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Latest exemption lets truckers change duty status via mobile ELD Greg Grisolano, Land Line (OOIDA) / October 20, 2017 The latest exemption to the electronic logging mandate will allow drivers who use a mobile device-based ELD to change their duty status outside of or away from their vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted the waiver request filed by Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, according to documents filed Friday in the Federal Register. Per the agency’s ruling, the exemption will apply to all carriers, not just UPS. Drivers using a portable, driver-based ELD will be allowed to change their duty status outside of the truck as long as the driver annotates the ELD record to indicate the appropriate duty status. The exemption has been granted for five years and expires Oct. 20, 2022. UPS applied for exemptions from various parts of the ELD mandate, including the portion that requires an ELD to automatically record certain data elements upon a duty-status change when the driver is not in the vehicle. Any time the driver is in the truck with the engine on, the portable ELD will still be required to automatically record change of duty status and logins or logouts. The agency also granted a second waiver for all carriers, allowing them to perform multiple “yard moves” without having to re-enter “yard move” every time the tractor is powered off, thus reducing the number of inputs a driver has to make if they are moving trucks around a yard all day. “In granting these blanket exemptions, FMCSA has addressed just a couple of the inconsistencies from the final ELD rulemaking,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s manager of federal affairs. “Unfortunately, many more issues, such as self-certification and cybersecurity, remain unresolved as the Dec. 18 implementation date nears closer. These problems must be fixed by the agency or else the industry, especially small-business truckers, will be forced to deal with the negative consequences of another one-size-fits-all mandate.” In addition to the exemptions, FMCSA clarified two other parts of UPS’ exemption request. The clarifications state that fleets using Automatic On-Board Recording Devices that have been grandfathered into the ELD mandate until December 2019 may install the same AOBRD in a replacement vehicle after the Dec. 18 deadline. However, newly purchased and installed AOBRDs after the December 2017 deadline will not be grandfathered into exemption. The agency also clarified that so-called “wash and fuel” employees who only drive trucks on company property and do not drive on public roads are exempt from hours-of-service regulations and do not require ELDs. .

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Associated Press / October 19, 2017 NEW ORLEANS — Textron Marine and Land Systems has been awarded a U.S. Army contract for nearly $333 million to make up to 255 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles — armored personnel carriers that the company has been making since 2012 for the Afghan National Army. Textron’s new contract runs through October 2024. It also covers hardware and field representative services. A brief notice Wednesday in the Pentagon’s daily list of military contracts did not say where the new vehicles will be deployed. Textron said in October 2015 that it had supplied 621 of the vehicles to the Afghan National Army since 2012, and more than 550 were in use. At the time, it had received a $17 million contract to train Afghan soldiers to maintain and repair the vehicles. Photo - Afghan commandos of 1st Company, 6th Special Operations Kandak conduct movement to their target in Mobile Strike Force Vehicles for an operation in Kabul province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 24, 2013. .

IVECO Press Release / October 20, 2017 IVECO BUS and Microsoft Team for the future of remote maintenance. A mixed reality project leveraging Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets to streamline maintenance operations and to train maintenance experts. .

Cummins Press Release / October 2017 Cummins recently announced their acquisition of Brammo, Inc., which designs and develops battery packs for mobile and stationary applications. Adding Brammo’s battery pack expertise and resources is an important milestone in Cummins’ efforts to become a global electrified power leader. Here are five interesting facts about Brammo and their products. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Brammo was founded in a garage as a motorsports and performance vehicle company in 2002. The company’s original goal was to build a high performance car, which would comfortably accommodate a 6-foot-8-inch tall person weighing 300 pounds. The company has gone on to power a range of other products, including electric motorcycles, forklifts and even a helicopter. PUSHING THE LIMITS OF SPEED AND INNOVATION Similar to Cummins, Brammo has a rich motorsport history and has helped push the limits of electric vehicle technology on the race track. Brammo participated and podiumed in the first ever all electric motorcycle race at the Isle of Man TT in 2009. Brammo was also the first racing team to win an electric vehicle race at Daytona International Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the bike reached speeds in excess of 170mph – a new electric motorcycle world record for a race circuit. NO STRANGER TO LATE-NIGHT TV American late-night TV personality Jay Leno has featured multiple Brammo vehicles on his show, Jay Leno’s Garage, including his own Brammo Empulse. OFF-ROAD OPTIONS APLENTY The Brammo powered Polaris Ranger EV Li-Ion is the industry’s first off-road vehicle powered by Lithium-Ion technology. Brammo is also an industry leader in the utility vehicle, delivery vehicle, snow and turf, aviation and motorcycle markets. TAKING BRAMMO POWER TO THE SKIES Brammo powered one of the first full-size helicopter flights that solely used battery power. A series of 11 Brammo batteries were used to power the flight, which lasted around five minutes and only drained 20% of the battery energy. . .

