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The Financial Times / September 9, 2016 US border residents fear traffickers more than illegal immigrants On a sweltering summer evening in southern Arizona, dozens of carpet-soled moccasins lie along the portico of a ranch 20 miles from Mexico, serving as a reminder of one of the biggest problems on the border: not illegal immigration, but drug trafficking. Interrupted only by the cicadas, Jim Chilton, a fifth-generation rancher, and his wife Sue explain that Mexican drug mules, who routinely traverse their 50,000 acres of land, cover the soles of the moccasins — which are then worn over shoes — with carpet to avoid leaving tracks that US border agents could follow. Mr Chilton, whose ranch stretches back to a simple barbed wire fence that separates the US from Mexico, was speaking the day before Donald Trump hardened his stance on illegal immigrants in a speech in Phoenix. The rancher says he backs the mogul and his plan to build a wall on the border because it would reduce the influence of the Mexican cartels. “We live in an area [of the U.S.] controlled by the [Mexican] Sinaloa cartel,” says Mr Chilton who has installed motion-sensor cameras on his land to capture video of the drug mules. “We have a mountain back here, Sinaloa cartel scouts resided on it. [On] all of the mountains back here, we’ve seen cartel scouts . . . In fact, they may be watching us now.” While Mr Trump’s wall has resonated from Iowa to Ohio, as well as with Mr Chilton, many border residents in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California are not concerned about illegal immigrants. A recent poll by Cronkite News, Univision News and The Dallas Morning News found that 72 per cent of Americans in border cities opposed the wall, although there has been no comparable study for rural areas, where the population is less Hispanic and where drug traffickers tend to have an easier time getting into the US than at the official border ports. Nohe Garcia, a Mexican-born rancher who has lived in the Arizona border city of Nogales for decades, says Mr Trump has created an ugly climate in the US with his deportation plan and rhetoric about Mexicans. “He’s trying to deport 11 million people. Are you going to be stopping me every day? Do I fit the profile and will I be stopped everywhere?” says Mr Garcia, who laments what he describes as “very hurtful” language from Mr Trump. One reason for the lack of concern in the area about illegal immigration is that it has been in decline, particularly since the 2007 financial crisis, as the US has fewer jobs to offer. According to the US Customs and Border Protection agency, the number of people caught crossing into the country illegally fell from 1.1m in 2006 to 337,000 last year. However, the amount of heroin and meth seized along the border has risen threefold during the past five years, helping to fuel an opiate epidemic and contributing to drug overdoses overtaking car accidents as the top cause of injury deaths in the US. Driving around Nogales, the closest border city to the Chilton ranch, Vincente Paco, a CBP agent, points out two cartel scouts on a hill in Nogales Sonora, a Mexican city on the other side of a three-mile border wall. “We are focused on targeting both [illegal immigrants and drugs] but the biggest threat is drug smuggling,” says Mr Paco, who says the trafficking business has been taken over by the cartels, which see migrants “as dollar signs” because they can serve as drug mules or be used as decoys inside the US. He says US agents and the cartels are playing a game of chess that involves watching each other closely and trying to ensure that their technology does not fall behind. Mr Chilton says his cowboys have found $2,500 satellite phones, $2,000 binoculars and other sophisticated equipment that scouts have left behind. And Mr Paco says the cartels use everything from tunnels and compressed-air cannons to sewage systems to get drugs into the US. While Mr Trump focuses on the crime of illegal immigration, Mr Chilton expresses sympathy for the migrants, saying that as many as 40 have died on his ranch. On the Mexican side of the wall in Nogales, images of candles are painted on the barrier as a memorial to the Mexicans who have lost their lives trying to complete the crossing into the US. Mr Chilton has 22 wells and 29 drinking fountains on his land where migrants can quench their thirst in the harsh desert heat, and these help reduce the number of deaths. And he has even offered water to armed traffickers who showed up outside his door looking for “agua” from the elderly couple. But he says the cartels are brutal in how they treat migrants, describing cases when women have been repeatedly raped and men have had their fingers cut off. Sue Chilton says the couple are not scared, but that when they notice that drug smugglers are in the area they turn off the lights and lay low in their kitchen until the mules have left [Something no American in America should have to do]. “How do we protect ourselves? We pack guns,” says Mr Chilton, who owns a .223 calibre ranch rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a Smith and Wesson pistol. “I have a gun with me everywhere I go.” Video - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d181cc8c-765e-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a.html .

