August 1, 2012
Editorial
Unloading a truckload of reefer regs
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM, by Bruce Sauer
THE refrigerated trucking industry will be carrying a little heavier load in coming years and we don't mean ice cream or produce. A series of regulations,...
Industry Newsdesk
Good times for flatbeds, dry vans
Jul 19, 2012 3:45 PM, By Rick Weber
The economic recovery is progressing very nicely for durable goods, which is translating into a good recovery for the flatbeds and dry vans that are transporting them, according to Noel Perry, senior consultant for FTR Associates and principal of Transport Fundamentals...
UPS Orders 150 Reach Vans
Aug 2, 2012 11:35 AM
Spartan Motors, Inc.(Nasdaq: SPAR) reported that its Utilimaster subsidiary has received an order of 150 new Reach walk-in vans from UPS...
DHL Express Using 100 Propane Autogas Vans
Jul 23, 2012 2:38 PM
DHL Express has launched 100 pickup and delivery vans fueled by clean, safe and economical propane autogas. The new Ford E-250 cargo vans, each equipped with a ROUSH CleanTech dedicated liquid propane autogas fuel system, will be on the road by late August and will support DHL Express pickup and delivery service within California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Texas...
Buyers Products Acquires 500,000-Square-Foot Production Facility
Jul 26, 2012 2:41 PM
Buyers Products has acquired a new 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility near the corporate headquarters in Mentor, Ohio, that will operate in conjunction with the existing 310,000-square-foot fabrication facility also located in Mentor...
Retro Systems opens new training center
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Retro Systems has opened a technical training center adjoining its Valley Center KS manufacturing facility. The 7,000-square-foot training center includes...
ESAB opens new manufacturing facility
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
ESAB Welding and Cutting Products opened a new manufacturing facility in Union County, South Carolina recently. The 260,000-square-foot plant on Midway...
Used Truck Sales Up 8% in June: ACT
Jul 31, 2012 2:02 PM
Used truck sales in June were up 8% over May, but lagged behind June 2011 and the first six months of 2011, while pricing appears to be slowing a little more rapidly than was previously expected, according to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research...
APSCO establishes Winter-Fab division
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Air Power Systems Company (APSCO Inc), a manufacturer of pneumatic cylinders, valves, and control systems, has acquired a former sheet metal company to...
Peterbilt Begins Production on 579
Jul 11, 2012 2:58 PM
Peterbilt is now producing the new Model 579 that was launched during the Mid-America Trucking Show, with the first vehicles being built for Peterbilt and PacLease dealers....
TCSA to represent Jost products in Canada
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Trans Canada Sales (TCSA) will represent Jost International throughout Canada, increasing customer support at fleets and dealers and strengthening the...
EU Commercial Vehicle Registrations Down 5.8% in June
Jul 26, 2012 2:13 PM
New commercial vehicle registrations dropped in the EU for the fifth consecutive month, falling by 5.8% compared to June last year, as a total of 157,232 units were recorded, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association...
Class 8 Orders Stay ‘Weak’ in July: ACT
Aug 22, 2012 11:33 AM
The Class 8 market continued to experience “weak” orders and falling backlogs in July, according to the updated status of the North American commercial vehicle market that was included in the State of the Industry report released by ACT Research Co...
TransAm Trucking orders Eaton UltraShift PLUS transmissions for its entire fleet
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Eaton Corporation recently received one of the company's largest single fleet orders for its line of fully automated UltraShift PLUS transmissions. As...
Superior Distributors Celebrates 50th Anniversary
May 23, 2012 11:54 AM
To celebrate 50 years, Superior Distributors, joined by its entire staff and 50 of its vendor partners, hosted an anniversary celebration at the Sheraton Meadowlands Conference Center in East Rutherford, NJ...
Product Profiles
Mesilla Valley Transportation Retrofits 4,000 Tractor-Trailers with ATDynamics' TrailerTails
Jul 11, 2012 3:10 PM
Trucking fleet Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) has completed the retrofit of its entire fleet of 4,000 tractor-trailers with fuel-saving TrailerTail aerodynamic technology manufactured by ATDynamics....
Reyco Granning improves 86AR Sliders
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Reyco Granning announced that it has made two changes to the 86AR Slider series that will make those suspensions more cost-efficient and quicker to install....
Onspot chains an option on Minotour bus
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Onspot Automatic Tire Chains announces that its Onspot automatic tire chain system is a factory-installed option at Thomas Built Buses' new PDI Center...