Here's the text of the speech (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/19/full-text-george-w-bush-speech-trump-243947) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcript of George W. Bush's speech delivered Oct. 19, 2017 at the at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World" event in New York. Thank you all. Thank you. Ok, Padilla gracias. So, I painted Ramon. I wish you were still standing here. It’s a face only a mother could love – no, it’s a fabulous face. (Laughter.) I love you Ramon, thank you very much for being here. And, Grace Jo thank you for your testimony. And, big Tim. I got to know Tim as a result of Presidential Leadership Scholars at the Bush Center along with the Clinton Foundation, with help from 41 and LBJ’s libraries. I am thrilled that friends of ours from Afghanistan, China, North Korea, and Venezuela are here as well. These are people who have experienced the absence of freedom and they know what it’s like and they know there is a better alternative to tyranny. Laura and I are thrilled that the Bush Center supporters are here. Bernie [Tom Bernstein], I want to thank you and your committee. I call him Bernie. (Laughter.) It’s amazing to have Secretary Albright share the stage with Condi and Ambassador Haley. For those of you that kind of take things for granted, that’s a big deal. (Laughter and Applause.) Thank you. We are gathered in the cause of liberty this is a unique moment. The great democracies face new and serious threats – yet seem to be losing confidence in their own calling and competence. Economic, political and national security challenges proliferate, and they are made worse by the tendency to turn inward. The health of the democratic spirit itself is at issue. And the renewal of that spirit is the urgent task at hand. Since World War II, America has encouraged and benefited from the global advance of free markets, from the strength of democratic alliances, and from the advance of free societies. At one level, this has been a raw calculation of interest. The 20th century featured some of the worst horrors of history because dictators committed them. Free nations are less likely to threaten and fight each other. And free trade helped make America into a global economic power. For more than 70 years, the presidents of both parties believed that American security and prosperity were directly tied to the success of freedom in the world. And they knew that the success depended, in large part, on U.S. leadership. This mission came naturally, because it expressed the DNA of American idealism. We know, deep down, that repression is not the wave of the future. We know that the desire for freedom is not confined to, or owned by, any culture; it is the inborn hope of our humanity. We know that free governments are the only way to ensure that the strong are just and the weak are valued. And we know that when we lose sight of our ideals, it is not democracy that has failed. It is the failure of those charged with preserving and protecting democracy. This is not to underestimate the historical obstacles to the development of democratic institutions and a democratic culture. Such problems nearly destroyed our country – and that should encourage a spirit of humility and a patience with others. Freedom is not merely a political menu option, or a foreign policy fad; it should be the defining commitment of our country, and the hope of the world. That appeal is proved not just by the content of people’s hopes, but a noteworthy hypocrisy: No democracy pretends to be a tyranny. Most tyrannies pretend they are democracies. Democracy remains the definition of political legitimacy. That has not changed, and that will not change. Yet for years, challenges have been gathering to the principles we hold dear. And, we must take them seriously. Some of these problems are external and obvious. Here in New York City, you know the threat of terrorism all too well. It is being fought even now on distant frontiers and in the hidden world of intelligence and surveillance. There is the frightening, evolving threat of nuclear proliferation and outlaw regimes. And there is an aggressive challenge by Russia and China to the norms and rules of the global order – proposed revisions that always seem to involve less respect for the rights of free nations and less freedom for the individual. These matters would be difficult under any circumstances. They are further complicated by a trend in western countries away from global engagement and democratic confidence. Parts of Europe have developed an identity crisis. We have seen insolvency, economic stagnation, youth unemployment, anger about immigration, resurgent ethno-nationalism, and deep questions about the meaning and durability of the European Union. America is not immune from these trends. In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined. Our governing class has often been paralyzed in the face of obvious and pressing needs. The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind in a changing economy. Discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication. There are some signs that the intensity of support for democracy itself has waned, especially among the young, who never experienced the galvanizing moral clarity of the Cold War, or never focused on the ruin of entire nations by socialist central planning. Some have called this “democratic deconsolidation.” Really, it seems to be a combination of weariness, frayed tempers, and forgetfulness. We have seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty. At times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity. Disagreement escalates into dehumanization. Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions – forgetting the image of God we should see in each other. We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism – forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America. We see a fading confidence in the value of free markets and international trade – forgetting that conflict, instability, and poverty follow in the wake of protectionism. We have seen the return of isolationist sentiments – forgetting that American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distant places, where threats such as terrorism, infectious disease, criminal gangs and drug trafficking tend to emerge. In all these ways, we need to recall and recover our own identity. Americans have a great advantage: To renew our country, we only need to remember our values. This is part of the reason we meet here today. How do we begin to encourage a new, 21st century American consensus on behalf of democratic freedom and free markets? That’s the question I posed to scholars at the Bush Institute. That is what Pete Wehner and Tom Melia, who are with us today, have answered with “The Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World,” a Call to Action paper. The recommendations come in broad categories. Here they are: First, America must harden its own defenses. Our country must show resolve and resilience in the face of external attacks on our democracy. And that begins with confronting a new era of cyber threats. America is experiencing the sustained attempt by a hostile power to feed and exploit our country’s divisions. According to our intelligence services, the Russian government has made a project of turning Americans against each other. This effort is broad, systematic and stealthy, it’s conducted across a range of social media platforms. Ultimately, this assault won’t succeed. But foreign aggressions – including cyber-attacks, disinformation and financial influence – should not be downplayed or tolerated. This is a clear case where the strength of our democracy begins at home. We must secure our electoral infrastructure and protect our electoral system from subversion. The second category of recommendations concerns the projection of American leadership – maintaining America’s role in sustaining and defending an international order rooted in freedom and free markets. Our security and prosperity are only found in wise, sustained, global engagement: In the cultivation of new markets for American goods. In the confrontation of security challenges before they fully materialize and arrive on our shores. In the fostering of global health and development as alternatives to suffering and resentment. In the attraction of talent, energy and enterprise from all over the world. In serving as a shining hope for refugees and a voice for dissidents, human rights defenders, and the oppressed. We should not be blind to the economic and social dislocations caused by globalization. People are hurting. They are angry. And, they are frustrated. We must hear them and help them. But we can’t wish globalization away, any more than we could wish away the agricultural revolution or the industrial revolution. One strength of free societies is their ability to adapt to economic and social disruptions. And that should be our goal: to prepare American workers for new opportunities, to care in practical, empowering ways for those who may feel left behind. The first step should be to enact policies that encourage robust economic growth by unlocking the potential of the private sector, and for unleashing the creativity and compassion of this country. A third focus of this document is strengthening democratic citizenship. And here we must put particular emphasis on the values and views of the young. Our identity as a nation – unlike many other nations – is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood. Being an American involves the embrace of high ideals and civic responsibility. We become the heirs of Thomas Jefferson by accepting the ideal of human dignity found in the Declaration of Independence. We become the heirs of James Madison by understanding the genius and values of the U.S. Constitution. We become the heirs of Martin Luther King, Jr., by recognizing one another not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This means that people of every race, religion, and ethnicity can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed. (Applause.) And it means that the very identity of our nation depends on the passing of civic ideals to the next generation. We need a renewed emphasis on civic learning in schools. And our young people need positive role models. Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children. The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them. Finally, the Call to Action calls on the major institutions of our democracy, public and private, to consciously and urgently attend to the problem of declining trust. For example, our democracy needs a media that is transparent, accurate and fair. Our democracy needs religious institutions that demonstrate integrity and champion civil discourse. Our democracy needs institutions of higher learning that are examples of truth and free expression. In short, it is time for American institutions to step up and provide cultural and moral leadership for this nation. Ten years ago, I attended a Conference on Democracy and Security in Prague. The goal was to put human rights and human freedom at the center of our relationships with repressive governments. The Prague Charter, signed by champions of liberty Vaclav Havel, Natan Sharansky, Jose Maria Aznar, called for the isolation and ostracism of regimes that suppress peaceful opponents by threats or violence. Little did we know that, a decade later, a crisis of confidence would be developing within the core democracies, making the message of freedom more inhibited and wavering. Little did we know that repressive governments would be undertaking a major effort to encourage division in western societies and to undermine the legitimacy of elections. Repressive rivals, along with skeptics here at home, misunderstand something important. It is the great advantage of free societies that we creatively adapt to challenges, without the direction of some central authority. Self-correction is the secret strength of freedom. We are a nation with a history of resilience and a genius for renewal. Right now, one of our worst national problems is a deficit of confidence. But the cause of freedom justifies all our faith and effort. It still inspires men and women in the darkest corners of the world, and it will inspire a rising generation. The American spirit does not say, “We shall manage,” or “We shall make the best of it.” It says, “We shall overcome.” And that is exactly what we will do, with the help of God and one another. .