The Hardox-steel Istrail body is superb. http://istrail.com/ http://www.ssab.us/products/brands/hardox/hardox-in-my-body

Unsealed papers in VW scandal reveal panic among engineers The Financial Times / September 9, 2016 As California regulators pursued Volkswagen to get to the bottom of its emissions scandal in the spring and summer of 2015, engineers at the carmaker who knew about the cheating were in a state of panic. A US legal filing unsealed on Friday shows a group of VW employees attempting to cover up the cheating as questions from the California Air Resources Board became more and more detailed. On April 28 2015, an unnamed VW employee wrote: “We only just need a plausible explanation as to why the emissions are still high!!!” On May 12, one employee wrote about the emissions discrepancies between test conditions and real-world conditions: “We need a story for the situation!" The emails are quoted in an indictment, dated June 1, against James Liang, 62, a veteran Volkswagen engineer who spent 30 years with the company. On Friday he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud US customers and regulators. As VW admitted one year ago, up to 11 million of its cars were equipped with illegal “defeat devices” to recognise when its cars were undergoing tests. By detecting vehicle speed, acceleration, air pressure and the position of the steering wheel, VW cars knew when they were on a dynamometer — a sort of treadmill for cars — used for emission tests. The car would then flick on emissions control software to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) pollution, hiding from regulators what it was actually spewing out in the real world. The discrepancies first came to light in March 2014, when a West VirginiaUniversity study raised questions about the real-world emissions of some VW cars. According to the case against Mr Liang, he and his team reacted to that study by pursuing “a strategy to disclose as little as possible” about the illegal software. They “intentionally made . . . false and fraudulent statements” to the Environmental Protection Agency and CARB to make the discrepancies appear as if they were “innocent mechanical and technological problems”. An official at CARB told the Financial Times in February that the emissions issue was initially treated as an anomaly, not an act of wilful misconduct. But he said VW engineers were unusually unco-operative. “They took issue with the way we conducted the tests, with the data we compiled, how we conducted the on-road measurements,” he said. With more time, it became “abundantly clear” something was off, because the car being tested was running “more cleanly when it was cold than when it was hot, contrary to all tenets of automotive engineering,” the official said. In the spring and summer of 2015, regulators improved their testing to effectively trick the cars into thinking they were on the open road. As a result the VW cars responded by emitting higher levels of NOx. The regulators soon discovered what appeared to be “a second set of commands” — one set for being on the road, another for test conditions. With its newfound knowledge, CARB asked more penetrating questions to the engineers, renewing panic with the community of employees involved in the cheating. On June 29, an unnamed VW employee wrote: “We must be sure to prevent the authority from testing the Gen 1!” — a reference to the EA 189 engine that Mr Liang helped design — “If the Gen 1 goes onto the roller at the CARB, then we'll have nothing more to laugh about!!!!” Another concedes on July 23: ”[C]ARB is still waiting for Answers . . . We still have no good explanations.” Mr Liang worked for VW in the Wolfsburg, Germany, headquarters, where he helped develop the illegal software in 2006. In 2008 he moved to VW’s Oxnard, California, facility, where he helped diesel engines fitted with the software to be certified. The engines were at the centre of a major push to popularise its “Clean Diesel” technology. After the West Virginia study came out in 2014, Mr Liang helped his co-conspirators “continue to lie to the EPA, CARB and VW customers”. He also admitted that when, in early 2015, Volkswagen recalled half a million cars to “fix” the emissions problem, he knew the recall would not work. Mr Liang’s role in the conspiracy therefore involved two parts: the original cheating, as well as a cover-up to mislead regulators once they were on a path to detect it. What is not known is whether Mr Liang’s cheating, and his move from Germany to the US, was directed by higher management. “He's not that senior in the totem poll,” an attorney familiar with the case said. “The normal game plan is that you reach a deal with the lower level guys, and you flip them.” Michelle Krebs of Autotrader.com, added: “It begs the question: OK, who's next? This is probably the first of many. How far up does this go? Companies had better pay attention because the feds aren't fooling around.”

If this is all true, I'm shocked at Colin Powell's casual attitude on security. From his knowledge as a high ranking army officer, he should know better.

