kscarbel2

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Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / January 16, 2019 Volvo Group Venture Capital AB on Wednesday announced its investment in Philadelphia-based Momentum Dynamics Inc – a provider of high-power wireless charging capabilities for electric vehicles. Momentum Dynamics develops and commercializes high-power inductive charging for the automotive and transportation industries, suitable for commercial electric, autonomous and connected vehicles. Volvo Group Venture Capital Vice President Per Adamsson says Momentum Dynamics’ technology and competence within inductive bi-directional transmission of electrical energy and information safely through air, water and ice will fit the harsh conditions under which our customers operate. “High capacity charging up to 300 kW for trucks, buses, construction equipment, industrial and marine applications will support the electrified transition,” he adds. Wireless electric charging allows any type of vehicle to automatically and without supervision connect to the electrical power grid without the use of wires or cables. Without the need for a driver to plug in their vehicle to a charging station, automatic and bi-directional “electric fueling” may occur frequently and opportunistically – resulting in efficient use of battery capacity, longer driving ranges and improved uptime. Momentum Dynamics is conducting pilots in Europe and North America with both fleets and vehicle manufacturers of cars, buses, trucks and trains.

Nikola Moves Closer to Marketing Hydrogen-Electric Trucks Roger Gilroy, Transport Topics / January 16, 2019 LAS VEGAS — Nikola Motor Co. founder and CEO Trevor Milton said two key customers — private fleet Anheuser-Busch Cos. and truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Enterprises — will begin fleet tests of Nikola’s zero-emisssions hydrogen-electric Class 8 trucks by the end of the year, as the first shoots of the necessary fueling infrastructure are emerging in Phoenix. Milton spoke with Transport Topics in an exclusive interview here Jan. 8 during CES, the world’s largest technology event. “I wanted to redesign everything from the ground up. I can’t do that if I keep a lot of the same stuff that is on trucks right now,” Milton said. “We are just lucky that we started a long time ago so we are ahead of everyone. We developed our own fuel cell, our own batteries — they are more energy dense than any other battery on the market in the world.” Nikola’s battery is almost 400 watt-hours per liter, he said, calling that 50% to 70% more energy dense than rival batteries. Its 240-kilowatt fuel cell is the biggest he knows of, and there are two on board his Class 8 trucks. Andrew Lund, chief engineer in the product development office at Toyota Motor North America Inc., told TT he wished Nikola well. “They are a very interesting company. Certainly they are going to produce heavy-duty trucks. So in one way they are competitors. But I view them as more of a partner in, really, growing hydrogen infrastructure. Their announced plan is to build hydrogen stations across North America. I would want them to be successful because that would bring about the hydrogen society that Toyota has believed in for so many years.” Milton said his company plans to build 700 hydrogen fueling stations in the United States over the next seven years. The first 14 stations will be up and running by 2021, according to the company, which is based in Phoenix, where two stations are being built and each of which will produce more than 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen. “Then we go to stations that produce 24,000 kilograms a day. We focus mainly on dominating the hydrogen-production side, and the truck is a catalyst to drive the cost of the hydrogen down. Our hope is we can share stations with Daimler or others that are interested, like Hyundai,” Milton said. In September, Hyundai Motor Co., in cooperation with H2 Energy, will provide 1,000 hydrogen-electric heavy-duty electric trucks to the Swiss commercial vehicle market, to be delivered beginning this year through 2023. News reports said the South Korean truck maker could bring its hydrogen trucks to the United States. A day-cab version of the Nikola truck for North America plus its flat-face, heavy-duty truck intended for the European market will be on display April 16-17 in Phoenix during an event the company calls Nikola World. “That’s when the whole world gets to see the production truck, a beautiful, stunning truck,” Milton said. “So what we have done now is proven out that the truck works, the components function together, the aerodynamics of the truck work. The cab, the body, all that’s done. That’s the hardest part. It took five years to do, to actually make all the systems fully function together.” As of early January, 2,500 people had reserved to attend the event, he said. At the same time, Milton said he is looking forward to competing against the North American arm of Daimler Trucks, the world’s largest truck maker. Daimler Trucks North America is the leader in Class 8 U.S. retail sales. “They have their own fuel cell, although they have tens of billions of dollars invested in diesel so they can’t scrap it. They have to transition out of [diesel] over 10 years. They will be right there alongside of us,” Milton said. “Once we do it and prove it, and they see the model working, Daimler will come right in. But there is enough room. I actually welcome it. When Daimler comes in, the world takes notice and they know it’s legit.” Kenworth Truck Co., a unit of Paccar Inc., and Toyota announced at CES they are collaborating to develop 10 hydrogen-electric tractors for drayage operations in the Los Angeles basin — with Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology going into Kenworth’s T680 trucks. Milton referred to the effort as “research and development.” Nikola has about 11,000 orders for its truck. .