ELD Mandate Enforcement Highlights ATA Educational Session Deborah Lockridge, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 20, 2017 ORLANDO — In a sometimes-lively educational session at the American Trucking Associations 2017 Management Conference & Exhibition Saturday, a panel of regulatory, enforcement and fleet personnel fielded questions on enforcement and other aspects of the electronic logging device mandate that goes into effect Dec. 18. “In today’s environment, you cannot pick up a periodical or go through 10 emails without someone offering a webinar about the ELD mandate,” said Jim Ward, president and CEO of D.M. Bowman Inc., a 400-truck fleet that has been on electronic logs since 2013. Pointing out that the overwhelming majority of the country’s trucking operations are small fleets, “it is a huge impact on a number of small businesses.” Joe DeLorenzo, director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement, went over some of the common questions, such as exemptions. But much of the discussion centered around what will happen at roadside come December. Both DeLorenzo and Colin Mooney, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, stressed several times that the ELD rules do not change the underlying hours of service rules. “A lot of folks are tying ELDs to the hours of service rules themselves,” Mooney observed. Many of the drivers and others objecting to the ELD mandate claim it will end the “flexibility” they currently have with paper logs. But in the eyes of the law, that “flexibility” is simply cheating. “Enforcement’s ready to enforce the rules,” Mooney said. “All we're doing is moving from a paper to electronic format. However, for some it will be their first introduction to hours of compliance,” he noted, drawing a chuckle from the audience. Enforcement issues Mooney and DeLorenzo also wanted to clear up some confusion about the CVSA and FMCSA’s recent announcement that drivers will not be put out of service for violating the ELD rule until April 2018. “A lot of people thought it meant ‘soft enforcement’” Mooney said. “We are not using that term at all. That is very subjective depending on who you’re talking to.” Come Dec. 18, he said, enforcement officials will be noting violations on inspection reports, which will go into the SMS database and affect carrier CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) scores. DeLorenzo explained that the points system for CSA is not changing. If a driver does not have an ELD or grandfathered AOBRD, points will be charged as if he did not have a paper logbook. If you’ve exceeded the allowable hours, it’s the same violation as before. If the ELD data file pulls up on an enforcement official’s system with a notification that the truck was moving when the driver had logged sleeper berth time, that’s falsifying logs. “Think about an ELD as an electronic form of keeping hours of service,” DeLorenzo said. “Everything is pretty much the same. Each violation cited on an inspection report has a certain weight associated with it; if it's out of service, it gets a little more weight.” In addition to the inspection report, enforcement officials may also opt to issue a verbal or written warning, or write a citation/ticket. Although the press release said jurisdictions would have discretion on the level of enforcement, Mooney told the audience, “From what I'm hearing it's going to be pretty consistent across the board. We’re training the trainers at all the jurisdictions at the same time. I’ve been given no indication it will be done any other way.” Mooney also addressed a recent petition from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association asking for a delay in the implementation of the rule, claiming that many states did not have the proper legislation in place to be able to legally enforce the federal rule. “We have canvassed all of our states and there’s only a couple that are still in the process of going though the legislative process, and both are on track to have that in place by Dec. 18.” Data transfer Mooney said the agency is embarking on a train-the-trailer program next week to educate state enforcement about the data transfer process — an area that has caused some confusion, especially since the agency did not have a process in place for vendors to test their data files until fairly recently. On its website, the FMCSA has a data vile validator tool. Although it was designed for ELD vendors to check their data files, DeLorenzo noted that some fleets have been using it to test their ELD files as well. He also said that while the ELD rules allow for several different options for that file transfer, including email, web transfer, Bluetooth and USB, “I will tell you that in the overwhelming majority of cases, we're going to be looking at web services as the way that data is transferred.” The web transfer system just went live a few days ago and live testing of the data transfer will be occurring in the coming weeks. The enforcement official will give the driver his code, which the driver enters into the appropriate field on the ELD screen, and that data transfers to the officer’s device. It does not automatically note violations, but it does flag problem areas for the officer for further investigation. If the inspection is taking place in an area with poor cellular coverage, the backup options are for the driver to print out the log, or more likely, show the enforcement officer the display. This has caused some concern about officers having to climb up into cabs or walking away with the ELD device, but DeLorenzo said, “i tell people all the time that there’s nothing that says you have to hand the display over to the officer and let them walk away with it. This is what we’re telling our folks — have the driver step out of the vehicle with their display, and hold the display for the law enforcement officer. That to me is the common sense approach.” Ward added another bit of common-sense advice based on his fleet’s experience: “Make sure you have seven days of paper logs in the truck and the documents you're supposed to have in the truck, otherwise you're going to get zinged.” Annotate, annotate, annotate DeLorenzo emphasized multiple times the importance of annotating the ELD hours of service record to indicate problems or extenuating circumstances. “When something goes wrong on a paper log the driver makes a note on the paper log. The ELD has that exact same capability, and I really encourage you to make sure your drivers are trained on how to use it and they do use it. Because circumstances come up. Don't just make an edit; make an edit and an annotation so it's clear what happened. Those notes will be there for you and your company and for enforcement as well.” For instance, DeLorenzo said, one way to handle yard moves is to do nothing at the time of the yard move. The driver will get in and be presented with this list of unassigned miles and asked are they are his. “The driver rejects these miles, and you address it by annotating on the back end.” A fleet from Wyoming asked about what happens if you’re caught in an unexpected snowstorm. DeLorenzo pointed to the part of the 11-hour driving rule allowing an extra two hours for unforeseen adverse driving conditions. I empathize I the words unforeseen. Traffic in DC at 5:00, not unforeseen. A pop up snowstorm in Wyoming, unforeseen. But i would add, with ELDs, that's an opportune time when you would annotate.” Non-compliant ELDs There has been concern that with the large number of new entrants into the marketplace, and the fact that the process to become listed on the FMCSA’s ELD website is a matter of self-certification, that it’s possible some fleets might get stuck in a tough situation if they chose an ELD later found to not be compliant with the ELD required specifications. According to the rules, carriers would only have eight days to replace a device that the agency had de-certified. But DeLorenzo and Mooney seemed to indicate that they are well aware of the situation and that their focus would not be on putting fleets into that type of situation. When asked if roadside inspectors will be looking to find non compliant devices, Mooney said, “We are not encouraging that. We want to focus on hours of service compliance.” As DeLorenzo added, “If [the ELD is] on the registered devices list, then they kind of move on.” If there is an issue with an ELD, DeLorenzo said, most of the time those are software issues and FMCSA works with the vendor to get it straightened out, often without customers even realizing it. “As long as we’re getting hours of service information, we’re probably not going to bother the motor farrier while we get things straightened out with the vendor.” If there’s a worst case scenario where FMCSA is unable to get it straightened out, DeLorenzo indicated that the agency is aware that switching an entire fleet to a different ELD within the eight-day window would be a nightmare and that it would work with the carrier on a solution. If that comes up, he said, “we will do that on a case by case basis. Those we’ll handle as they come up.”