Scania Group Press Release / September 9, 2016 Svempa’s legendary truck designs are known throughout the world. Now, 77-year old Sven-Erik “Svempa” Bergendahl has taken on a new challenge: designing the eye-catching Scania Mining Black Claw tipper truck. In addition to the striking exterior design, his personal touch is visible in the cab interior with customised upholstery of seats and door panels. Obviously, a truck deserving Svempa’s creative attention must be something out of the ordinary. And this truck certainly is. Built for Siberian off-road conditions, the 6×6 Scania P400 tipper truck has been fitted with super large 16.00R20 tyres. Broader tyres enable the truck to manoeuvre in Siberian permafrost conditions during the short window of opportunity for road construction when it briefly thaws. Rather than completely melting, the earth becomes a gooey blend of mud and sand, hindering traction. This truck thereby matches the performance of articulated dump trucks. Built for the harshest climate, the 14-cubic metre tipper body, which can be extended by an additional two cubic metres, has been equipped with exhaust gas heating and hydraulic vibration to prevent the load from freezing and sticking to the surface. Necessary chassis adjustments have been carried out to make room for the large tyres and the truck features an impressively high ground clearance. The heavyweight truck pushes the scales to 16.7 metric tonnes (36,817lb) with a loading capacity of 18.3 metric tonnes (40,345lb). https://www.scania.com/group/en/svempa-goes-off-road-with-black-claw/

Since Scania introduced the "SCR Only" 410hp and 450hp 13-liter powerplants in 2014 at the IAA show (video below), customers have been thrilled with them. Now, coinciding with the launch of Scania's next generation range, the truckmaker has added a 500hp rating to the "SCR Only" 13-liter engine family. Without a VGT and EGR cooler, engine complexity is reduced while performance and fuel economy are increased. .

The Fiat Ducato (Ram Promaster) and sister Peugeot "Boxer" (shown below) were developed by a Fiat-Peugeot joint venture. .

Dunn's Earthmoving CAT Trucks Australia / Navistar Auspac Press Release / September 9, 2016 NEIL DUNN – DUNNS EARTHMOVING – Director After two years working in Australia’s roughest desert conditions, Cat Trucks are redefining the meaning of versatility. The CT630LS model Cat Trucks never see a sealed road and are often in a different applications day after day, from construction support, to heavy machinery float work, to livestock haulage. The four Cat Trucks work in the fleet of Dunn’s Earthmoving, based deep in the Strzelecki Desert in South Australia, not far from Moomba. Neil Dunn reckons the Cat Trucks have been successful in his operation and have won driver acceptance. “The boys really like them, good to drive and the big bunks mean that when they have to camp in the trucks it’s pretty good,” he said. Operations Manager Trent Ulmer says, “They have certainly stood the test of time on some of the roughest roads in Australia. The trucks are proving their durability and structural integrity.” The CT630LS trucks are 90 tonne rated with a luxury sleeper cab. Cross locks are fitted on the diffs to handle the work in sand. The trucks are powered by the iconic Caterpillar C15 engine that gives more than enough power with a 550hp rating to do the hard yakka and the 1850 ft lb of torque pulls heavy loads through rough conditions with ease. An 18 speed Eaton overdrive transmission sending the power to the Meritor diffs and a PRIMAAX rear suspension complete the bush spec in the Dunn operation. Employing a staff of more than 120 people when the oil industry is running in top gear, Neil Dunn is facing the recent turndown with optimism. “Since oil prices went fro $110 to $26 a barrel, the mining industry shut the rigs down out here, shut up shop. But with oil prices back up to the $40s and $50s a barrel, they have cranked up again. We were pretty quiet for five or six months. Road maintenance kept us going, but we are back in the swing of things now with the rigs cranked up again,” Neil Dunn said. Operations Manager Trent Ulmer works from an office deep in a town-sized camp of transportable buildings at Padulla oil field. Surrounded by computers, whiteboards and maps he explained how the fly in fly out system works. “The crews on the job sites work three weeks on, three weeks off. Admin, tradies and management work two on two off, it’s a system that works well,” he said. Trent Ulmer works back to back with his opposite number, operations manager Craig MacDonald, two weeks on and two weeks off. Neil Dunn and his son, general manager William, work similarly so that there is a Dunn on site twenty-four seven. About the Cat Trucks, “They are handling the work fantastically and holding out really well. They have been a great addition to our fleet,” Trent Ulmer said. The service backup from the Cavpower base in Moomba, only 80 km away, is a major consideration to the boss, Neil Dunn. “Any problems we can just run them into Moomba and they have all the fault finding gear, not that we’ve used it much. They’ve proved themselves so far and this country is pretty tough on machinery”.