Roger Gilroy, Transport Topics / January 16, 2019 Single-digit increases defined U.S. retail sales of medium-duty trucks in December and for the full year compared with year-ago periods, WardsAuto.com reported. Sales of Class 4-7 trucks reached 22,045 in December, up 4.1% compared with 21,179 a year earlier. Year-to-date, sales rose 6.5% to 237,303 compared with the 2017 total of 222,790. “We are still in an expansion cycle in the medium-duty space. We have just had very moderate, sustainable growth since 2010,” one analyst said. Municipal fleets have been one of the dark-horse growth drivers over the past year, he said. “There was quite a bit of pent-up demand as a result of the housing bubble implosion [in the earlier Great Recession],” he said. “That demand, quite honestly, is still getting worked out, but it is probably about at the end of its run.” Rising real estate values have pumped money into government coffers. “That facilitated clearing the backlog of demand,” he added. Sales of Class 7 trucks were up 1.4% for the month and 3.6% for the year — posting totals, respectively, of 5,519 and 63,828. Class 6 sales were the exception to the modest gains. All truck makers but one in the crowded space posted increases for the full year. These sales rose 10.1% in December and climbed 12.9% for the 12 months — to 5,913 and 71,626, respectively. The biggest year-over-year gain in Class 6 sales occurred at International, a unit of Navistar Inc. It saw sales climb to 16,118 compared with 13,232 a year earlier. “So many of these medium-duty vehicles are service-based. If you look at the economy this year, just the top line, the service portion of the economy actually outperformed goods-based performance,” the analyst said. Sales of Class 4-5 trucks inched up 2.4% in December to 10,613 and 4.2% in the 12-month period to 97,715. .

Social media had a good laugh, but Winnie wasn't really banned. As in all countries politics in China can be ruthless......this is nothing. The world's largest truck market makes China an obvious global market focus for Scania. I learned early on that the western media either gets it wrong or wants to create a story for the readers back home who are gullible about the Middle Kingdom. .

The genius of John Bogle in 9 quotes MarketWatch / November 25, 2018 Diversification: "Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack." Expenses: "The grim irony of investing is that we investors as a group not only don't get what we pay for, we get precisely what we don't pay for." Market timing: "The idea that a bell rings to signal when investors should get into or out of the market is simply not credible. After nearly 50 years in this business, I do not know of anybody who has done it successfully and consistently." Trading volume: "In recent years, annual trading in stocks — necessarily creating, by reason of the transaction costs involved, negative value for traders — averaged some $33 trillion. But capital formation — that is, directing fresh investment capital to its highest and best uses, such as new businesses, new technology, medical breakthroughs, and modern plant and equipment for existing business — averaged some $250 billion. Put another way, speculation represented about 99.2% of the activities of our equity market system, with capital formation accounting for 0.8%." Index funds: "The index fund is a sensible, serviceable method for obtaining the market's rate of return with absolutely no effort and minimal expense. Index funds eliminate the risks of individual stocks, market sectors and manager selection, leaving only stock market risk." Investing simplified: "Investing is not nearly as difficult as it looks. Successful investing involves doing a few things right and avoiding serious mistakes." Time and patience: "Time is your friend; impulse is your enemy." Stock-market risk: "If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn't be in stocks." Trusting brokers: "It's amazing how difficult it is for a man to understand something if he's paid a small fortune not to understand it."

