kscarbel2

Volvo lands a man who, as Zenon C.R. Hansen would say, "knows something about trucks." Volvo's never had a warm-hearted leader with integrity before (the characteristics of a Scania man). This should be interesting

Volvo names Martin Lundstedt from rival Scania as chief executive The Financial Times / April 22, 2015 Volvo Group has ousted its chief executive and replaced him with the boss of rival Scania as the truckmaker looked for somebody with “deeper experience” of the (truck) industry to help complete its turnround after a fall in profitability. Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of Volvo, said he had chosen Martin Lundstedt from Scania to replace Olof Persson as the Swedish maker of commercial vehicles and construction equipment needed to move on from cost-cutting to focus more on improving its truck business. “It is time to think: where do we go in the next phase of our development?” Mr Svanberg told the Financial Times. He pointed to Mr Lundstedt’s 25 years at Scania in roles including engine production and development, marketing and sales, and chief executive since 2012. “It’s a strength for Martin. Of course, if you have spent your life in trucks you know an awful lot,” Mr Svanberg added. Mr Persson, whose experience was in Volvo’s construction equipment and aerospace engine businesses, paid the price for the Swedish group’s consistent decline in profitability during his four years in charge. A restructuring programme designed to reduce costs by SKr10bn and cut more than 5,000 jobs has only just started to bear fruit. In the first quarter of this year, Volvo’s operating margin jumped to 6.1 per cent from 3.9 per cent. The better than expected results, combined with the appointment of the highly-respected Mr Lundstedt, led to Volvo shares gaining 14 per cent. However, Volvo’s operating margin was 9.7 per cent when Mr Persson took over as chief executive and 7.9 per cent later that year when he announced plans in front of investors to increase profitability by 3 percentage points. A combination of increased costs to launch its biggest product offensive in decades, difficult truck markets in Europe and Latin America, and problems in its construction business in China took their toll on the operating margin, which sank to 3 per cent last year. By contrast, Scania has long been the leading truckmaker in the industry for profitability, making an operating margin of 9.5 per cent last year. Mr Svanberg said Volvo and Scania, which has been fully taken over by Volkswagen in recent months, faced different issues. “Scania has been a truck company for a very long time and had the chance to optimise their business. They came to the end of the road because they were in a few markets only. We are in a different situation: we have acquired a lot but not optimised parts of our business,” he said. Mr Lundstedt, who will take over in October, will focus on how to get the best out of Volvo’s stable of truck brands including Renault, Mack in the US, UD in Japan, Eicher in India, and Dongfeng in China as well as improving its production and development work, Mr Svanberg said. Further changes at Volvo are possible: the Gothenburg-based group is looking to sell parts of its IT business while some investors are keen for it to exit from the construction equipment business that makes excavators, pavers, and backhoe loaders. Mr Svanberg said the core of both trucks and construction equipment was diesel engines and gearboxes. “It is very logical to have a construction equipment unit. It doesn’t mean we will abide by it,” he added.

Bloomberg / April 22, 2015 Volvo AB, under shareholder pressure to boost profit margins, ousted Olof Persson as chief executive officer, as the world’s second-largest truckmaker seeks to revamp strategy amid tougher competition. Martin Lundstedt, the top executive at rival truckmaker Scania AB, will succeed Persson in October, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based company said in a statement Wednesday. In the interim, Chief Financial Officer Jan Gurander will take over Persson’s responsibilities as of today. Volvo shares surged the most in more than six years. Volvo is seeking to finalize its business review by the end of this year, Gurander said during a conference call with analysts. “That’s our challenge, from which we’ll start fresh into 2016.” The sudden change in leadership follows efforts by Cevian Capital AB, the second-largest owner of Volvo’s voting rights, to lobby the truckmaker to streamline operations and boost margins. Volvo is intensifying a push for growth and increased profitability, as the world’s second-largest maker of commercial vehicles faces increased competition from Volkswagen AG, which bought Scania and Germany’s MAN SE in recent years. Persson led the truckmaker for almost four years. Scania’s head of production and logistics, Per Hallberg, will take over as acting CEO, the VW unit said in a statement today. Volvo’s CEO appointment “may now spark discussions about his new agenda and what it will mean for the group’s strategy,” Michael Raab, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Kepler Cheuvreux said in an report. “Considering that the fate of Volvo hinges on trucks, his strong background in this industry is clearly helpful.” Shares Surge Volvo’s shares soared as much as 16 percent, the biggest intraday jump since February 2009, and were up 14 percent at 115.30 kronor at 2:38 p.m. in Stockholm. That pushed the stock’s gain for the year to 36 percent, valuing the manufacturer at 245 billion kronor ($28 billion). Cevian, which holds 14 percent of Volvo’s votes, welcomed the management change. Co-founder Christer Gardell said Lundstedt is “very well suited” to take the truckmaker’s profitability to the next level. “There’s probably no one better,” he said in an e-mailed response to questions. In 2010, Gardell supported Persson as a successor to long-time CEO Leif Johansson. Persson had set a target of making Volvo the most profitable heavy-truck maker by realigning production of the European Volvo and Renault brands, cutting overhead costs and expanding overseas. The company didn’t make the executive available for comment. Fatter Margins The new CEO faces the challenge of restructuring a European production network that’s “too dispersed” in part because of past acquisitions and local political interests, said Kepler’s Raab. Still, Volvo’s operations have improved. In the first quarter, Volvo’s margin rose to 6.1 percent from 3.9 percent as operating profit, excluding restructuring charges and a gain from the sale of shares in Eicher Motors Ltd., climbed to 4.6 billion kronor. Including those items, operating profit was 7.07 billion kronor. Lundstedt has spent his career at Soedertaelje, Sweden-based Scania and has been president and CEO of Scania since 2012. Starting this year, he reported to Volkswagen’s new trucks chief Andreas Renschler, who previously led Daimler AG’s commercial-vehicles division, the biggest in the world. Renschler joined Volkswagen this year to push integration between Scania, MAN and VW’s delivery-van business. “After three years of focus on product renewal, internal efficiency and restructuring, the Volvo group is gradually entering a new phase with an intensified focus on growth and increased profitability,” Volvo Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said in the statement. Lundstedt is known for his “winning leadership style.” .

