The previous record was 52,194 set in March 2006. “July’s activity was nearly triple that of July 2017,” an analyst said. A year earlier, orders were 18,726. “The feat is made even more spectacular since July typically is the weakest order intake month of the year,” he said. Orders in the first seven months are nearly 222,000. One analyst pointed to the activity among dealers trying to stock up. “The [truck makers] are opening up their production schedules for next year, and the strength in orders is coming from dealers as they are preparing for a strong 2019 and have been frozen out of build schedules for this year — over 90% of the orders in June were for 2019,” Credit Suisse analyst Jamie Cook wrote in a note. At the same time, carriers are posting record profit margin as the broader environment for the trucking industry remains strong, she said.

Daimler AG’s Board Approves Restructuring Aimed at Mastering Rapid Change Transport Topics / July 27, 2018 Daimler AG announced its board has approved a restructuring, first discussed in 2017, that would create three independent units under Daimler’s umbrella as a holding company after the most thorough due diligence in the company’s 130-year history. The final step involves shareholders approving the reorganization, known as Project Future, at the company’s next annual meeting, scheduled for May 2019. The restructuring, once approved, is set to be completed by Jan. 1, 2020. “The new structure positions Daimler to tackle the rapid pace of change in the mobility sector and the corresponding strategic challenges. Legally independent divisions will sharpen our focus on the future success of the business,” Daimler Chairman Manfred Bischoff said in a statement. The new divisions will be more entrepreneurial, positioned closer to their markets and customers, and empowered to enter partnerships more easily and quickly, according to the Stuttgart, Germany-based company. In the realignment of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz AG will include the Mercedes-Benz cars and vans divisions, and have 175,000 employees. The car segment is the company’s largest business. Daimler Truck AG will include its trucks and buses operations, and have 100,000 employees. The truck unit is the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world. Daimler Mobility AG will include the financial services unit, which already was independent, and have 13,000 employees. Three trucking industry analysts agreed with the need for speed. Large companies struggle to move quickly because they have a great deal of inertia tied to supporting existing product lines and manufacturing systems, Rick Mihelic, president of Mihelic Vehicle Consulting, told Transport Topics. “New market opportunities tend to start out with very small sales volumes and unknown market potential. These can suffer when competing for attention next to established products with known volumes and cash flows” at the large companies, he said. At the same time, smaller companies, and especially new entrants and start-ups, are not encumbered by the need to support the existing business models while chasing new ones, Mihelic said. “These companies need cash flow from new products and are inspired to move much more quickly on new technologies. “The ideal world would combine the skills and assets of the established large [companies] with the nimble innovation and energy of the smaller start-ups. I think Daimler is recognizing this by stressing the need to rapidly enter partnerships.” Steve Tam, vice president of ACT Research Co., said Daimler’s proposed new structure “allows for more rapid, nimble response to the ever-developing technology in each of the markets.” Earlier, he said that while autonomy probably is going to be pretty similar across the car and commercial vehicle platforms, electrification may not be. “From an electrification perspective, I think we are going to end up potentially with different solutions, especially in the heavier end of commercial vehicles,” Tam said, adding, Daimler is “at the front of the pack in electrification and autonomous trucks. So this just affords them more rapid response.” John Blodgett, vice president of sales at MacKay & Co. said, “I think we have seen so many announcements in the mobility area in last 12 months that it reinforces the need to have a structure which allows divisions to be more nimble.” Meanwhile, the new structure will involve reassigning more than 700 subsidiaries in over 60 countries. Daimler will exercise corporate governance, strategy and management functions, and provide cross-divisional business services and ensure that synergies between the entities remain as before. Responsibility for the funding of the entire group will continue to rest with Daimler, which will be the only company in the corporate group to be listed on the stock exchange. As part of the planned overhaul, Daimler extended a labor pact that rules out forced layoffs until 2030 and will allocate 35 billion euros ($41.2 billion) in investments on electric cars and other new technologies over the next seven years, the group’s workers council told Bloomberg News in 2017. The manufacturer also is contributing 3 billion euros to its pension plans. The overhaul, first proposed in July 2017, would be Daimler’s biggest corporate revamp since it ended its ambitions of becoming a global car giant with the sale of Chrysler a decade ago.

I'm speaking of the full-size Transit. Aside from Valencia, Ford-Otosan remains a major Transit Connect producer. Aside from Nanchang (just started), Ford-Otosan is the exclusive production base for the mid-sized Transit Custom/Transit Tourneo.

In 2001, I had a long discussion with Ford engineers in Nanchang about why the superior Transit had yet to supercede the Econoline in North America. In short, it was because Americans "tow", and Europeans don't (not like Americans do). The Transit had not been designed for the ridiculous towing people do wlth light trucks in the states. I'm talking about unqualified drivers operating vans and pickups towing cheap, mammoth, overloaded tandem axle trailers.

Chinese (Jiangling) and Russian (Sollers) production is also only rear-wheel-drive. In Europe, the ability to order front-, rear- or all-wheel drive is a real selling point. Here's another example of how important Ford-Otosan is to the Blue Oval's worldwide game plan. Aside from the Americas, China and Russia, Ford-Otosan is responsible for all Transit production.