Steven Martinez, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 20, 2017 Several fleets have announced pay and benefit increases for drivers as the industry keeps trying to address the driver shortage. Driver turnover remains at extremely high levels-- 90% at large truckload carriers, according to the latest American Trucking Associations report– and fleets are working hard to curb it. A recent report on operational costs shows that fleets currently spend more on driver wages and benefits combined than they do on fuel costs. The push to retain drivers is evident in recent announcements from Boyd Bros. Transportation, Pride Transport, Roehl Transport, Hornady Transportation, A&R Logistics, Epes Transport System, Kenan Advantage Group, and Ozark Motor Lines. All of these fleets have focused on incentivizing drivers to sign and stay on board. Boyd Bros. Transportation announced a 4-cent per mile pay increase for company drivers in September. The new pay package also includes a $900 per week pay guarantee.The increase is available to company drivers of all levels. “Our drivers make much more than $900 per week,” stated Boyd Bros. CFO Dwight Bassett. “We just wanted to take away financial concerns so that drivers can focus on what they do best, drive. We are also eliminating the perceived risk that typically accompanies the start of a job with a new company.” Pride Transport has implemented a new point-to-point pay program that pays drivers for the distance of the leg they drive and not just the total length of a load. Pay under the new program comes out to a higher per mile– up to 55 cents per mile, according to the company. This program includes pay for deadhead miles at up to 20 cents more per mile than base pay. Company drivers at Pride Transport can also earn a $2,000 sign-on bonus, opportunities for safety and MPG bonuses, in-cab DirecTV, affordable healthcare plans, and paid orientation. “We’re ensuring that drivers truly get paid for their time and don’t fall short,” said Steve Schelin, director of recruiting at Pride. “We want drivers to know that they can get the pay they deserve here at Pride Transport.” Roehl Transport added a new limited time, $10,000 sign-on/stay-on bonus for experienced CDL-A drivers. The bonus applies to drivers who have 6 months of solo, over-the-road tractor/trailer experience. The bonus is given in installments. The first payout of $500 occurs upon completion of the first load hauled and it continues at $500 for every 10,000-mile interval. Roehl Transport also has additional retention incentives that significantly increase the scheduled payments. After running 30,000 paid miles, drivers will receive an additional bonus payment of $500, for a total of $1,000. Thereafter, payments of $500 will continue every 10,000 miles until the driver reaches the $10,000 total. “We’re excited to be able to offer our new, experienced drivers a great bonus that is easily attainable,” said Tim Norlin, vice president of driver employment for Roehl. Hornaday Transportation is guaranteeing its drivers a weekly minimum pay of $1,000 per week. The company already offers a $2,500 sign-on bonus and $1,000 orientation pay as well as bonuses for driver and customer referrals. “The guarantee gives them assurances of being paid, even if they’re not driving due to customer delays, congestion, operations, and market conditions. Rolling out this program will help protect our drivers from issues they have no control over,” said Chris Hornady, CEO of Hornady Transportation. Dry bulk carrier, A&R Logistics has increased driver pay per mile, now allowing company drivers to earn up to 10% more per loaded mile. The company has also improved its driver vacation policy to provide for more home time. “We have significantly improved our driver vacation policy to provide for more time at home and are implementing a significant increase in their ability to earn higher wages,” said Steve Brantley, senior vice-president of terminal operations for A&R. “Drivers are our face to our customers' client-- their professionalism and commitment to safety and customer service is what makes A&R the leader in dry bulk transportation." Epes Transport System has invested more than $1 million in its new driver compensation programs, the company announced. For company drivers, Epes has raised its per-mile pay an additional 2 cents, which the company said will boost earnings dramatically. Independent contractors have all been changed to a percentage based pay. “This spring, we improved our independent contractor pay package which has led to sustained growth,” said Phil Peck, vice president of operations for Epes. “In the summer, we increased the hourly pay for local drivers, as well as mileage pay for all company drivers, including regional operations.” Tanker fleet Kenan Advantage Group has implemented a strategy designed to proactively address the driver shortage through guaranteed pay increases for the next three years. The company said it would be contacting its customers to secure additional funding to support the program. "The perfect storm is upon us," said Bruce Blaise, president of KAG. "Developing factors include the coming industry-wide driver capacity impacts of the ELD mandate, an economy near full employment and an aging workforce. Estimates indicate that as many as 20% to 25% of current drivers will be retiring over the next five years. We simply have to make the adjustments needed to attract new drivers to our company and industry." Ozark Motor Lines has rolled out a new pay package for its company drivers. The new pay package includes both a pay-per-mile increase and accessorial pay. Starting rates for linehaul drivers under the new pay package are 41 cents per mile for drivers with less than a year of experience all the way up to 46 cents per mile for drivers with five or more years of experience. Top-out pay is 48 cents per mile. Linehaul team drivers start between 23-26 cents per mile, topping out at 26 cents per mile. Regional drivers can expect to start between 38-43 cents per mile, depending on experience, with top-out pay at 46 cents per mile. In addition to pay increases, Ozark will make insurance benefits available to new drivers from their date of hire. This includes Teladoc access to physicians, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance options. Cancer and minimal essential coverage insurance options are also available one month after the driver’s hire date. “At Ozark, we’re committed to bringing drivers the best when it comes to their compensation packages,” said Mike Higginbotham, director of recruiting at Ozark. “We’re proud that Ozark is a place where drivers truly feel at home and know they can have a successful career here.”