I completely agree. But in speaking on this subject, I suggest we need to separate big business from small and middle sized business. It's no secret that the government is in bed with most big business. That's how NAFTA came to be, a scheme set up at the request of big US business wanting to produce cheaply in Mexico without import tariffs. It wasn't, in fact, about creating more US jobs (it's amazing the government could tell the American people that with a straight face). Big business obviously doesn't have the best interest of the American people at heart, but it does have fairly solid control of the government. Until this situation is corrected............... Big US business has always had its own agenda, however in decades past, it generally resulted in a strong America. Now it doesn't, and a properly performing government would oversee American business in the best interests of the country, rather than the best interests of big business. And then you have the plight of the small and medium sized businesses, where our local, state and federal governments at times appear to be working unreasonably against them. Yes, we need regulation, however we also need a pro-U.S. business environment.

We need jobs in America, and we must manufacture here if we wish to remain a superpower. We must stop shipping manufacturing jobs overseas and once again make the words “Made in the USA” the world’s standard of excellence. However the American people, realistically, have little voice in the matter. Steered by big business and other, the government has its own agenda, apart from the will of a declining portion of the people that still recall the words "Government of the people, by the people, for the people."

I don't remember the exact number and year, but I seem to recall Mack's best year was 56,000 or 64,000 units, which was very good at that point in time. We were exporting 4,000 to 4,500 trucks to Iran alone in the 1975-1979 period. (Under Volvo ownership, I believe their best year was 2006 with 36,838 units sold........correct me if I'm wrong). In a perfect world, Mack and Scania would have deepened their relationship to create joint economy of scale, cutting edge partners that yet could still walk their own paths. And with that, I imagine Mack selling 60,000 to 70,000 units annually, as Scania does.

My friend, there's no need to extend gratitude to the Italians. I can assure you that a gem like Jeep would have been swept up by Ford, GM or other.............at the appropriate moment. Jeep, and Dodge, would not have faded away into history.........there's too much money to be made there. The US government allowed Fiat to buy Chrysler despite coming with empty pockets. The Fed literally placed Chrysler into the hands of a foreign aggressor, rather than ensure one of our industrial pillars remain American. Contrary to how government should be, politicians support the highest bidder.

9QT59302 (always fun to see those Mack Western part numbers) At this point in time, a dealer will probably have better availability than an auto glass shop. http://www.wattstruckcenter.com/portal/cab/windshields/ http://chicagomackinfo.tripod.com/windshields.htm http://truckparts365.com/windshields.html