John Bogle, Vanguard founder and investing legend, dies at 89 MarketWatch / January 16, 2018 John C. Bogle, the father of the retail index fund and an outspoken champion for low-cost investing that won him heroic status among individual investors, died Wednesday. He was 89. Bogle founded the Vanguard Group, the mutual fund behemoth known for inexpensive mutual funds that track a market index rather than trying to beat it. Vanguard is now a giant of the asset-management industry that has shifted toward the passive style of investing and saved trillions of dollars for investors in the process. “Jack Bogle made an impact on not only the entire investment industry, but more importantly, on the lives of countless individuals saving for their futures or their children’s futures,” Vanguard Chief Executive Tim Buckley said in a news release Wednesday afternoon that confirmed Bogle’s death. “He was a tremendously intelligent, driven and talented visionary whose ideas completely changed the way we invest. We are honored to continue his legacy of giving every investor ‘a fair shake.’” Bogle formed Vanguard in 1974 and it began operations the next year. As of Sept. 30, 2018, it had about $5.3 trillion in global funds under management, according to the company. When Bogle first launched a fund tracking the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.22% at a low cost to investors in 1976, he called it “the Vanguard experiment,” but it was widely derided as “Bogle’s folly.” Known then as the First Index Investment Trust, its initial underwriting collected just $11 million; it is now known as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund VFINX, +0.22% , and has $441 billion in assets, Vanguard noted Wednesday. “Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack,” Bogle famously said of the passive-investing approach. Beyond convincing the investment community that index funds were worthwhile, Bogle also pushed Vanguard to offer the funds directly to consumers, avoiding brokers. Vanguard said Wednesday that the approach has saved shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars in sales commissions. Vanguard says its average expense ratio is 0.11%. Bogle remained at the helm of Vanguard until stepping down in 1996. He stayed in the public eye, however, making speeches and commenting on the markets. In 1999, Bogle created the Bogle Financial Markets Resource Center, which he ran as president until his death. “Presumably you are accumulating money now and putting money away for the future. Do not, under any circumstances, stop doing that. That is the first rule. Don’t stop investing,” Bogle told MarketWatch in 2017, when asked for general rules for investing. “The second rule is, particularly for the younger people in the world: A good solid market decline is a blessing. You’ll be buying — if you invest each month — stocks at lower and lower prices. Don’t be antagonized by that; use that as an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Isn't Watts still offering the 41MR439 main cab harness, manufactured by Fargo, the original Mack supplier?

62QS179P2.......give Watt's Mack a call. The P2 version has a key lock. The non-locking P1 version was long ago NLA. If you also need the catch, that's a 62QS136P2.

Look guys, it's very late and I've got the flu. Yes, an electric lift pump is an available option, as it is with most global truckmakers. To meet the US market price point, Volvo apparently doesn't offer it there. Never ever had an issue with the Ultra-Liner's cab jack. The MH was also available with an optional air actuated cab lift pump (supplier Power Packer now offers electric as well). I'm also partial to the Cruise-Liner (despite its many shortcomings), and both F and G models. There are very good reasons why COE design is the global standard, but to each his own.

Plastic shell?

To each his own....... In my mind, COEs are beautiful, and some of the most attractive were/are produced by decades-long former Mack partner Scania.

The original Scania V8, and the Mack ENDT865/866, all launched in 1969, were born together. Continually evolved forward, today's advanced Scania V8 is altogether different, but proudly carries on the spirit of the Mack V8.