Wabco Offers Blind-Spot Detection System Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 20, 2017 Wabco has launched the OnSide advanced blind-spot detection system for commercial trucks and trailers, which alerts drivers to any vehicle in a blind spot and provides a side collision warning to reduce accidents. The company has also inroduced its Intelligent Brake Interlock, an advanced electronic brake interlock system. OnSide helps improve commercial vehicle safety by alerting drivers to a potential side collision with a vehicle in a truck’s blind spot. The system uses advanced short-range radar for vehicle detection and then alerts the driver with a visual signal. When the truck’s turn signal is engaged, the system provides a more assertive warning in the form of an audible signal or a seat vibration. When used with Wabco’s OnLaneAssist lane-keeping assistance system, OnSide can automatically return the vehicle to the lane's center. If a lane change is initiated and OnSide detects a vehicle in the blind spot, OnLaneAssist applies a correction torque to the steering wheel to avoid the collision. Wabco OnSide’s radar sensor enables a 160-degree field of view and provides coverage for up to 65% of a standard 53-foot trailer. The system performs reliably even in low visibility conditions, such as darkness, fog, rain or snow, according to Wabco. OnSide can distinguish moving vehicles from objects that do not pose a hazard to minimize false warnings. The system can be mounted out of sight behind fairings on either side of the vehicle and features plug-and-play functionality that does not require alignment or calibration. “We are proud to present OnSide, the latest in a long history of Wabco innovations that improve commercial vehicle safety,” said Jon Morrison, president of Wabco Americas. “This advanced blind-spot detection system not only provides a solution to help reduce side collisions involving commercial vehicles, but it also provides capability for active collision avoidance for the autonomous vehicles of the future.” Intelligent Brake Interlock Wabco has also introduced its Intelligent Brake Interlock, an advanced electronic brake interlock system that improves the safety of tank trailers hauling hazardous materials or that are equipped with cryogenics. Intelligent Brake Interlock can improve the safe operation of tank trailers by preventing a vehicle from moving during loading and unloading. The system monitors vehicle speed, as well as the position switch, and locks the foundation brakes electronically. An electronic fail-safe adds an additional layer of safety by preventing inadvertent brake activation while the vehicle is in motion. “We are excited to showcase Wabco’s Intelligent Brake Interlock at MCE 2017 and to offer an advanced solution to improve the safety of tank trailers in the region,” said Jon Morrison. “As the latest addition to Wabco’s Intelligent Trailer Program of advanced trailer technologies, this innovative system further differentiates Wabco as a technology leader in North America and around the globe.” .

Hyliion is turning diesel engines into hybrids Today’s Trucking / October 19, 2017 PITTSBURGH, PA – Hyliion is adding a spark to Class 8 engines. The vehicle hybridizing company launched its second product this week, promising to save fleets up to a combined 30% in fuel costs by electrifying traditional Class 8 tractors. The company’s new 6X4HE system can be installed on new trucks or retrofitted on older models to create an electric subsidized Class 8 truck. Hyliion says the system is easily attached to the truck frame, and is self-contained. Like a hybrid vehicle, the system helps to power the truck when going uphill, keeping the engine in an optimal range, and regenerative braking captures power when slowing down. Electric power is applied when necessary to keep diesel engines at their most efficient, delivering hybrid fuel savings. An Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) uses a cooling system and battery to deliver 18,000 BTUs for 10 hours on a single charge, allowing trucks to have power without idling at rest stops. Two outlets also provide electricity in the cab. It comes with an on-board telematics system and aerodynamic components as well. Hyliion says the product provides a 15% fuel savings through the hybrid component, 12% through the APU, and another 3% through use of the aerodynamic technology, for a combined total of up to 30% fuel savings. Mesilla Valley Transportation, PAM Transport and Ryder all participated in testing for the device. "Electrification is the talk of the industry," said Scott Perry, chief technology and procurement officer for Ryder. "Hyliion provides a creative solution for long-haul over the road trucking that we feel will be of interest to current diesel fleets who are looking for an advanced technology that they can pursue in the very near future.” The launch of the 6X4HE comes after the 2016 announcement of the company’s first offering – a similar product for trailers. "After our trailer product announcement last year, fleets came to us and asked to have the technology put on trucks,” said CEO Thomas Healy. "The technology we designed into the trailer product plus a different approach to an APU is now available for Class 8 trucks." Hyliion will begin production on the unit in November.

Fleet Owner / October 21, 2017 Initial phase of Trailer AeroSlider system to boost fuel economy 1.2% FlowBelow Aero Inc. has begun production of its new Trailer AeroSlider system. The system is mounted to the sliding trailer suspension and uses the quick-release wheel covers in combination with a fairing between the wheels and mud flaps behind them. Each of the components work together to address the airflow around the trailer wheels and the wake behind the trailer. The system will be released in stages, with the initial phase expected to offer a 1.2% gain in fuel economy. The second stage is expected to be released during 2018. “We believe that we have found the most practical way to address the aerodynamics of the trailer tandem without sacrificing durability or accessibility,” said Josh Butler, CEO and founder of FlowBelow. “Our plan to bring this patented technology to the market at large is to focus primarily on working directly with leading trailer OEMs and suspension suppliers to make this system effectively part of the trailer.” Butler added he is hopeful FlowBelow will reach an agreement with at least one trailer manufacturer to factory install the system next year. .

Fleet Owner / October 20, 2017 Commercial vehicle component supplier WABCO is bringing two new safety systems to market that can be ordered for new trucks and trailers as well as retrofitted to existing equipment. The first is OnSide, a radar-based blind spot detection system for commercial trucks and trailers – a system WABCO said provides a 160-degree field of view and coverage for up to 65% of a standard 53-foot trailer. It alerts drivers to the potential of a side collision with a vehicle traveling in a truck’s “blind spot,” the company said; an area in the adjacent lane which drivers cannot see in rearview or side view mirrors. The system uses advanced short range radar to detect a moving vehicle in the blind spot – especially in “low visibility” conditions such as darkness, rain, snow or fog – and then alerts the driver with a visual signal. WABCO noted that when the truck’s turn signal is engaged, the system provides a more assertive warning in the form of an audible signal or a seat vibration. Mounted out of sight behind fairings on either side of the vehicle, OnSide’s “plug-and-play” functionality does not require alignment or calibration. It is also designed to provide alerts for only “moving” targets, not objects that are stationery, the company stressed. When used in conjunction with WABCO’s OnLaneASSIST lane keeping assist system, OnSide can provide active collision avoidance, the company said – with OnLaneASSIT applying a correction torque to the steering wheel to return the vehicle towards the lane center. WABCO noted that Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) research shows that among the 97,000 annual large truck crashes involving intentional lane changes, side view assist technologies could prevent or mitigate nearly 39,000 crashes annually, including 2,000 that result in injury and 79 that cause fatalities. WABCO added that OnSide will be available as a retrofit kit starting in November on new vehicles in the first quarter of 2018. The company’s second new safety system is an “Intelligent Brake Interlock” or “IBI” system for tanker trailers – an electronic brake interlock package that ensures the vehicle does not move during loading and unloading activity. The company said the interlock system monitors vehicle speed as well as the position switch, with an “electronic failsafe” built in to provide an additional layer of safety by helping to prevent inadvertent brake activation while the vehicle is in motion. Available for spec’ing on new trucks as well as a retrofit kit, IBI is being touted for pneumatic-braking trailers hauling gasoline, diesel and crude oil, cryogenic and compressed gases such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and natural gas, food grade materials, as well as heated tanks and chemicals. .