Today, I’m troubled to see Prestolite Electric (holder of the Leece-Neville brand) has joined the long list of US companies acquired by foreign aggressors. It’s interesting to note the different schools of thought on the takeover of America’s industrial base. You have the supporters of foreign takeover who will tell you “it doesn’t matter that foreign truckmakers have taken over America’s heavy truck industry, everything’s going to be great!” Next you have today’s younger generation that has zero interest in their country’s state of affairs. Politicians are thrilled with this bunch that has no desire to oversee the employees of the American people in Washington and ensure they are acting in the best interest of the country. And finally you have the middle-aged and older group that realizes we’re in serious trouble, but is sadly aware that the American people have little or no control over the government’s direction (the Constitution’s core elements having been thrown to the curb, and elections and votes going to the highest bidders). The global economy is a real (I'm immersed in it every day). However, many confuse that development with the still present need to be protective of our national interests. Our government has been failing in this regard for about three decades. As one of the world's largest developed countries in both size and business opportunity, the United States can only have a solid economic foundation if American companies dominate our industrial base. The majority of Americans today do not realize we no longer do. Once-American companies owned by overseas aggressors - Germany's ZF has acquired TRW - Italy's Fiat owns Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep - China's Wanxiang has acquired over 20 U.S. businesses including battery maker A123, Dana’s coupled-products business, Neapco and D&R Technology. - Germany's Daimler acquired Freightliner, Western Star, Detroit Diesel and Thomas Built Buses - Sweden's Volvo acquired White, Autocar, GMC heavy truck and Mack Trucks - Germany’s Knorr-Bremse owns Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems - Prestolite Electric, which includes the Leece-Neville brand, was acquired by Zhongshan, China-based Broad Ocean Motor Company and Beijing-based Ophoenix Capital. - Nexteer Automotive aka GM Global Steering Holdings LLC (formerly Delphi Steering and GM’s Saginaw Steering Division) was acquired by Chinese government-owned Pacific Century Motors - Korea's Doosan owns Bobcat - Aircraft and industrial engine maker Teledyne Continental Motors was acquired by Chinese government aircraft maker AVIC - Canada's Bombardier acquired Learjet Corporation - Mexico's KUO Group acquired Borg-Warner and Spicer transmissions - Italy's Fiat thru subsidiary CNH Global owns Case-IH and New Holland - Sweden's Volvo acquired the road construction equipment division of Ingersoll Rand - Japan's Bridgestone owns Firestone - France's Michelin owns Uniroyal and BF Goodrich - China’s Beijing West Industries acquired Delphi’s brake and suspension divisions - Netherlands-based Mittal Steel acquired (asset holder of Bethlehem Steel, LTV, Weirton Steel, Georgetown Steel and US Steel) - Mexico's Metalsa S.A. acquired 10 Dana plants that produce structural components for chassis and body structures in light and commercial vehicles - Germany's Siemens acquired Houston-based Dresser-Rand - China's Shuanghui owns Smithfield Foods - Belgium's InBev owns Anheuser-Busch - South African Breweries (SAB) acquired Miller Brewing - Germany's Merck KGaA acquired St. Louis-based Sigma-Aldrich - Switzerland's Nestle owns Gerber baby foods and Purina - Sweden's Electrolux owns Frigidaire - South Korea's LG owns Zenith - Netherlands-based Philips acquired Magnavox, Philco and Sylvania - China's Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computing and x86 server businesses - Japan's Seven & I Holdings owns 7-Eleven - The UK's InterContinental Hotels Groups owns the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel chains, and Candlewood Suites - China's Wanda Group owns the AMC cinema chain - The Venezuelan government owns Citgo - Mexico's Bimbo Group acquired Sara Lee's bakery business and the following brands: Arnold, Ball Park, Boboli, Brownberry, Cinnabon Bread, EarthGrains, Entenmann’s, Francisco, Freihofer’s, Marinela, Milton’s Bread, Mrs Bairds, Oroweat, Roman Meal, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Sun-Maid Bread, Thomas’ and Tia Rosa. - The British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever owns Ben & Jerrys, Vaseline, Hellmann's, Best Foods, Ponds, Good Humor and Breyers - Germany's Henkel owns Dial soap, Loctite, Orbseal and Bergquist - Germany's Bayer acquired Miles Laboratories and Cutter Laboratories (including Cutter insect repellent, Alka-Seltzer, One-A-Day, Flintstones vitamins and Bactine), and the consumer care business of Merck & Co. which included the brands Claritin (allergy), Coppertone (sun care), MiraLAX (gastrointestinals), Afrin (cold) and Dr. Scholl’s. - Bayer CropScience acquired biological company AgraQuest - Thailand’s Thai Union Frozen Products owns Chicken of the Sea and Orion Seafood International - South Korea’s Dongwon owns StarKist - The UK’s Lion Capital owns Bumble Bee Foods - Colombia's Cementos Argos has acquired the cement and ready mix producing assets of Vulcan Materials and LaFarge - UK-based Tarmac PLC acquired the cement and ready mix producing assets of Stamford, Conn.-based Lone Star Industries (for many years the largest U.S. cement maker) - Two-wheeled electric people mover Segway has been acquired by China’s Ninebot And the list grows longer, with increasing speed.