White House proposes weaker auto emissions rules, overriding California Eric Kulisch, Automotive News / August 2, 2018 WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration on Thursday proposed capping federal fuel efficiency requirements for passenger vehicles at the 2020 model year level of 35 mpg, instead of letting them continue to rise through 2025 to about 50 mpg as planned under the Obama administration. The notice of proposed rulemaking also declared that the 1975 law that established fuel efficiency standards pre-empts California from setting its own carbon emission standards for vehicles and that a waiver from federal rules allowing it to set stricter standards on its own should be revoked -- setting up a likely court clash. The draft rule, jointly written by the EPA and NHTSA, includes a range of options for modifying the fleet fuel economy and emissions standards, but makes clear the preference is to freeze the standards at the 2020 model year level. The new plan, if adopted in a final rule after a public comment period, would dramatically weaken President Barack Obama’s most far-reaching policy intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The Thursday move, widely anticipated, was quickly criticized by environmentalists and lawmakers from several states. California Gov. Jerry Brown said his state "will fight this stupidity in every conceivable way possible." Trump embraces automakers The effort began early last year after President Donald Trump embraced automakers’ appeals to relax the aggressive standards and make compliance more manageable. In the spring, former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt determined that the Obama administration’s five-year re-evaluation of whether the 2021-25 model year standards were still feasible was faulty and ordered a new review. Under existing rules, standards vary by model based on a size footprint. A Honda Fit, for example, would need to get 62 mpg by the 2025 model year, while a Chevy Silverado would comply with 35 mpg. Automakers got more than they bargained for when Pruitt, a self-professed “small-government” champion, pushed for a significant rollback of the fuel economy standards and revoking California’s waiver. There are differences among the major companies over how much the phased-in standards to which they agreed in 2012 should be watered down. But the consensus is for rules that California can accept so that the state, and a dozen others that follow its program, continue to participate in a harmonized national program. Without a unified program, automakers face the expensive prospect of building and marketing vehicles for two markets or losing sales of some models in certain states. "We applaud the president and the administration for releasing this much anticipated proposal that includes a variety of standards for public consideration," the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers said in a statement. "Automakers support continued improvements in fuel economy and flexibilities that incentivize advanced technologies while balancing priorities like affordability, safety, jobs, and the environment. "With today’s release of the Administration’s proposals, it’s time for substantive negotiations to begin." 'Common sense solution' The statement urged California and the federal government "to find a common sense solution that sets continued increases in vehicle efficiency standards while also meeting the needs of America’s drivers.” Pruitt did not see the proposed rulemaking to its conclusion, having resigned last month under pressure for a series of ethical and management lapses that brought negative attention on the White House. Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former fossil fuel and coal industry lobbyist who once worked for climate-change denier Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., reportedly worried that the proposal was legally and technically weak, making it vulnerable to rejection in court. At a Senate hearing Wednesday he encouraged the auto industry and California to find a compromise that would enable continuation of a single national program. The draft rule contends that the existing rules are too costly and would lead to production of lighter cars, resulting in about 12,000 more traffic fatalities over a dozen years, primarily because vehicles will be cheaper and encourage consumers to replace their older vehicles and buy newer, safer cars. Consumers may delay or forgo the acquisition of safer vehicles as a result of higher prices associated with clean car and safety technologies, the rulemaking says. More consumption The freeze would increase U.S. oil consumption by about 500,000 barrels of oil per day by the 2030s. It also argues that people will drive less with cars that burn more fuel, further protecting them from potential accidents. Critics say the administration based its decision on ideology, with thin data to justify weakening the emissions rules, compared with the voluminous scientific record developed by the Obama EPA. California and its allies previously threatened to sue the federal government if the corporate average fuel economy rules are rolled back. Protracted litigation is likely over the stringency of the fuel economy rules, a determination that California is pre-empted by the Environmental Protection and Conservation Act from regulating carbon emissions from autos and moves to revoke California’s waiver from federal standards, according to stakeholders and experts. Fifty-one House Democrats last week signed onto a resolution supporting the clean car standards and defending state authority under the Clean Air Act to protect their citizens from harmful air pollution. Senate Democrats have also criticized the administration's decision. The government said it will hold three public hearings in Washington, Detroit and Los Angeles to gather input on the proposals, with dates to be determined.

FCA recalls more than 1.1 million Ram pickups, citing tailgate latch risk Alexa St. John, Automotive News / August 2, 2018 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is recalling an estimated 1.1 million Ram pickups in the U.S. to upgrade their tailgate locking mechanisms. The automaker Thursday said the power locking mechanisms in the tailgates of certain pickups have a small internal component that may break over time. FCA said 1,149,237 U.S. vehicles have the defect. The recall affects Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups from the 2015 through 2017 model years, the automaker said. The trucks have a power locking tailgate and either a 5-foot, 7-inch, or 6-foot, 4-inch bed. "If the tailgate latch releases and the tailgate opens while driving, cargo may fall out, creating a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash," the company's NHTSA filing states. Another 260,315 vehicles are subject to recall in Canada, along with 19,432 in Mexico and 25,361 in other markets. FCA opened an investigation as a result of customer complaints related to the tailgate falling open while driving or stationary on May 8, the safety recall report states. Through May, June and July, FCA analyzed and verified all known incidents related to the problem. As of July 13, FCA identified 5,643 warranty claims and repair orders potentially related to the problem. FCA on July 19 decided to issue the recall. The automaker said no injuries or accidents have been reported. Customers will be notified when service is available, the automaker said. In the meantime, FCA said customers may use "alternate features to accommodate load security, including tie-down rings, cleats, high-friction bed-liners, bulkhead dividers and bed-extenders." Trucks with manual tailgate locks, with eight-foot-cargo beds, are not included in the recall. The redesigned 2019 Ram 1500 is also not included. The recall is expected to begin Sept. 14. .

The town of Dagenham, Essex County (East London), UK Bob, are the global market front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive Transit variants even available in the US market?