GM's Washington charm offensive sidelined by Wall Street's push for profit David Shepardson, Reuters / January 16, 2019 General Motors code named its November announcement to cut nearly 15,000 jobs in North America and restructure itself “Turbo,” suggesting a leaner approach for the largest U.S. automaker would “accelerate its transformation.” Wall Street investors cheered the ambition to get smaller and boost profits. But in Washington, the move remains a public relations crisis that threatens to derail a methodical effort by Chief Executive Mary Barra to keep GM in good graces with the White House and other politicians. President Donald Trump called Barra’s decision “nasty” and said GM had “better” find a product to build at a plant in Ohio, a pivotal state for Trump’s 2020 re-election effort. Representative Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from southeast Michigan and former GM employee, said at the time that GM had become “the most thoroughly disliked company in Washington.” At the Detroit auto show this week where GM is faces off with politicians from the states most impacted by its job cuts, Dingell told Reuters that “GM is going to work hard to improve relationships.” Despite the angst in Washington, Barra and her deputies are showing no signs of shifting gears. “We’re not here to make everybody angry,” GM President Mark Reuss told Reuters this week at the auto show. He said GM’s restructuring is driven by many factors - including the need to offset tariff costs and finance new electric vehicles and battery technology. That requires GM to stop “investing money in things that don’t make money.” It is a message Barra herself hit hard on Friday during a presentation to investors in New York, where she promised stronger profits and outlined plans for its Cadillac brand to challenge Tesla. “We have demonstrated time and again that we are willing to make tough and strategic decisions to not only meet our commitments but to secure the company’s future,” Barra said. Barra’s charm offensive had proven successful for most of President Donald Trump’s first two years in office. Atop Barra’s list of accomplishments: shielding GM’s profitable Mexican truck production and its $5 billion investment in its Mexican operations announced in 2014 to double capacity in Mexico from punitive trade measures from the Trump administration. But the new conflict with Washington comes at a critical time for GM, which wants to sell many more electric vehicles and has been lobbying Congress to expand the $7,500 tax credits. It still needs help from regulators to get self-driving cars without steering wheels on U.S. roads. And GM stands to benefit from the Trump administration’s plan to weaken fuel efficiency standards “We’ve done this to help you, and I think his disappointment is it seems like they kind of turned their back on him,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters in November, referring to Trump’s reaction. Kyle Martin, research analyst with Westwood Management in Dallas, which owns GM shares, said GM needs the cash to develop to electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle technology. “That money has to come from somewhere,” he said. Trump’s election win brought a dire warning from GM executives in a presentation in late 2017 and early 2018 to the company’s board: an end to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could cost the automaker billions of dollars in tariffs on GM’s Mexican vehicles. They concluded that the costs would still be less than the billions of dollars and years it would take to shift production to the United States. GM argued that while it was building autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles in the United States, it needed to keep generating profits on Mexican-built trucks to fund those operations. So Barra made engaging with the White House after Trump’s election a key focus. She went to dinner at the house of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and spoke on several occasions with Trump himself. Barra hired a former senior Trump aide who handled trade policy issues, Everett Eissenstat, to run GM’s DC office in August. And she has had numerous talks with U.S. officials, including conversations with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, about the new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada - including a key call in August to address concerns from GM that the new trade deal could have disadvantaged its Mexican operations. Barra is now counting on those relationships to help her steer through 2019, and mend fences in Washington. She invited Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to Michigan to attend a board meeting in June 2017 and take a ride in an self-driving car in Michigan, according to previously unreported government records reviewed by Reuters. Barra also had a previously unreported lunch in April 2017 with Chao at the White House with other officials. She spent two days last month on Capitol Hill meeting with angry lawmakers and explaining the cuts. In a brief interview with Reuters in December, Barra said she understands “that there’s a lot of emotion and concerns” but emphasized that the actions were about safeguarding the company’s future. She has her work cut out for her. Representative Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat who took office this month, noted the Detroit-Hamtramck plant - one of the facilities losing production - is on a site that GM won approval in the early 1980s to dislocate more than 4,200 people as the state tore down about 1,500 homes and 140 businesses. “We as a society made a huge sacrifice for GM so they could have a new plant. And 30 years later they are just going to throw it away?” Levin said. “We’re not going to stop and just say, ‘Oh this is a cost of doing business.’”

Chinese operators are pleased with the JMC-badged Ford Cargo. http://www.360che.com/news/190114/105705.html http://www.360che.com/news/190114/105707.html http://www.360che.com/news/190114/105708.html http://www.360che.com/news/190114/105709.html http://www.360che.com/news/190114/105710.html http://www.360che.com/news/190114/105711.html

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Volvo Trucks Press Release / January 15, 2019 Truck driver Jarle Tveiten provides an insight into his life transporting live fish through the Norwegian fjords. . .

Scania Group Press Release / January 10, 2019 Swedish haulier Skaraslättens Åkeri has reduced its fleet’s annual fuel bill by nearly EUR 10,000 per truck since it traded in the R 580 for new Scania R 520 trucks. In addition to owning 31 trucks and 350 trailers, Skaraslättens also subcontracts additional services from 50 haulage companies. They jointly transport incoming goods from Asia destined for major retailers such as Ikea. On return trips, the trucks load bundles of wood for export. V8 R 520 makes a remarkable difference Skaraslättens maintains a policy of regularly renewing its all-Scania fleet and limits vehicle age to a maximum of three years, or 400,000 kilometres. This means the trucks are in excellent condition and still fetch a healthy residual value when they are sold on. “Last year, we purchased 20 new trucks. Receiving the new V8 Scania R 520 turned out to be a stroke of luck; the difference is remarkable,” says Skaraslättens’ Head of Finance, Håkan Johansson. The V8’s power is vital, since the haulier often handles heavy 60-tonne loads of two containers. “It’s all about logistics: the bigger the operation, the more assignments can be performed,” he says. 20 percent less fuel consumption in just two years Johansson notes that Scania said that its new generation could provide a five percent increase in fuel efficiency, and adds that Skaraslättens has easily improved upon this figure in its operations.In fact, records show that Skaraslättens’ R 580 trucks averaged 41.5 litres per 100 kilometres in 2016, which dropped to 39.2 litres the following year. With the arrival of the new R 520 trucks, fuel consumption has been reduced to just 33.1 litres per 100 kilometres; that’s 20 percent less than two years ago. Across the fleet, that fuel efficiency translates into an annual savings of more than EUR 300,000. “That could be the difference between make or break for a company,” says Johansson. Driver incentives influence fuel savings The savings are partially passed on to the drivers through an incentive programme; a portion of the hourly wages is based on driving performance. “In my estimation, I would say that two-thirds of the fuel consumption can be attributed to the truck, while the driver can influence the remainder,” says Johansson. .