Commercial CarrierJournal (CCJ) / April 16, 2015 Two major federal regulatory changes looming for the trucking industry have been delayed again, according to the latest rulemakings report from the Department of Transportation. A final rule to mandate electronic logging devices, however, is still forecasted to be published in September, the report says. Here are the latest dates projected by the DOT and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for significant rulemakings expected this year: Electronic logging device mandate: The forecasted date for a Final Rule mandating the use of electronic logging devices is still Sept. 30, a date FMCSA has gone back and forth on in recent months. The proposed rule for the mandate was published last March, and the Final Rule will take effect two years after its publication in the Federal Register. Speed limiter mandate: The DOT’s April report now projects a proposed speed limiter mandate rule to be published July 27, instead of the June 22 projection in its March report. The rule was sent to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation in August and has been awaiting approval there before sending to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for its approval. The DOT does project it will send the rule to the OMB within the next week, however. Safety Fitness Determination: Yet again, a proposed rule to implement an absolute scoring system for motor carriers has been delayed, per the report. The agency’s Safety Fitness Determination rule is now projected to be published Aug. 17 — a one-month delay from the July 15 projection in the DOT’s March report. It is projected to be sent to the OMB May 5. CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse: FMCSA’s rule to establish a database of drivers who have failed or refused a drug or alcohol test is still slated to be published as a Final Rule on Dec. 14. The agency published its proposed rule last year. Prohibition of driver coercion: The publication date for a rule to impose stiffer penalties on carriers, shippers brokers and others who coerce truck operators to drive in violation of federal safety also did not change in the April report. The DOT still projects a Sept. 10 publication date, with a June 1 date of submission to the OMB. The report also includes projections for trucking-relevant rules being produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Electronic stability control system mandate: NHTSA has had in the works for several years a rule to require all new trucks to be equipped with stability control systems, which help prevent rollovers and loss of control accidents. The rule hit the OMB Feb. 4, and it’s slated to clear the OMB May 4 and be published May 7 as a Final Rule. It would take effect for 2017 year model trucks. Fuel economy standards, Phase 2: NHTSA’s proposed rule to implement Phase 2 of its fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas was sent to the OMB late last month. The projected dates in the DOT’s April report appear to have not been updated relative to delays in the rule’s progression. Click here to read CCJ’s coverage of its submission to OMB. The new standards would be for 2018 and later year model trucks.

Stepping Inside the Freightliner SuperTruck At MATS 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofio9yp1lJA#t=16

Prime Mover Magazine / April 16, 2015 Penske Power Systems has extended the oil drain conditions for the Detroit engine platform. The new program, which extends oil drain out to 60,000 km (37,282 miles) without sampling, is available to DD15 customers who use approved oils, the company said. “The sample-free oil drain program … has been developed for operators of single trailer and B-double line haul operations – with a fuel burn of 33,000 litres or less or 750 hours of operation – who use approved oils only. “Operators of other applications – including short haul, wharf haul, tipper and dog, and more who use non-approved oils – will need to run individual oil sampling programs to evaluate the possibilities of extending oil drain periods.” Kevin Dennis, Director On-Highway Business, Penske Power Systems, commented, “These improvements all equate to a lower cost of ownership and increasing road time. What’s more, the change allows for seamless alignment with truck servicing periods.” Approved oils are Detroit Platinum Plus 1300 (API CJ-4 15W-40), Castrol Vecton (API CJ4 15W-40) and Mobil Delvac MX ESP (API CJ4 15W-40).

Isn't that a rebuildable tie-rod end?

The Detroit News / April 16, 2015 The U.S. House voted Thursday to repeal the 99-year- old U.S. estate tax amid a partisan clash over whether the government should break up concentrated wealth or make it easier to pass along assets to the next generation. The House passed the bill 240-179 Thursday. The tally was mostly along party lines; seven Democrats voted for passage and three Republicans voted no. The measure would make it possible for the wealthiest Americans to do what the other 99.8 percent already can do — pass their assets to their children without a federal estate tax. The measure would save taxpayers — and cost the U.S. government — $269 billion over a decade. “It is, at its heart, an immoral tax,” said Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican. In Michigan, about 100 estates would face the estate tax in 2016, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Nationally, roughly 2 in 1,000 people who die owe estate tax. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill, noting that the Republican budget plan adopted by the House in March relies on revenue from the estate tax. Democrats say repealing the tax is a giveaway to the rich, since the only families that pay it have many millions in assets. The bill now goes to the Senate where Democrats appear to have enough votes to block it. “It penalizes those who have worked all their lives and reinvested in their family businesses,” said Rep. Adrian M. Smith, a Nebraska Republican.

The Tundra Cat operated by Peak Oilfield Service Company, designed by Mark Tope at Tope Transportation in Anchorage, is the largest rolligon currently in existence. These machines are transporting limited supplies to Prudhoe Bay. Note the last generation Freightliner Argosy cab. .

