Diesel drops 4.3 cents
Diesel prices took a significant dive last week, dropping 4.3 cents to average $2.163 per gallon nationally, the Energy Information Administration said. ...
Trailer shipments up sharply in third quarter
Shipments of complete trailers increased 29% in the third quarter, according to figures compiled by ACT Research....
NHTSA finalizes underride guard regulation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a final rule in the Federal Register [RIN 2127-AH75] that clarifies the standards for underride guards for trailers and semitrailers that were established in 1996. The rule is effective immediately....
American Made LLC, U.S. Liner plan relocation
American Made LLC and its division, U.S. Liner Company, are purchasing and making logistical plans to move to a new corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania....
Kenworth beefs up Cat, equipment lineup
Kenworth is offering new Caterpillar C13 and C11 engine models for the OEM's Class 8 trucks. ...
Paccar charges a U.K. parts center
Bellevue, WA-based global truck maker Paccar is taking a $33-million charge against fourth quarter earnings this year to open its own in-house aftermarket parts distribution facility in the United Kingdom in support of its DAF truck line. ...
Vauxhall wins $293 million van deal
Vauxhall has won a three-year order for 16,000 vans from telecoms giant BT — an order Vauxhall says is one of its biggest van deals ever and reportedly is worth about $293 million at recommended retail prices, according to CV News Brief. ...
SMMT wants standards for body builders
Robin Dickeson, commercial vehicle affairs manager for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said the society’s body builder members think the industry needs to develop some clear, commonsense quality standards, according to CV News Brief....
Online body repairs through new Web site
Bodybuilder JC Payne has launched a new Web site (www.bodyfixit.com) that will allow customers to order and track parts or call out assistance. According to CV News Brief, the firm says its move is part of its drive to revolutionise the UK bodybuilding industry. ...
Smithway back in the black
Ft. Dodge, IA-based truckload carrier Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. continued to recover from major losses last year, staying profitable both for the third quarter and through the first nine months of 2004. ...
Strong U.S. sales lift Nissan earnings
Strong sales of cars and light trucks propelled earnings for Japan-based Nissan Motor Co. to $2.17 billion (238.8 billion yen) on 12.7% higher revenues of $36.5 billion (4.008 trillion yen) for the first six months of fiscal 2005 – an increase of 0.5% from the same period in fiscal 2004. ...
Celadon posts fiscal 1Q profits
Indianapolis-based truckload conglomerate Celadon posted net profits of $2.8 million on 9.1% higher revenues of $104.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2005. This marks a reversal of a $5.5-million loss posted in the same period last year, due largely to a $6.9 million charge to cover the lower resale value of its trailer fleet....
Wabash announces pricing of common stock offering
Wabash National Corporation announced today that it has priced its offering of three million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $23.25. ...
Omaha Standard to build new factory
Omaha Standard announced plans today to build a new manufacturing facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa....
ArvinMeritor to divest Light Vehicle Aftermarket and coil coating businesses
ArvinMeritor, Inc. today announced its plans to divest the company's Light Vehicle Aftermarket (LVA) business group and to take a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $190 million, or $2.77 per diluted share, in its LVA business in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2004. In addition, the company announced its plan to divest its Roll Coater coil coating business, a wholly owned subsidiary. These moves are designed to sharpen ArvinMeritor's focus on supporting its growing list of global Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) original equipment manufacturing (OEM) customers and its Commercial Vehicle Systems (CVS) OEM and aftermarket customers. ...
Westport gets DOE natural-gas contract
Canadian engine maker Westport Innovations Inc. has secured a $1.5-million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as part of a larger $1.9-million effort to develop and deploy heavy-duty natural gas trucks in California. ...
New diesel record at $2.122
Last week national diesel prices hit a new record for the sixth week in a row, going up another 3.2 cents to $2.212 per gallon. There are no indications of pending relief at the pump as record crude prices continue to make headlines....
Great Dane acquires production facility in Tennessee
Great Dane Limited Partnership has acquired a new production facility in Scott County, Tenn. The anticipated start-up date of the new facility is the first half of 2005. ...
Supply issues dog truck, trailer OEMs
With demand for trucks and trailers at record levels this year - and expected to continue into 2005 - manufacturers are trying to come to grips with component shortages, volatile raw material prices, and other issues that may constrain production now and in the future....
Kenworth's Renton plant named Assembly Plant of Year
Kenworth Truck Company's plant in Renton, Wash., was honored with ASSEMBLY Magazine's inaugural "Assembly Plant of the Year Award" presented at the 25th annual Assembly Technology Expo held recently in Rosemont, Ill....
Oshkosh buys concrete equipment company
WI-based specialty truck maker Oshkosh Truck is planning to purchase, through its McNeilus Companies subsidiary, all of the stock of privately-owned Blair, NE-based Concrete Equipment Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, Audubon Manufacturing Corp. ...
LTLs in the black
Overland Park, KS-based Yellow Roadway Corp. said third-quarter earnings rose 84% to $1.38 per share on $1.77 billion in operating revenue, up from earnings of 75 cents per share on revenues of $771 million in the same quarter last year. ...
Hino rolls out U.S.-made trucks
Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Hino Ltd., has rolled out its first American-made truck from parent company Toyota Motor Corp.’s plant in Long Beach, CA....
Wabash National shows 3Q gains
Wabash National Corporation said net sales for the third quarter were $277 million compared to $215 million for the same period last year, and net income was $20 million or $0.62 per share, compared to a loss of $30 million or $1.16 per share....
Record diesel price streak continues
The national average diesel price surged 8.8 cents last week over the week before, bringing the new diesel record to $2.18 per gallon. This marks the fifth consecutive week of new record-breaking diesel prices. ...