Panel: ELDs don’t change HOS rules or enforcement Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / October 21, 2017 But data from electronic logging devices should encourage truckers to take a fresh look at productivity and efficiency issues. ORLANDO. As the December 18 deadline for the electronic logging devices (ELD) mandate to go into full effect, a panel discussion here at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) 2017 Management Conference & Exhibition (MC&E) sorted through a variety of issues and opportunities related to the technology. Joe DeLorenzo, director of the office of compliance and enforcement at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), stressed that the “reason at the root of why we’re doing this” in terms of mandating ELDs is to improve compliance with hours of service (HOS) regulations. “The biggest thing to remember is that it is really still about HOS enforcement; all we’re really doing is moving from paper logs to electronic records,” he said. To that end, though, Collin Mooney – executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) – emphasized that HOS enforcement “does not change” and that inspectors will document “all ELD and HOS violations” starting December 18. They just won’t be placing trucks out of service for ELD violations until April 1 next year. He stressed that the three and half month period between December 18 and April 1 won’t be a “soft enforcement” period – warnings and citations for ELD violations during roadside inspections will be issued. That can have a major impact on its Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) scores, noted FMCSA’s DeLorenzo. “The tricky issue with CSA is that the program treats an inspection, an inspection with a warning, and an inspection with a violation all the same,” he explained – one of many inconsistencies within CSA noted in a report issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) back in late June. That’s also problematic as some industry surveys indicate many drivers and fleets haven’t adopted ELDs yet. During a separate press event here at the conference, Wade Wilson, CEO of Pedigree Technologies, estimated that 2.8 million truck drivers do not have an ELD yet – that’s out of a population of 3.1 million commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders in the U.S. CVSA’s Mooney also noted that all but two states have adopted the ELD rule into their statutes and that those remaining two are “on track” to have it done by December 18. He added that a two-week “train the trainer” course for enforcement personnel regarding ELDs kicks off soon and thus Mooney expects inspectors will be ready by the December 18 deadline to properly enforce the mandate’s rules. The panel addressed a wide range of other ELD details during the two-hour session: ELDs are not required for pre-2000 model year trucks, but that “model year” designation is tied to the engine, not the chassis, FMCSA’s DeLorenzo noted. Thus a 2001 model year truck with a 1999 engine would be exempt. Automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs) – the technological precursor to ELDs – can continue to be used until December 16, 2019, and can be transferred to a new truck after the December 18 deadline this year only if that truck is a replacement unit, DeLorenzo said. AOBRDs cannot be installed in “new capacity” after December 18, he stressed. Paper logs can currently be “annotated” to provide extra detail and that same “annotation” capability is present in the ELD specifications laid out by FMCSA, DeLorenzo noted. That becomes crucial when using the “adverse driving condition” part of the rule that allows for two extra hours of drive time in case of weather emergencies such as a sudden snow storm. “This would be the time to annotate an ELD entry,” he explained. Personal conveyance is “optional” under the ELD rule, DeLorenzo said: “It’s based on a motor carrier’s decision whether or not to use it.” He added that GPS tracking is made less accurate when in “personal conveyance” mode, expanding from an accuracy of one mile to 10 miles to provide drivers more “privacy.” One way to account for “unassigned miles” is to establish an “exempt driver” account for maintenance technicians and yard jockeys. “That way there are no ‘unassigned miles’ a driver must account for,” DeLorenzo noted. There are as of now 135 self-certified devices on FMCSA’s ELD list. What happens if that certification gets revoked by the agency for non-compliance with its ELD specifications at some point down the road? “We plan to address that on a case-by-case basis,” DeLorenzo said. On a separate note, he reiterated that the agency is still planning to move forward with a split-sleeper berth study announced back in June but has still not “decided on the specifics” of that study, though DeLorenzo said it would be “naturalistic” and “long term.” Jim Ward, president and CEO of 400-truck TL carrier D.M. Bowman, shared his fleet’s five-year experience with electronic logs, noting that one reasons ELDs are such a contentious issue within the industry is because so many trucking companies are small businesses. “Out of 537,000 registered motor carriers, 97% operate 20 trucks or less and 91% operate six trucks or less,” he explained. “That’s why this [ELD rule] has such a huge impact.” Ward said D.M. Bowman switched over to AOBRDs in 2012 and noted that while productivity declined initially and that there was “pushback” against adoption of the devices, with “a handful” of drivers leaving as a result, “we’d have a mass exodus if we took them out of the trucks now.” He noted that the way D.M. Bowman encourage AOBRD adoption was to make their use contingent on a driver getting a “new truck” and that the fleet is using the same process as it adopts ELDs, of which it is testing 50 units right now. Ward added that the data gleaned from D.M. Bowman’s AOBRDs has helped it address productivity and efficiency issues with its customers; something he expects will continue as the fleet switches over to ELDs. “Data tells the truth about what is going on; provides opportunity for conversation with shippers on carrier productivity and efficiency,” he said, noting that a white paper issued by J.B. Hunt Transportation Services two years ago showed that truck drivers only averaged about six and a half hours of actual driving every day. “Our industry has matured quite well in terms of how we use data,” Ward stressed. “We have an opportunity to take that data [from ELDs] to get better as an industry.” .

Endurant automated transmission: A league of its own Aaron March, Fleet Owner / October 20, 2017 Some 42 months before the new Endurant automated transmission's launch, the program engineers locked themselves in an abandoned warehouse to start completely from scratch. Well, not quite, but close — and it was about that consummate a ground-up effort. It was a very tightly-scheduled process that took three-and-a-half years, and there's no slack in that time frame that could've been cut out to accelerate the process. And instead of automating a traditional manual transmission, this flagship transmission from Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies is free from certain constraints and has some smart, new thinking built in. For example, rated to handle 110,000 lbs. [49,895 kg] and weighing in with fluids at 657 lbs. [298 kg], the Endurant is lighter than most automated manual transmissions. How do you do that? One way is to use less lubricant. Rather than having the gears essentially sitting in a "lube bath," the Endurant targets lubrication and sprays it directly where it's needed. Matt Erdmann, manager of program management for the Eaton-Cummins joint venture, compares more typical transmission lubrication to the operation of a riverboat's paddle wheel. "That's essentially what your gears are when they're in an oil bath," he explained. On a riverboat, "that impeller goes around, and you're losing energy with every tooth that hits that water bath." "Well, there's a lot more effective way of getting gears lubricated if you just spray it at them," he added. Here are some scenes and insights from a trip this week to Eaton Proving Grounds in Marshall, MI, where members of the media got a chance to test out the Endurant. Photo gallery - http://fleetowner.com/powertrain/endurant-automated-transmission-league-its-own#slide-0-field_images-229031

Since the day our country was founded, it has had a ruling class separate and above the common people. This situation has been the norm around the world for centuries. "Paperless immigrant"??? What in the world? The world remains colored and twisted, when and as required, to meet the goals of the powers that be.