International Business Times / April 15, 2015 Overflow from a runaway river has closed the Dalton Highway in Alaska, the famous "Ice Road" that truckers use to carry supplies to northern oilfields. Alaskans often refer to the Dalton as the road to the bank because 90 percent of the state's revenue comes from oil. Kristi Krueger drives three hours north from Fairbanks, Alaska, each morning to stand near mile 58 on the Dalton Highway next to where a crew is scooping out contaminated soil from an oil spill. Her job is to hold up a sign that signals to truckers when they can safely pass. But for the last week, traffic along the highway, which serves as the only artery from the state’s cities to the northern oilfields, has all but stopped. Krueger hasn’t had all that much to do. "It's eerily quiet right now," she says. “We have walkie-talkies and so we chitchat on those." Alaskans refer to the Dalton as the road to the bank because the vast majority of the state's revenue comes from taxes on oil produced at the end of the highway. A runaway river has caused massive flooding to form a giant ice sheet over the only route to the state's lucrative northern oilfields, threatening the supply chain that companies rely on to support workers and daily operations. Critical shipments of food, supplies and equipment have already been delayed by a week. An ongoing shortage may cause companies to pull back operations or turn to far more expensive ways to transport these goods. On a typical day, at least 100 truckers would make the 15-hour drive from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay to carry fuel, food, equipment and other supplies to workers who are staffing oilfield operations for BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and a host of other companies. On Sunday, Krueger said she had directed only about 15 trucks over the past few days. The shallow, braided Sagavanirktok River flows alongside the highway that Krueger flags for the road’s final miles. But over the past few weeks, ice has uncharacteristically formed along its bottom and pushed the river’s flow up from the channel and onto the road. The overflow runs several feet thick in some places, and in other spots, it immediately froze into a thick mass of ice. The sudden flooding has made one of the state’s most critical highways virtually impassable. The road has been closed for most of the past week, forcing Gov. Bill Walker to declare a state of disaster to loosen up funds and permit requirements so the state’s Department of Transportation could double down on its efforts to carve a roadway out of the mess. The agency has already exhausted its emergency funds and plans to request federal money to cover the remaining costs. Alaska's Senate Finance Committee has committed $5 million to the cause. “You're standing on a road that is 3 feet of ice," Meadow Bailey, public relations officer for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, says. “It almost looks like you’re on a glacier -- everything is very blue, it's white and blues for as far as you can see.” Trucks that continued to drive the route as conditions worsened sloshed through several feet of water and at times drove alongside a rushing river that ran higher than the road itself. A crew of 28 state employees and private contractors has been working around the clock, using 26 pieces of equipment to stop the overflow. The crew is building berms along the road from snow and digging culverts through the ice to divert the water. Next week, crop planes will begin dropping large batches of black sand on the river to absorb heat and melt the ice so its flow may return to normal. In the meantime, truckers with hundreds of loads destined for the oilfields have been waiting in Fairbanks and along the road. “There are probably 100 to 150 trucks sort of stacked up along the roadway,” Aves Thompson, executive director at the Alaska Trucking Association, says. Two communities and the dozen oil and gas companies they serve wait at the other end, in Deadhorse, a town of roughly 2,000 people, and Prudhoe Bay, a community of around 5,000 whose name is synonymous with oil. Oil Keeps Flowing Amid low oil prices that have already gutted the state budget, a road closure that threatens to compromise oilfield operations is unwelcome news. About a dozen energy companies are exploring for oil in the region, which is home to America’s third-largest oilfield. Though not all of them are currently drilling for crude, even surveyors must be fully supported on the North Slope, where all supplies for daily life are flown or trucked in. “We need to be sure that the oil keeps flowing,” Thompson says. “We just want to do everything we can to be sure there is no interruption.” Crude oil is transported from Prudhoe Bay through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which extends 800 miles to a port in Valdez, Alaska. Though the pipeline runs parallel to the Dalton, its flow is not directly jeopardized by the flood or the road's closure. The Dalton Highway's natural disaster comes at a bad time. There is a narrow window between January and May, when trucks can access remote sections of the oilfields by driving over temporary ice roads to places that typically are only accessible by barge or airplane. One of those areas is Point Thompson, where ExxonMobil has invested $2 billion to build a natural gas plant. BP and ConocoPhillips have both said they are using fuel and supply reserves to continue operations as normal while conserving the resources they have on hand. “It's been a problem for the better part of a month, and those reserves are only going to last so long," said Josh Kindred, environmental counsel at the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. "They've looked into alternative methods of getting fuel up there, which are of course more costly.” Some companies have started to fly fuel in or hire machines called rolligons, whose extra-wide wheels gently roll over the frozen tundra, to reach trucks with supplies that are stuck along the road. Caitlin Jelle, project engineer at Prudhoe Bay's Peak Oilfield Service Company, which operates a fleet of 14 rolligons, says it takes the machines 15 hours to make the 40-mile round-trip from Deadhorse to pick up the stranded loads. She says the approach is working so far, though slightly warmer springtime temperatures make the trek a challenge. “We're being very careful. It's not an ideal time to put in a tundra route,” she says. “We are definitely typically parking our rolligons this time of year, not bringing out every one we have.” So far, oil production has remained stable despite the closure of the Dalton Highway, and Kindred says he doesn’t expect that to change. Transportation Woes Meanwhile, Thompson estimated that 700 to 800 loads were waiting to be transported from Fairbanks to the North Slope by truck on Tuesday. For drivers who make a living on the road, a closure can wreak havoc on schedules and bottom lines. “The drivers on a company payroll are being paid. Some of the owner-operators are having to absorb that cost,” he says. “It's costly for everybody. It's been very, very disruptive.” Some truckers dropped off loads at staging areas alongside the highway so they could return to Fairbanks and pick up more cargo in an attempt to stay productive during the wait. The worst conditions remain between miles 390 and 405 of the 414-mile highway, allowing truckers to get most of the way to Prudhoe Bay before hitting the closure. A typical trip up the “haul road” from Fairbanks takes 10 to 15 hours, so they save significant time by retracing only a fraction of that distance. Truckers who regularly drive the haul road are no strangers to inclement weather -- their struggles against frigid temperatures and freak blizzards have been chronicled in the History Channel series “Ice Road Truckers” -- but Thompson says a closure of this length is extremely rare. “There will be times when there's a snowstorm, so you have to wait out the snowstorm for maybe a few hours, but in this case, it's a once-in-a lifetime event,” he says. While truckers are feeling the pinch, Everts Air, a Fairbanks airline that specializes in hauling cargo to remote locations throughout Alaska, has added four to 12 flights a day on its largest aircraft to Deadhorse and other airstrips that directly serve the oilfields. The company typically runs three to six flights a day, but business has picked up substantially since the overflow began, Robert Ragar, vice president of contractual business, says. Slow Progress Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation temporarily opened the Dalton to small convoys of about 30 trucks carrying critical loads to drive a single open lane in either direction at a time. Though the road remains closed, the department announced on Tuesday that it had allowed 204 vehicles to pass through by the end of the day. Krueger, stationed along the highway with her flag, had started to notice a slight uptick in traffic. Though the problem has not been fully resolved, opinions about whether the overflow will continue to impede normal operations are mixed. At Everts Air, Ragar is bracing for the long haul. “This particular road closing on the Dalton has not been experienced in anybody's memory -- never,” he says. “There seems to be a belief that this is going to go on for a while.” Photographs: http://www.ibtimes.com/trucking-along-alaskas-ice-road-northern-oilfields-freezes-halt-1883163