McAleese continues to spark critique Prime Mover Magazine / September 8, 2016 Following McAleese’s voluntary administration last week, two executives from advisory form Grant Thornton have now taken on roles within the business. According to the Australian Financial Review, creditor SC Lowy brought in Grant Thornton's Head of Financial Advisory, Said Jahani, and fellow partner, Gayle Dickerson, as receivers to two specific parts of McAleese. “It's understood Grant Thornton were charged with overseeing cash held in one McAleese entity, McAleese Finance, and the company's book of debtors, which back a working capital facility provided by SC Lowy,” the newspaper found. McAleese's day-to-day operations and financing – and decisions around the company's future – remain in the hands of the board appointed administrator McGrathNicol. Meanwhile, Melbourne business expert, Brendan Richards, continued to criticise the McAleese management for not taking action early enough. “It’s easy to think that McAleese was a victim of changing fortunes – a combination of an unforgiving industry downturn in the mining and resources sector and even more unforgiving landlords who wouldn’t consider a rent reduction in tough times,” he wrote in his monthly column for Prime Mover magazine, which will come out in early October. “But that ignores everything else – troubled acquisitions, poor investments, a huge debt burden, and grumpy bankers. At the heart of the McAleese collapse is something hardly anyone ever talks about – and that is blind faith in persisting with a failed strategy.” Update: According to The Australian, some 70 businesses have already expressed interest in the whole of McAleese or some of its assets since offers were sought last week. Meanwhile, the corporate regulator (ASIC) has pressured administrators to push ahead with a spill vote of the board in a move that could see major shareholder and CEO, Mark Rows­thorn, dumped from a company.

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / September 8, 2016 .

"No smoke without fire" Karin Olander, Dagens Industri / September 9, 2016 China bus maker in talks to acquire Volvo’s bus business. Rumors about the Volvo buses have been circulating for some time and got new impetus yesterday when several international news agencies quoted the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on reports that a Chinese player would have made a bid. The newspaper also said Volvo’s advisors and banks are evaluating different options for its bus division, including an IPO. Last month, there were media reports of Chinese interest, especially for Volvo's hybrid and electric buses. One name mentioned is China's largest bus manufacturer Zhengzhou Yutong Bus. Volvo has remained completely silent. "We never comment on any rumors. When we have something to say, we will talk about it, "said Volvo media relations spokesperson Joakim Kenndal. Volvo's bus division is a small part of the group, about 7 percent, but is well integrated. This suggests the possibility of a sub-division, says Hampus Engellau, an automotive analyst at Handelsbanken. "I do not think that Volvo intends to sell the entire bus operation, because a big part of Volvo's strategy has been to build economies of scale in terms of engines, transmissions and chassis," he says. There is a history of persistent rumors that has since resulted in actual sales. This applied both to the sale of Volvo Aero to GKN in 2012 and last year's deal in which the external parts of the Volvo IT was sold to Indian HCL Technologies. Recently, it has also been speculated that the company will sell its Volvo Construction Equipment unit. "There usually is never smoke without fire," says Hampus Engellau. Both he and John Hernander emphasize that there are parts of Volvo Bus suitable for disposal, especially body manufacturing which is difficult for Volvo to do profitably as it is time consuming to build custom coaches. "Scania has a history of focusing on bus chassis production. If there is substance to reports of an impending Volvo bus sale, I believe that it is about doing away with bus body production to boost profitability, "says Hampus Engellau. Volvo Bus’s numbers have improved considerably since a big loss in 2013, but margins are still lower than for trucks and construction equipment.

Anders Hägerstrand, Dagens Industri / September 9, 2016 Volvo Buses' profitability over the past decade is an almost tragic story, the operating margin has often fluctuated around zero percent. With these conditions, Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt would be derelict in his duties not to plan for significant changes in the bus business. But, Volvo selling or separately listing its bus business is not realistic, although there certainly are Asian players who are prepared to pay good money for access to Volvo's hybrid technology and electromobility. The synergies with the truck business are so great that holding on to the bus unit is justified. Moreover, it would be hardly sensible of Volvo to sell the entire bus unit, thus forcing the company to share the Volvo marque with yet another foreign player in addition to the Chinese car manufacturer Geely. What we can expect, however, is for Volvo to sell the parts of its bus business that are performing worst, so as to lift the operating margin for the remaining portion. In good times, Volvo’s bus business has had significantly higher profitability of around 10 percent. This all points to two reasons for Scania's bus business being far more profitable than Volvo. One is that Scania has been better at staying away from business which does not provide benefits of scale. The second and probably most important reason is that Scania manufactures fewer body variations for their bus chassis than the Volvo. According to the companies, Scania manufactured bus bodies for about 10 percent of its bus chassis in 2015, relying mostly on body builder partners. Volvo on the other hand internally manufactured 62 percent of its bus bodies. Bus body production requires a significant amount of manual labor and it is challenging to employ assembly automation. Therefore, it appears obvious that Martin Lundstedt will soon be either selling Volvo’s bus body manufacturing unit, or at least subcontracting out the majority of the manufacturing.