Enforcing the laws.......that's a certainly a subject. An illegal immigrant (illegal alien) is......illegal, i.e. not legally here according to US law. And yet, the government has intentionally allowed them to remain here for years, apparently at the request of business and in return for paybacks. And the government has now invented a new term, "undocumented immigrants", in an attempt at ridding our minds of the notion that they are here......illegally. Some intentional and carefully orchestrating brain washing here. After we're all passed, the powers that be will have successfully installed the term "undocumented immigrant" and the notion that these people are okay to be residing in the United States......illegally.

You're 500 percent right Paul. But let me update you that China is no longer a low cost production location. Those days are over. There's plenty of foreign plants there but most only produce for domestic consumption due to protectionist government policies, and again, the fact that the current higher production costs there don't make the product price competitive for export. Places like Thailand and Vietnam, for example, have replaced China as attractive low cost production locations for the global market. I don't knock China and India for their protectionist policies. They rarely kowtow to big business, as in the US and Australia. They realize that a strong domestic economy ensures a strong country (i.e. the US 50 years ago). I'll tell you a quick story. China agreed to buy MIcrosoft XP operating system software years ago for all their government computers, and then Microsoft announced they would end XP support in 2014. In big business-run America, the government was silent. But China told Bill Gates directly that if they ceased support of XP, they would never buy another Microsoft product again, and would make selling in China (the world's largest market) a nightmare for him. The result was, Microsoft quietly flip-flopped and still today provides security updates for XP in year 2017.

You're right Paul. In June, I posted: Over a 15 year period between 1995 and 2014, there were 3,158 terrorism-related deaths in the United States. But in 2015 alone, the FBI says Americans murdered 15,696 fellow Americans. Terrorists of all factions needn't bother with the US, as we're doing a far better job than they could ever dream of killing ourselves. Looking at the numbers, radical islamists murders are a niche problem. There's now a far greater need to watch your back in the supermarket parking lot, at the gas station, that remote summer campground, or................ Set aside the talk of protecting ourselves from a handful of radical islamists for a moment, and tell me how we're going to protect ourselves from dangerous fellow Americans, and illegal aliens including gangs like MS-13? They dress like us.....you can't spot them until it's too late. Trump says Chicago is more dangerous than Afghanistan.......which puts Detroit on the same scale as Somalia. If I was president for a day.............

Holden brand will live on Financial Times / October 21, 2017 General Motors may have stopped making cars in Australia but it is retaining design and engineering teams and the Holden brand — one of the oldest in the global automobile industry, writes Jamie Smyth. “Holden’s lion and stone emblem is an iconic brand in Australia,” says Richard Ferlazzo, GM Australia’s design director. “We will still be selling Holden’s here. It’s just they will be sourced from other global GM plants.” Holden’s next generation of Commodore, due to be launched next year in Australia, will be sourced from factories in Germany. The company plans to release a total of 24 car models by 2020, which the company says highlights its commitment to the brand. “In today’s environment, it doesn’t make sense to manufacture here but it certainly makes sense to design cars in Australia,” says Mr Ferlazzo, who heads a team of 100 designers. “The smarts and skills are already here and we have good links with universities.” Holden was founded by James Alexander Holden, a saddle maker in Adelaide in 1856. The company diversified into coaches and built its first car body a century ago. In 1931 GM acquired the company, which began manufacturing the first Australian-designed car in 1948. Generations of Australians have grown up with the Holden brand, which once commanded almost half of all car sales. But the brand has suffered from cut-throat foreign competition and in 2016 sold just 94,308 cars — one of its worst results on record equating to a market share of 8 per cent. Holden’s team will work with half a dozen other GM teams in Brazil, US, China and South Korea to design commercial vehicles and other transport solutions. It will also partner with GM’s Detroit design team to develop futuristic concept and show cars for global auto shows. “Australia has high standards in industrial design, which is why the carmakers are retaining operations here when manufacturing ceases,” says Roy Green, dean at University Technology Sydney business school. Ford, which closed its last car assembly plant in Australia last year with the loss of 600 jobs, is also retaining design and engineering teams in Melbourne. This year it is investing A$450m in local research and development, up 50 per cent on 2016. It will have a 2,000 person strong team in Australia, including 1,750 engineers, designers and technicians. Holden’s Melbourne design and engineering teams will be the only GM team, which do not have access to a manufacturing plant in the country. “It’s handy to have production on site but not essential,” says Mr Ferlazzo.