Press Release / April 15, 2015 International Truck announced today the availability of an additional fuel efficiency package for the International ProStar ES designed for the Canadian market with their need to operate up to 110,000 gross combined weight rating (GCWR). First introduced in December 2014, the ProStar ES, short for "efficiency specification," features industry-leading aerodynamics and powertrain/transmission combinations, and a number of other advanced technologies. "We are committed to technology, innovation, tools and services that deliver industry-leading uptime and low total cost of ownership," said Bill Kozek, president Truck and Parts, Navistar. "The ProStar ES continues to leverage the latest advancements and has established a reputation in the industry for being one of the most fuel efficient, highest quality trucks on the road." This new International ProStar ES spec features: The lowest wind averaged drag coefficient in the industry. Its supremacy in crosswinds makes it one of the most aerodynamic tractors, in real-world conditions, on the road todayEaton 16-speed UltraShift® PLUS LSE which pairs the Cummins ISX15, as well as Navistar's proprietary 13-liter engineXFE 75W-90 axle lubricant (available on the ISX15 and the N13), a new and innovative fuel efficient lubricant that reduces friction and spin losses, improves durability and drives further fuel efficiency improvements"The launch of the ProStar ES in late 2014 generated a lot of interest in Canada, but the 80,000 pound GCWR limited its appeal, as many Canadian fleets want the flexibility up to run 110,000 pounds and still achieve outstanding fuel economy," said Mark Belisle, president, Navistar Canada. "The ES 110 is the result of close collaboration among engineers at Navistar and key component suppliers like Cummins and Eaton, to quickly respond to customer needs and develop a solution for the Canadian market." This new ProStar ES spec is available for order today and will be in production this spring. The International ProStar ES will be on display this week at the International Truck booth (4215) at ExpoCam in Montreal, Quebec. Learn more by visiting www.internationaltrucks.com.

Fleet Owner / April 15, 2015 EkoStinger believes it has set itself apart when it comes to aerodynamic trailer systems. From the beginning, EkoStinger has been touting that it offers fleets much more than side skirts or mid-mount systems. “In fleet after fleet, EkoStinger is helping make the roads a safer place for both the truck drivers and non-truck traffic,” the company said. “Any driver who has driven with the EkoStinger on their trailer will tell you that the trailer is far more stable than a regular trailer, especially in high cross wind situations, the trailer tracks straighter and that they have far better rear visibility because EkoStinger reduces mist by at least 70%. These features coupled with real world consistent fuel savings of 4% to 6% make EkoStinger a clear winner for drivers and fleet owners.” The company said the system is designed as a two-part system that offers consistent fuel savings: 1) A cross member cover that keeps the cross members and floor clean and dry throughout the life of the trailer adding to the life of the trailer while reducing repairs and 2) the movable arrow portion of the device. The arrow moves with the tandem without driver interaction keeping the aerodynamics consistent in any tandem position or driving condition. “The combination of these two systems provides the fleet owner with safer driving conditions for their drivers, prolongs the life of the trailer, reduces maintenance and consistently saves fuel,” the company said. Related video: http://www.ekostinger.com/how-eko-stinger-works.html