U.S. lawmakers to press AOL for Powell's State Department emails Reuters / September 9, 2016 U.S. lawmakers said Thursday they will seek to recover the missing emails of Colin Powell from his time as U.S. secretary of state by going directly to AOL Inc, whose email service he used for his work. The decision came a few minutes after U.S. State Department officials testified in a hearing that the department never contacted AOL to recover the missing records, despite repeated requests by the National Archives and Records Administration over the last year. The hearing, by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was the latest in the fallout from Hillary Clinton's decision to use an unauthorized private email system for official email while secretary of state. Clinton, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, has said her decision was wrong, but it has continued to dog her effort to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election. Her defenders have pointed to some similarities in Powell's earlier use of private email, which drew fresh scrutiny at Thursday's hearing. "I don't get this, it's ridiculous," said Democrat Stephen Lynch, a committee member. "This is the National Archives asking you to contact AOL, but you didn't do that." Patrick Kennedy, the State Department's most senior management official, said that Powell, a Republican, never replied to the department's request to ask AOL to attempt to recover his work emails, which were not properly archived at the agency. He said the department's lawyers decided to decline the National Archives' requests that the department go to AOL directly. "We cannot make a request for someone else's records from their provider," Kennedy said in his testimony. "That request has to be made by them." Jason Chaffetz, the Republican who chairs the committee, then agreed to a request by the committee's most senior Democrat, Elijah Cummings, to try to recover the emails from AOL, using a subpoena if necessary. AOL is owned by telecommunications provider Verizon Communications Inc. A spokeswoman for Powell did not respond to a request for comment. AOL did not immediately respond to questions, and has previously said the its privacy policy precludes it from discussing a customer's emails. The State Department did not have a fully functioning email system when Powell joined it in 2001, according to agency officials. Powell has said he told technology officials to set up a computer with his AOL account in order to become the first secretary of state to use email. In contrast, Clinton eschewed the official state.gov email system when she took office in 2009. Department officials have said she would not have received permission for this had she asked.

You're right, the CH/Vison/Pinnacle hasn't changed much. Volvo has spent next to nothing over the last 16 years. And that's why the Mack brand ranks 6th, behind Freightliner, Navistar, Kenworth, Peterbilt and Volvo. If one wants to maintain and grow market share...............you have to impress and lead. With the Scania, all controls including windshield wiper and lighting at your fingertips. Always with the driver in mind, proper ergonomics are at the core of Scania design. This video reflects the new R-Series of 2009. The just introduced "next generation" takes form and function to a new level. . .

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The MaxxPro DXM upgrade kits are designed and built by Hendrickson, and combine Hendrickson’s engineered sub-frames, sway-bars, coil springs and shocks with GD AxleTech International’s 5000 Series Independent Suspension Axle System. http://www.axletech.com/d/press-release/pr-571.pdf http://www.axletech.com/na_en/products/product1.php?id=5000ISAS

Navistar Defense to Upgrade 2,300 MRAPs to Defend Against Evolving Threats Navistar Defense Press Release / September 19, 2012 Navistar Defense, LLC received a delivery order today for up to $282 million to provide more than 2,300 survivability upgrade retrofit kits for International® MaxxPro® Dash Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. The order from the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command will upgrade MaxxPro Dash vehicles in theater with additional protection in response to evolving threats in Afghanistan. The order also includes parts and service. "Anticipating the needs of our Armed Forces continues to be a top priority for Navistar and we are proud to offer the vehicle of choice to help them complete their missions safely," said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. "Threats continue to change and it is our responsibility to stay out ahead of those threats with the best technology available." The MaxxPro family of vehicles was originally designed to accommodate rapid vehicle enhancements as threats evolved in theater. Since 2007, the company has provided enhancements to both survivability and mobility through its work on its rolling chassis body swap, DXM independent suspension retrofit kits, armor kits and more. "We also understand the balance of keeping our service men and women well equipped at a reasonable cost to taxpayers," said Massicotte. "We will keep offering integrated solutions as well as alternatives to buying new vehicles so that we can keep our Armed Forces modern and ready for future operations." Navistar has delivered nearly 9,000 MaxxPro units in nine major variants to the United States and its allies. This order follows the company's MaxxPro rolling chassis body swap, which upgrades more than 2,700 MaxxPro vehicles with a DXM independent suspension, MaxxForce® 9.3 engine, 570 amp alternator and driveline. Work for the survivability upgrade will be done in Afghanistan beginning in December 2012. The order is scheduled to be completed by July 2013.