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Daimler Press Release / January 11, 2019 Germany by night with a low-flying Airbus A 320 and a heavy-haulage Actros SLT tractor unit from Mercedes-Benz – this spectacular heavy-haulage operation took place throughout Germany and drew in the crowds wherever it passed. No surprise really when you take a look at the vital statistics involved: 60 m long, 90 t in weight and 5 m wide. The Actros SLT with around 630 hp was tasked with bringing the Airbus A 320 to southern Germany. The sensational transport task of the fuselage took around 11 days. Stuttgart-based heavy-haulage firm PAULE loaded the Airbus onto their Actros SLT in Tallinn (Estonia) after it was damaged during a heavy landing. A truck ferry took the freight across the Baltic Sea to Lübeck's docks. From there the Actros SLT heavy-haulage team took three nights to cross Hamburg, Magdeburg, Nuremberg and Stuttgart before heading for the northern part of the Black Forest. Twice along the route, the Airbus heavy-haulage convoy had to leave the motorway to avoid low bridges. Plus, after the Actros SLT left the motorway and was driving along a side road at one point, the driver even had to drive the long combination backwards so as to be able to re-enter the motorway in the opposite direction. What's more, a second Actros SLT was also brought in in readiness for the freight arriving at its final destination. On a tight and steep forest road, the SLT duo brought the Airbus to its new home on the training grounds of the KSK Special Forces Command in Calw. There, the Airbus will soon be put to use as part of realistic training scenarios for the protection of airline passengers. Heavy-haulage firm PAULE opted for the Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT as its tractor unit of choice because such extreme transport tasks dictate 100% reliability. .

VW, Ford eye low-cost Turkey, Poland production to boost profits in lucrative van market Nick Gibbs, Automotive News / January 16, 2019 Ford likely will build mid-size vans for Volkswagen in Turkey while VW will produce compact vans in Poland as the two automakers jointly develop commercial vans to tap into a lucrative market that each automaker was too small to effectively compete in on their own. VW Group CEO Herbert Diess said Ford's factory in Turkey that builds the Transit vans is "an option" for VW's Transporter midsize vans. Such a move would mean VW transferring production of its T6 vans from Hanover, Germany, to Turkey and the next Transporter moving to a Ford platform using Ford engines. VW is in discussions with labor representatives in Hanover about the change, Diess said on Tuesday, as Ford and VW announced details of their partnership. Germany's Handelblatt said VW likely will continue to build T6 passenger vans continue in Hanover while panel vans for businesses would transfer to Turkey. VW needs to free up capacity in Hanover after announcing in November that it will build the I.D. Buzz retro-styled minibus at the factory, with production likely starting in 2022. Ford and VW plan to launch vans in 2023 to replace the current Transit and the Transporter vans. VW will build a new compact van to replace both the VW Caddy and the Transit Connect at VW's plant in Poland, where the automaker produces the Crafter large van, Handelsblatt reported. The new van would use VW engines. Ford will build a midsize pickup to replace the VW Amarok to sold alongside a new Ford Ranger starting in 2022. The models will be sold in Europe, South America and Africa, the companies said. No production location was given. Ford currently builds the European Ranger in South Africa. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles CEO Thomas Sedran said that "clear decisions" on production locations have not yet been made. To be competitive "the more production we have in the low-cost countries the better, and of course Turkey and Poland are both very competitive," Sedran said. Diess said VW and Ford would see similar savings from the commercial vehicle partnership by helping spread the cost of future technology and also making savings on product development. "It's mitigation against potential cost increases because of the new drivetrains we need for the electrification in this segment and also the CO2 penalties we are facing," he said. Rising demand Unlike the slowing passenger-car market, demand for light commercial vehicles is on the rise. Global output will increase by 12 percent in the next five years, forecaster LMC Automotive says. The business commands higher profit margins. Ford has said profit margins on its European van range run at 13 percent. Ford's head of global markets, Jim Farley, said on Tuesday he expected Ford to make a pretax profit gain of $500 million annually by 2024 once the joint vehicles were on sale. Together VW and Ford could become the industry's highest-volume global collaboration in that market, they say. In Europe, the two companies combined build more light commercial vehicles than PSA Group, Renault-Nissan and Fiat Chrysler, all of which are currently larger, according to LMC. With VW taking over production of compact vans, Ford's factory in Valencia, Spain, would lose the Transit Connect, the only van Ford does not build for Europe in Turkey. The plant also makes the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy, three models thought to be under threat as Ford looks to cut unprofitable lines. Ford announced in 2017 an investment of 750 million euros for the plant to build the next-generation Kuga compact SUV. The current Kuga accounts for around half the output of the plant. .