Today’s Trucking / April 15, 2015 TRW Automotive revealed a new commercial steering technology at the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show. Called ReAX, it merges the company's proven and popular hydraulic power steering system with an electrically powered drive that reduces steering effort at low speeds, while increasing on-center stiffness at highway speed to enhance lane-keeping stability. That's a tall order but ReAX handles it deftly. ReAX is not an add-on or a switchable driver assist system. It's fully integrated into the traditional hydraulic power steering gear — built right onto the gear itself, in fact. The control module, electric motor, gearbox and the steering column position sensors are all inside, so the system functions as single unit not an electric-over-hydraulic arrangement. The traditional power steering system provides the torque needed steer the vehicle, while the electric motor and its sensors and electronics provide precision control to the hydraulic gear. Together, they exercise proportional control over the steering based, in this case, on vehicle speed. At low speeds, the system reduced the steering effort to nearly zero, yet it retains the feel drivers would expect from a truck steering system. It returns quickly to center as you are pulling out of a turn. While reversing, it resists the steering geometry's natural inclination to return to center. At higher speed, the system input to the steering effort is modulated so the steering feels stiffer, more like the driver would expect. And at highway speeds, TRW says the system actually adds stiffness to the steering to enhance stability and lane position retention. ReAX uses proprietary torque and angle sensors, coupled with other vehicle signals such as a speed sensor, to prompt the ECU to calculate the required electrical assistance to provide the desired steering feel. "Because the system is electronically controlled, OEs can dial in the precise 'feel' they want in their trucks, or customize the level of assistance to suit different applications," says Mark Cartwright, chief engineer of systems integration at TRW, who was along with us on the test drive. "Drivers will appreciate how much their steering effort is reduced at low speeds and how much more stable the steering feels at high speed. It really gives them the best both ends of the steering spectrum." It's fail safe too. ReAX will revert to normal straight hydraulic power in the event of a failure of the electric drive. It'll feel just like regular power steering. I had a chance to try ReAX during Mid-America in a parking lot adjacent to the fairgrounds. We were without a trailer, but I don't think that made much of a difference. It was installed in a Peterbilt 387, which, like most Peterbilts, has a very nice feel to the steering, good on-center stability and good cornering. It's on the firm side, making quick full-swing turns of the wheel a bit of work. For all the times I would have preferred an easier turning while backing into a tight spot, I would never have agreed to lighting up the feel while driving on the highway. ReAX gives us the best of both worlds. The truck had an on/off switch to make the comparison easier, so we ran a couple of laps around the parking lot and through a backing maneuver with the system off and then with the system on. The difference was like night and day. I didn't get much higher than 20 mph in the parking lot, so I never experienced the proportional transition from full electric assist to minimal at higher speeds and extra stability at highway speed. It was an unaccustomed luxury having to use no more energy than I would while reversing a boat trailer with a pickup truck. I suspect drivers will warm to this idea pretty quickly. It was very useful, too, in making those quick full-cut turns sometimes necessary to shoehorn the truck into tight loading docks. ReAX would be equally welcome on a downtown street with 90-degree corners and no room to spare. Here again, getting the wheels cut around while covering the shortest possible distance will be very advantageous. Might I even hint there could be a safety advantage here too? I'm still trying to imagine a possible downside to ReAX, but I can't. Short of an electrical problem or a sensor failure, the system seems almost bullet proof. Even its complete failure would leave you no worse off that you are today with full hydraulics. It won't add much weight, though it will likely cost more. I think the real benefits will become quickly obvious once drivers get a hold of it. Like an automated manual transmission, this could be one of those no-going-back components. TRW says ReAX should be on the market by 2017. You can learn more about TRW power Steering systems for commercial vehicles at trucksteering.com. Related video: http://www.todaystrucking.com/industry-voices-smart-power-steering

Motor Malaysia / April 15, 2015 ONCE upon a time, the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to escalate. Today, seven-, eight-, and nine-speed automatics are offered in everything from large European luxury sedans to the Jeep Renegade subcompact SUV. Now Autoguide has reported on a patent filing by Ford for an 11-speed automatic transmission, in three different variants with different combinations of gears, clutches, and brakes. The application was apparently filed in October 2013; the US Patent Office published the actual patent last week. Ford has already confirmed plans to launch an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission in its aluminum F-150 pickup truck sometime next year. Thus far, the new automatic has only been confirmed for the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor high-performance model, but it is expected to spread widely across the sprawling F-150 lineup over time. But the new transmission it may be envisioning could conceivably be used in front-wheel-drive cars with transverse engines, just as today’s ZF-derived nine-speed automatic appears in a variety of cars from Fiat Chrysler and Jaguar Land Rover, among other makers. A report last year credited multi-gear transmissions as one of the main technologies that have let automakers meet increasingly stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. The advanced transmissions, along with direct injection, lightweighting, and downsized engines, have kept makers in compliance with the stiffer CAFE standards without having to electrify vehicles with hybrid-electric powertrains. As fuel-economy rules continue to escalate, it will be interesting to see how many gears can be packed into an automatic transmission at a cost that makers are willing to pay, Green Car Reports said. At some point, the incremental gains will dwindle and a CVT would seem to make more sense. This is especially true as new control software has allowed CVTs to mimic the behavior of conventional automatics, reducing the “CVT whine” that drivers dislike as engines run up to their most efficient speed and stay there, decoupling engine sound from road speed. But clearly Ford feels that 11 gears are at least possible — despite statements by Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF, that nine speeds are the “natural limit” for number of gears in an automatic. So this may simply be Ford protecting research it’s conducted, with no immediate plans for putting such a transmission into production. Let’s see what kind of fuel-efficiency boosts that 10-speed automatic provides first.