The Wall Street Journal / September 8, 2016 Navistar International Corp. said Thursday it had received a federal subpoena related to truck-suspension systems the company built for the U.S. military. Lilse, Ill.-based Navistar said it provided the Department of Defense with information on suspension systems sold to the government in 2009 and 2010. Navistar wouldn’t confirm whether the suspensions were for some of the 8,700 mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks, or MRAPs, the company built starting in 2007 for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company later upgraded the suspensions on thousands of the boxy, top-heavy trucks originally built for service in Iraq to improve their off-road performance in Afghanistan’s rugged, mountainous terrain. “We are fully cooperating and providing them the information that they’ve requested,” Chief Financial Officer Walter Borst said during a conference call Thursday. Navistar announced Tuesday that German auto maker Volkswagen AG will take a minority stake in the company and jointly develop new Navistar trucks and engines for the North American market. VW has agreed to pay $256 million for a 17% stake in Navistar’s stock. After North American truck sales spiked last year, trucking companies have been dialing back purchases in 2016. Industry-wide production of heavy-duty trucks this year is expected to fall by about one-third from 2015’s volume. Navistar Chief Executive Troy Clarke predicted that industry sales of heavy-duty trucks in 2017 “could be slightly lower” than in 2016. The company said Thursday that falling sales contributed to a wider fiscal third-quarter loss. Nevertheless, Navistar maintained its guidance for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31. “We expect a stronger fourth quarter than third quarter.” Mr. Clarke said. “The [third] quarter [had] a little less volume than we anticipated.” Navistar’s sales of trucks in the quarter fell 24% from a year earlier to $1.4 billion. The number of trucks and school buses invoiced to specific customers fell 23% in the quarter, led by a 46% drop in heavy-duty models. Navistar’s struggles to increase truck sales are burdened by the fallout from a failed engine exhaust treatment strategy that undermined the reliability of Navistar’s trucks and engines from 2010 through 2012. Truck buyers abandoned Navistar’s trucks for other brands, sending Navistar’s share of the heavy-duty market into a tailspin. Since then, Navistar has mostly relied on engines built by Cummins Inc. Navistar also bought up used trucks carrying its own engines and resold them overseas. It reported Thursday that its inventory of used trucks in the third quarter fell for the first time in a year. Navistar continued to back its earlier guidance for the year, projecting adjusted pretax income of between $550 million and $600 million on revenue of between $8.2 billion and $8.6 billion. For the three months ended July 31, Navistar reported a loss of $34 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $28 million, or 34 cents a share. Revenue slipped 18% to $2.09 billion. Analysts had expected a profit of 14 cents a share on revenue of $2.18 billion.

Why in the world would one locate the AMT controls on a far away dashboard panel, rather than place them at the driver's fingertips on a steering column-mounted stalk ??? . The wrong way: . The right way:

Navistar quarterly loss widens as sales slide Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / September 8, 2016 Navistar International Corporation Thursday morning announced a third quarter 2016 net loss of $34 million, up from a net loss of $28 million during the same quarter last year. Revenue in the quarter slid 18 percent to $2.1 billion thanks in part to soft industry conditions, primarily in the Class 8 market. “As we pursue our goal of market share growth, we do see some encouraging signs in the area of order share, where year-to-date share of new orders continues to be up for the past three quarters,” says Troy A. Clarke, Navistar president and chief executive officer. “Consideration of our products is improving.” Third quarter 2016 gross earnings were $96 million versus EBITDA of $106 million in the same period one year ago. The third quarter 2016 included $36 million in adjustments – including $19 million of pre-existing warranty charges – compares to adjustments of $23 million in the third quarter of 2015. Tuesday, Navistar announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes a $256 million equity investment in Navistar by Volkswagen Truck & Bus. Framework agreements are also in place for strategic technology and supply collaboration and a procurement joint venture. “We are making significant investments in new products, services and technologies and partnerships that set us apart as the leader in uptime and a company clearly focused on our customers’ needs,” Clarke says. “This company is well positioned – operationally and product and service wise – to capitalize as market conditions improve.” Truck segment net sales declined 24 percent to $1.4 billion compared to third quarter 2015, due to lower core truck and export truck volumes, a shift in product mix in the company’s core market and lower used truck revenue. Chargeouts in the company’s core markets (13,100 units) were down 23 percent year-over-year. “What we’re seeing is the big guys, the top of the Class 8 market, are still planning,” says President of Navistar Truck & Parts, Bill Kozek, adding all OEMs have been more aggressive in pricing with available capacity utilization. Navistar’s truck segment recorded a loss of $54 million in the third quarter, compared with a year-ago third quarter loss of $36 million. Losses in the truck segment increased, Clarke says, due to higher adjustments to pre-existing warranty and lower used truck margins – the first quarterly decline in used truck inventory in a year. “Our used truck pricing seems to have stabilized,” Clarke says. “I think given the high supply of other used truck brands in the market, the [valuation] gap seems to be closing.” Kozek adds price degradation of International-branded trucks has been driven by EGR-equipped trucks, while values of SCR-outfitted trucks have been “normal.” Parts segment net sales declined $28 million, 4 percent compared to third quarter 2015 due to lower volumes. For the third quarter 2016, the parts segment recorded a profit of $152 million, mostly flat compared to third quarter 2015. “There’s been a soft rate and freight environment recently,” Kozek says, “but the economy’s been good recently and we expect trucks to continue moving and consuming parts.” Walter Borst, Navistar’s chief financial officer, says the company has already achieved $300 million in cost savings through the first nine months of the year, well exceeding the 200 million target set for the calendar year. With 2017 only three months away, Borst says truck inventory levels and used truck markets are concerns on horizon. “[Truck order levels in] 2017 could be slightly lower than 2016,” he adds. “On the other hand, we expect class 6-7 medium duty truck and bus volumes to remain relatively solid.”

Heavy Duty Trucking / September 8, 2016 Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) released fiscal third quarter financials on Thursday morning showing its losses grew in the third quarter of the year while revenue fell 18%, following news on Tuesday that Volkswagen is taking a minority interest in the Illinois-based company. The truck and engine manufacturer reported a net loss of $34 million, or 42 cents per share, for the three months ending July 31, compared to a third quarter 2015 net loss of $28 million, or 34 cents per share, as it faced what it called “tougher market conditions, particularly in the heavy segment.” Revenue fell to $2.1 billion from $2.5 billion a year earlier, which the company mainly attributed to lower year-over-year chargeouts in the company's core markets, Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the U.S. and Canada, which was affected by softer industry conditions, primarily in the Class 8 market. (Chargeouts are typically defined as trucks that have been invoiced to customers, with units held in dealer inventory.) A consensus forecast by analysts was expecting a loss of 14 cents per share with revenue of $2.18 billion. Despite the wider loss, Navistar said it achieved $32 million in structural cost reductions during the third quarter, raising year-to-date structural savings to $145 million. Combined with product and purchasing cost savings, the company's total year-to-date costs savings exceed $300 million. Third quarter 2016 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $96 million versus $106 million in the same period one year ago. This more recent quarter included $36 million in adjustments, including $19 million of pre-existing warranty charges and $17 million in asset impairments and restructuring costs, compared to adjustments of $23 million in the third quarter of 2015. Excluding these items, adjusted EBITDA was $132 million in the third quarter 2016 compared to $129 million in the same period one year ago. "As we pursue our goal of market share growth, we do see some encouraging signs in the area of order share, where year-to-date share of new orders continues to be up for the past three quarters,” said Troy A. Clarke, Navistar president and CEO. “We are confident that as the industry works through its near term challenges, particularly in Class 8, our improvements in order share will translate to improved retail share as well." Navistar Truck segment net sales declined 24% to $1.4 billion compared to third quarter 2015, due to lower core truck and export truck volumes, a shift in product mix in the company's core market and lower used truck revenue, according to the company. Chargeouts in the company's core markets were down 23% year over year. Parts segment net sales declined $28 million or 4% but recorded a profit of $152 million, flat compared to third quarter 2015 while Global Operations net sales declined $24 million year over year to $85 million as recorded a loss of $5 million compared to a year-ago third quarter loss of $26 million. Financial Services net revenues decreased by $3 million to $60 million but recorded a profit of $26 million, equal to third quarter 2015. Earlier this week, Navistar announced that it has formed a wide-ranging strategic alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes an equity investment in Navistar and framework agreements for strategic technology and supply collaboration and a procurement joint venture. On the call, company executives said the "planned alliance" will result in collaboration on technology and the licensing and supply of Volkswagen Truck & Bus products and components. Clarke added that this will allow Navistar to "optimize product development costs. We'll gain significant economies of scale in the short term [from the alliance]... and position the company for considerable growth when the headwinds of inventory subside." Pressed by an analyst to elaborate on reports that the alliance will result in VW supplying engines and other powertrain components to Navistar by 2019, Clarke demurred from going into details. "We are not prepared to discuss a product plan at this point," he responded. "But we ask that you stay tuned." Noting that Cummins’ engine share in International vehicles currently stands above 80%, Clarke said in response to a question that, regardless of the VW deal, there are “no plans to displace Cummins engines between now and the 2019 date” that had been given for the arrival of VW components in International models. Asked if the VW deal will impact Navistar's with General Motors, including a recent agreement to manufacture GM's Cutaway G Van commercial chassis starting early nexty year, Clarke stated that "We're doing two projects for GM and expect no changes" regarding those plans. Navistar also on Thursday maintained guidance for fiscal year 2016 that includes revenue of $8.2 billion - $8.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $550 million - $600 million.