Demise of Australian carmaking acts as a warning to rich nations Financial Times / October 21, 2017 General Motors’ unit closure raises questions over manufacturing in developed states A curtain has come down in Australia. General Motors’ Holden subsidiary closed its last major car assembly plant in the country on Friday, bringing to an end a century-old industry that forms the bedrock of Australia’s manufacturing industry. It follows similar decisions by Ford and Toyota to cease local manufacturing as the carmakers failed to cope with reduced tariffs on cheaper Asian imports following the inking of free trade deals that flooded the market with cheap imports. But the problems are not isolated to Australia. It is one of a number of developed economies struggling to compete as global car manufacturing increasingly shifts to the emerging markets such as Mexico, where the cost of production is lower. The Holden closure raises questions and intensifies the debate over the long-term viability of production in the world’s richest nations. “The global shift in production is one of the consequences of free trade deals between countries with big labour costs differences,” says Felipe Munoz, global automotive analyst at Jato Dynamics. In North America, carmakers are still investing in Mexico, despite the threats by US President Donald Trump against carmakers that shift production out of the US. Audi has begun using the country as the centre for global production of the Q5 premium SUV, while BMW is also opening a plant to produce 3-series sedans for the global market there. Toyota will also move production of the Corolla to Mexico, while General Motors is expanding its plants in the country. Ford had planned to make its next Focus model in Mexico, although it has shifted production to China. Volvo, which is owned by China’s Geely, also uses China as a global export base for the S90 saloon. In Europe, there has been a flurry of investment by Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen and Mercedes-owner Daimler in car plants in central and eastern nations Slovakia and Poland, where manufacturing costs are a fraction of those in Germany and the UK. Manufacturing in high-cost countries such as Australia “only really makes sense when you have an export hub,” says George Galliers, an auto analyst at Evercore ISI. Nations such as the UK and Germany are dependent on exports — close to 80 per cent of cars made in both countries are sold abroad. This emphasis on exports puts the focus on free trade agreements, FTAs, which proponents of Brexit in the UK have cited as a way to open doors to selling the country’s cars to nations such as the US and China. But in Australia, where a free trade deal with Thailand saw the market flooded with cheaper cars, and the US, there is more negative and hostile mood over the benefits of free trade agreements. More than any other, the Nafta agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada highlights the perils of FTAs for the developed countries. Nafta helped the Mexican car manufacturing sector boom from a cottage industry to a global powerhouse in two decades. But for the US, it saw jobs drain away to the cheaper south. This pressure on jobs prompted Mr Trump to call Nafta the “worst deal in history” and also led to the US pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a deal between 12 nations that border the ocean including Japan and America. “It is crucial that an FTA actually works for businesses in practice,” says Jessica Gladstone, a London-based partner at law firm Clifford Chance. “For without careful consideration, a deal could leave significant non-tariff barriers in place, which could see the benefits negotiated being neutralised altogether." Since Canberra signed a free trade deal with Bangkok in 2005, Australian consumers have bought 2.26m vehicles imported from Thailand, according to Australia’s Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Yet when Holden and Ford attempted to export Australian-made cars to Thailand, they complained they often faced hidden non-tariff barriers that made exports unsustainable. “The Thai free trade deal was a one way agreement. It didn’t provide a level playing field to our car manufacturers,” says Paul Bastian, national secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. Although a flood of cheap cars undoubtedly gave more people access to cars, a move with potential benefits to the wider economy, the measure took its toll on the industry, and car production halved between 2004 and 2012 to about 220,000 vehicles — Toyota 100,000, Holden 80,000 and Ford 40,000. Scrapping high tariffs on imports also created a hyper-competitive domestic car market, where 67 brands sold 350 models in 2014 in a market with 1.1m annual sales worth A$40bn. This was more than in either the US, where sales were 17m, or China, with 23m sales in the same year. “Competition is intensifying,” says Roy Green, dean at University of Technology Sydney’s business school. “Thailand is already a powerhouse in Asia and is absorbing almost all of Toyota’s Australian production. China is a new emerging global powerhouse.” He says for carmakers to survive in high cost economies they need to embed a high level of robotics and automation in operations; fully integrate into global markets and supply chains; be able to customise products for individual customers; and provide world-class design. The rising use of robots may help to tip the balance back in favour of developed countries, says Dr Sam Luttrell, an Australia-based partner at law firm Clifford Chance. “The car industry is one of the most heavily automated industries in the world,” he says. “Robots perform most of the major steps in the production line. When robots do the work, wage costs start to be replaced by electricity bills.” That will be little comfort to the final 900 workers at Holden’s Adelaide assembly plant or others in the industrial world where aggressive cost competition is having a similar impact. “It is very rare to lose an entire industry and the demise of the auto industry in Australia is a salutary warning to other nations about what can happen if you are ambivalent about the industry,” says John Spoehr, director of the Industrial Transformation Institute at FlindersUniversity. “It consolidates elsewhere.” .

Volkswagen's New E-Delivery Electric Truck Will Go On Sale In 2020 Car Scoops / October 11, 2017 Volkswagen took the opportunity to unveil the new E-Delivery during the 2017 Truck & Bus Innovation Day. Developed by Volkswagen Caminhoes e Onibus in Brazil, it's described as a modern truck aimed at urban logistics, and as its name suggests, it has a zero-emission powertrain. The electric motor, which is backed up by a lithium-ion battery pack, feeds 109PS (107hp) to the two-wheel drive system, with its total driving range said to be up to 200km (124miles). Volkswagen says that their first electric truck developed in Brazil also features regenerative braking, with 3 stages, and an Eco-Drive Mode, meant to help it achieve its driving range. However, despite looking ready for assembly, the new Volkswagen E-Delivery is actually a pre-series production vehicle. Customer testing will begin next year, and if all goes as planned, then expect to see the first units on the roads starting in 2020. VW are optimistic when it comes to this zero-emission light truck, as they're expecting a "strong customer demand". VW says the E-Delivery is aimed at the global market. .

IVECO Trucks Australia / October 13, 2017 Although orders are now being taken for the INTERNATIONAL ProStar at IVECO Dealerships around the country, there has been no let-up in the model’s ongoing testing regime, with one ProStar having just completed a six month / 110,000 kilometre stint with Willaton Transport Group. The prime mover was integrated into Willaton’s 70-strong fleet and assigned to 34-pallet B-Double work, operating from the company’s Morwell, Victoria, depot to Sydney return, via the Monaro Highway, a notoriously demanding stretch of road. INTERNATIONAL Engineering Manager, Adrian Wright, said the engineering team had sought to find a difficult route for the truck, to really test the vehicle’s capabilities. “The trip north from Morwell to Sydney along the Monaro takes in a lot of undulating terrain, the trucks really have to work hard for a lot of the journey,” Adrian said. “Data loggers were fitted to the ProStar and periodically checked, providing us with a very accurate and thorough overall evaluation of the truck’s performance. Driver feedback from Willaton’s Transport was also recorded. “The testing and feedback was extremely positive and prospective buyers of the ProStar should know that all of our extensive pre-launch and ongoing local testing is confirming that the model will perform well in the most demanding of applications.” Willaton Transport Director and Operations Manager, Bernie Willaton, said he was impressed with the ProStar’s performance. “When you have a truck that can integrate into the broader fleet and you don’t hear about it for the whole evaluation period, you know it’s doing really well,” Bernie said. “Ninety per cent of the time it was working as a B-Double, hauling a range of general freight at about 64 tonnes, it did what it had to do with no fuss – that’s what you want from a truck.” According to Bernie, the truck was extremely well finished and totally reliable even to the smallest detail. “There was not one rattle or squeak in the ProStar and I couldn’t believe how good the electrics were – after six months not one cabin light, head light or instrument cluster light had gone.” Running the familiar Cummins 550hp engine and Eaton Roadranger combination – an industry standard in many applications – Bernie was aware of the bulletproof nature of this specification, but what did surprise him was the ProStar’s remarkable fuel efficiency. “The telematics data was indicating an average fuel performance of 1.9 litres per kilometre and we run our trucks at the 100 kilometres per hour speed limit, not under,” he said. “I was very impressed with how little fuel it used, there’s a lot to be said about the ProStar’s aerodynamics.” Bernie said he thought the ProStarwould gain good acceptance in the market. “I can definitely see applications where the ProStarwould be a great fit – it’s a good, honest truck that will get the job done,” he said. “My driver would have kept it.” On this occasion, that was not an option for this particular truck as it’s slated to return to the engineering workshop to become the test bed for future driveline enhancements. It will be back on the highway before long though as part of INTERNATIONAL’s on-going test and development program. .

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trucktvaustralia / October 11, 2017 The full video interview with Hans Jensen and his express freight International complete with 361 cubic inch V8...you'd never turn the radio on with noise like this! .