Mercedes-Benz: Our Pickup Won’t Be a “Fat Cowboy Truck” Car & Driver / April 15, 2015 Well, now we know what the brass at Mercedes-Benz thinks of U.S. pickups. Speaking to Georg Kacher for Car Magazine, former AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg, who is currently in charge of Mercedes’ van division and thus the pickup project, explains that the Benz truck will not mix it up with the American haulers: “We’re not going to develop a fat cowboy truck for North America,” he’s quoted as saying. How’s them for fightin’ words? Evidently that means Mercedes-Benz won’t build a pickup like this, or this, or this. As Mornhinweg correctly points out: “. . . the Big Three—Ford, GM, and Ram—already own about 90 percent of that market . . . newcomers like us would invariably fight an arduous uphill battle.” Instead, the Mercedes-Benz pickup, which is expected to take the name GLT, will be a smaller, lighter entry, based on the Nissan NP300 Navara. Mornhinweg claims such a vehicle “is already perceived as a premium product in South America, Africa, and the Middle East.” Don’t take that to mean, however, that the pickup won’t come to North America. The truck is being considered for our market, and Mercedes is particularly eying Nissan’s Mexican plant for assembly, which would allow it to be sold in the U.S. without tariffs. Like the NP300 (which is likely to be our next Frontier), the Mercedes will use a ladder frame and be offered in a single, four-door cab configuration. Expect Benz to offer four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic, and 4MATIC all-wheel drive. A live rear axle will be standard, but buyers will be given the option of a independent rear suspension. “The customers out there are waiting for the Mercedes among the mid-size pickups,” Mornhinweg said. We’ll see if he’s right when the GLT arrives in late 2018 or early 2019. Portly cowpokes, however, need not apply.

You're referring to the old Iveco Z-series (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/33341-midliner-question/). Iveco has risen to nearly the same level as M-B, MAN, Scania and Volvo. In the light, medium and heavy segments today, Iveco builds a good truck.

Press Release / April 14, 2015 Indian mining company BGR Mining & Infra has placed an order for 200 Scania P 410 tipper trucks. BGR Mining & Infra Managing Director B. Umapathi Reddy says: “Scania P 410 tippers offer excellent performance and we are extremely satisfied with them. Since we started using these vehicles in our mining fields, we have observed a clear increase in operational performance and efficiency. A special mention goes to the dedicated services of Scania.” Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director of Scania India, said that the order was testament to the quality of Scania’s products: “I am very pleased that our association with BGR is being strengthened.” Headquartered in the city of Hyderabad, BGR Mining & Infra is one of India’s leading mining companies. It already has a fleet of 246 Scania vehicles. .

Trucking / April 14, 2015 Dutch truck-maker DAF has won an £11.7m (US$17.2 million) order from Carlsberg UK to supply 98 new trucks for its in-house national distribution service after an open tender. The new vehicles will be the first DAF trucks on Carlsberg UK’s distribution fleet for 10 years and will be based at eight of the brewer’s RDCs across the country, doing multi-drop deliveries of beer and associated items, such as gas cylinders. The 98 vehicles include 15-tonne and 18-tonne LF rigids, plus 26-tonne CF and 6x2 tractors – all sporting Carlsberg UK’s new hop leaf livery. The CF tractor units are expected to do around 130,000 km each per year, and around 60,000 km each for the LF and CF rigids on more local deliveries. .

Press Release / April 14, 2015 Yaroslavl Motor Works (aka Avtodiesel), the engine and transmission producing unit of GAZ Group (Gorky Automobile Factory), has begun supplying YaMZ-530 series diesel engines to RM-Terex, a joint venture between Russian Machines and Terex Corporation. The Yaroslavl Motor Works (YaMZ) supplies truck engines to MAZ in Belarus, Kamaz and Ural in Russia and AutoKrAZ in Ukraine. Originally designed for commercial trucks, four and six cylinder variants have been engineered for fitment in Terex WX series wheeled excavators, TX series tracked excavators and TG series graders. The 4.4-liter four cylinder YaMZ-53416 and 6.7-liter six cylinder YaMZ-53646 are rated at 179 and 202 horsepower respectively. Jointly developed by the Yaroslavl Motor Works and AVL List GmbH of Austria, modern YaMZ-530 series engines have proven to be reliable and fuel efficient. .