Heavy Duty Trucking / September 8, 2016 Orders of medium-duty vehicles in Class 5 to 7 increased 10% to 16,900 in August and rebounded to a three-month high, according to industry analysts. The move higher was not surprising, as early summer months typically show a softening of truck ordering. However, the trend is showing that medium-duty vehicle demand has moderated. Despite rising 10% from July, orders failed to reach year-ago levels for a third time in the past four months, dropping 5% from year-ago August. Despite slower orders in recent months, Class 5-7 net orders are running 3% ahead of year-ago order levels through August. Year to date, Class 5-7 net orders have been booked at an annualized rate just over 231,000 units.

Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / September 8, 2016 Despite changes to how glider kits will be classified for emissions regulations compliance — and new standards coming to bear for glider kit builders — the glider industry will remain viable and intact, says Fitzgerald Glider Kits’ head of marketing Stu McLaughlin. “We’re confident we’ll be able to test our products and meet the new standards,” McLaughin says of the looming Phase 2 emissions standards set by the EPA and the DOT. The standards will be phased in over the coming decade, spanning tractor-trailer wide improvements in fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions. The final text of the standards, issued in mid-August, depart from current regulations governing glider emissions. Glider kits will now be required to meet the emissions standards of the model year of the truck’s cab and chassis, rather than the year the engine block was cast. Fitzgerald, the country’s largest glider kit maker, installs in-house remanufactured Detroit Diesel 60 Series engines into new cabs and chassis, effectively meaning its gliders must meet many of the standards set by the Phase 2 rule. But major glider kit builders like Fitzgerald have the ability to meet the regulations, McLaughlin says, and continue to meet demand for their products. “Our plans for production are still in accordance with what we feel works for us and what sales trends in the past couple of years dictate,” McLaughin says. Smaller glider kit makers — those who assemble and sell only a few hundred gliders a year — will be the ones forced out by the new EPA standards, he says. Kit makers who aren’t able to meet the new EPA standards will be capped at building 300 glider kits per year. Fitzgerald has already started research work to set its benchmark in order to begin working toward compliance with the new regs, McLaughin says. Fitzgerald has about 12 full-time engineers on staff. They’re working on lightweighting and other advances to help Fitzgerald’s Detroit engines meet EPA standards. New standards for engines begin in 2018 and gradually tighten until 2027, when engines will be required to achieve between 5 and 6 percent greater fuel economy when compared to 2017 benchmarks. “[The rule] clearly states they definitely anticipate kits to be built for years and years,” McLaughin says. “They just want them to be compliant. Gliders represent such a small percentage of truck sales, but within that small market, it would be a crushing blow to say ‘no kits,’” he says. McLaughin says it’s unclear as to how the new standards will affect the prices of its glider kits, but there likely will be “updates” to the company’s current pricing in accordance to meeting the new standards.