UltraShift PLUS offered on Western Stars
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Western Star Truck Sales Inc announced the availability of the Eaton UltraShift PLUS automated transmission for all Detroit Diesel DD13-equipped Western...
Idle Free electric APU meets driver needs
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Idle Free Systems Inc's electric APU (auxiliary power unit) is different from other idle-elimination systems because it meets all driver needs heat, air-conditioning,...
Meritor provides new ProTec Series 30 HMIS
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Meritor Inc displayed the new ProTec Series 30 High Mobility Independent Suspension (HMIS) and drivetrain at the Association of the United States Army's...
The Road Ahead
CALENDAR
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
August 26-29, 2012 American Public Works Association (APWA) International Public Works Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis...
People and Positions
Trailer, truck, & body OEMs
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Polar Tank Trailer has named Brent Thompson general manager of the company's manufacturing operation in Springfield MO. Previously, he held increasingly...
Component manufacturers
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Richard L McNeal has joined Vanair in the newly created position of production planner. He has more than 30 years of experience working with such companies...
Fabricators
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Retro Systems has appointed Kenneth Tucker regional sales manager responsible for Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Colorado. He previously sold...
Dealers/distributors
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
New Life Transport Parts Center announced that George Barrett has been promoted to vice-president of operations from his previous position as director...
Industry association profiles
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
The Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association recently hired Beth Barkovich as director of membership development. Her professional background includes service...
Articles
Getting more from a trailer plant at Wabash
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM, By Bruce Sauer
What do you do with high-volume production lines in a low-volume market? Dry freight van trailer manufacturers are prone to have some very good years....
A tribute to the Wizard of Wabash
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Many employees are admired by their bosses. Less common is the employee whose boss surprises him with a museum built in his honor...
Wabash National's endangered species
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
As part of recent revisions to its Lafayette manufacturing plant, the trailer manufacturer was able to reduce the daily distance that forklifts must travel by 153 miles per operating shift...
Professional advisor lays out a strategic way to differentiate yourself from competitors: The Profit Scorecard approach
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM, By Rick Weber
The show is loaded with managerial challenges: cut-throat pricing, nearby competitors who are good at what they do, and an inventory (labor hours) that expires when the day is over...
With misinformation and factually incorrect statements swirling, Richard Wood is out to ease the turbulence
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM, By Rick Weber
Richard Wood isn't on a mission. He's on two of them. The 59-year-old president of SOLUS Solutions and Technologies LLC wants to continue his exhaustive research to find better ways to make trucks and trailers more aerodynamic, and use that research to make the products that will save fuel and make trucks and trailers more efficient...
Hino sets autumn launch for Class 5 COEs
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Hino Trucks new Class 5 195 and 195h COE (cab-over-engine) trucks will be arriving at qualified Hino dealerships across the nation in autumn 2012...
Technology & Maintenance Council schedules TechTMCSuperTech 2012 for September
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) will hold its 2012 Fall Meeting and National Technician Skills Competition...
Lite-Check offers Certifier 912 upgrades
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Lite-Check is offering Certifier 912 upgrades that will breathe new life and provide new features for a 121 brake timing tester. The company has collected...
Phillips Sta-Dry S7 improves connections
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Phillips Industries recently introduced its Sta-Dry S7, an electrical socket that will upgrade and improve the connection between the tractor and trailer....
Cole Hersee debuts sealed plastic switches
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Cole Hersee, the Commercial Vehicle Products division of Littelfuse Inc, has launched a new line of switches with a sealed engineered-plastic body that...
Truck-Lite adds 5" 7" LED headlamp
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
In 2009, Truck-Lite released a 7" round DOT-approved LED headlamp. As LED technology evolved and improved, the firm responded to demand and is now releasing...
Grote develops HMMWV dome lamp kit
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Grote Industries has completed development of a dome lamp kit, exclusively designed for retrofit use in the US military's high mobility multipurpose wheeled...
PSI offers Fleet Tire Digest, Volume V book
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Pressure Systems International (PSI) is offering a full set of Volume V (Jan-Nov/Dec 2011) Commercial Fleet Tire Digest issues, as a printed spiral-bound...
Freightliner Trucks revamps its website
Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM
Freightliner Trucks has launched an overhauled version of its website, www.FreightlinerTrucks.com. The website showcases Freightliner Trucks' full range...