Farley says Ford, VW alliance could eventually include U.S. project Michael Martinez, Automotive News / January 15, 2019 DETROIT — The budding alliance between Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group eventually could include a vehicle program in the U.S., said Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets. The two sides on Tuesday announced a broad partnership under which Ford will build commercial vans for VW in Europe and midsize pickups in South America, Europe and Africa, among other things. The plans don't include selling any vehicles in the U.S. — at least not yet. "We're still talking," Farley said Tuesday. The two sides also are exploring tie-ups on autonomous and electric vehicle development. Farley on Tuesday evening reiterated that the two companies will not merge and are not seeking equity stakes in each other. "When we did an inventory of all the lessons we've learned as a company on our partnerships and joint ventures, it was a really pithy list and in that was 'pick the right projects,'" he said. "If you pick the wrong projects, it doesn't matter how hard everyone works; things could — and have — gone south." Farley said both companies' product cadence matched up well. They anticipate launching the vans and pickups as early as 2022. "The product timings are perfect for both companies," he said. "What happens next will be based on that criteria." Ford's partnership with VW comes as it seeks to turn around its struggling business in Europe. Ford last week announced plans to cut thousands of workers and eliminate low-profit vehicles. Farley on Tuesday said the VW deal "will help Europe but won't save Europe" for Ford and reiterated the need to restructure now so it can work toward making a profit again. Ford Europe operated in the black for three consecutive years, from 2015 through 2017, but anticipates posting a loss for 2018.

James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / January 15, 2019 The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that legal disputes between carriers and independent contractors cannot be forced into arbitration even if their contractor agreements include an arbitration clause. In a unanimous 8-0 decision issued Tuesday, the nation’s high court sided with owner-operator Dominic Oliveira over his carrier, New Prime Inc., the legal name for the Springfield, Missouri-based Prime Inc. Prime has contracts with more than 5,000 independent contractors. The question before the Supreme Court was whether arbitration clauses within contracts between fleets and independent contractors are binding. Oliveira sought to have a lawsuit he brought against New Prime over his employment status heard in court. New Prime argued that his lawsuit was bound to arbitration, per the arbitration clause within his contract with the company. The 1926 Federal Arbitration Act established that arbitration is mostly a binding agreement, but there are exceptions, particularly for transportation workers. Oliveira argued his situation was an exception to the 1926 law, and the Supreme Court agreed, meaning he has the ability to pursue his original lawsuit in court rather than via a third-party arbitrator. Oliveira’s original lawsuit sought to challenge his classification as a contractor. He claimed he was a company driver and an employee of Prime, but that he was misclassified as an independent contractor. The Supreme Court did not rule on that matter. Instead, they simply ruled on whether Oliveira could pursue his challenge via the courts instead of arbitration. However, the question before the court was even more nuanced. It wasn’t centered directly on whether disputes should be handled via arbitration or in court. Instead, the question was about who decides — courts or arbitrators — whether the ensuing procedures should be handled by courts or if they’re bound to arbitration. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for the court. “The parties’ private agreement may be crystal clear and require arbitration of every question under the sun, but that does not necessarily mean the Act authorizes a court to stay litigation and send the parties to an arbitral forum,” he writes. Gorsuch added that Prime’s arguments weren’t “compelling.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote a concurring opinion, citing the intentions of the 1926 Arbitration Act and subsequent litigation that fell in favor of Oliveira’s claims that owner-operators are exempt, as transportation workers, from the 1926 law. Lower courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First District, also ruled in favor of Oliveira. Prime appealed that court’s ruling to the Supreme Court, who heard oral arguments in October.

Even the leading Chinese heavy truck makers have made electric primers standard.

Not the full-size Crafter, but rather than dated mid-sized Transporter.