kscarbel2

My friend, if someone described me a bigot, I would simply exercise my freedom (ability) to walk away. Done deal. Life's too short. Step "out of the box" for a moment, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, "Is it really worth getting high blood pressure over?" Well, of course it's not. There's a measure of truth in everyone's thoughts, but no two person's thoughts are identical because we're all different (The world would be an awful dull place if we were all the same).

In life, and particularly when engaging in truck sales in over 100 countries around the globe, I hear thousands of opinions contrary to my own. I can fully agree with some opinions, see clear to understand the thought process of many without fully agreeing, and disagree with others. When I'm confronted with an opinion I don't agree with, out of mutual respect, I listen to it and then [mentally] simply walk away. Why get worked up over another person's opinion? Life's too short. Giving yourself high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack. Is it worth it?

The $1.5 Trillion Business Tax Change Flying Under the Radar The Wall Street Journal / June 25, 2017 Republicans looking to rewrite the U.S. tax code are taking aim at one of the foundations of modern finance -- the deduction that companies get for interest they pay on debt. That deduction affects everyone from titans of Wall Street who load up on junk bonds to pay for multibillion-dollar corporate takeovers to wheat farmers in the Midwest looking to make ends meet before harvest. Yet a House Republican proposal to eliminate the deduction has gotten relatively little sustained public attention or lobbying pressure. Thanks in part to the deduction, the U.S. financial system is heavily oriented toward debt, which is cheaper than equity financing and widely accessible. In 2015, U.S. businesses paid in all $1.3 trillion in gross interest, according to Commerce Department data, equal in magnitude to the total economic output of Australia. Getting rid of the deduction for net interest expense, as House Republicans propose, would alter finance. It also would generate about $1.5 trillion in revenue for the government over a decade, according to the Tax Foundation, allowing for investment breaks and rate cuts elsewhere in the tax code. The dollars at stake are even more than another controversial proposal being pushed by House Republicans known as border adjustment, which would tax imports and exempt exports. The border adjustment plan has been under attack from retailers and Republican senators, whose resistance has put it on the brink of failure. But the idea of eliminating or limiting the interest deduction has generated less vocal opposition, giving it a real chance of passage, perhaps in a scaled-back form. "The overall goal is to be pro-growth. What we're proposing is to take the tax preference from the source of funds, borrowing, and take that preference to the use of funds, business investment and buildings, equipment, software, technology," Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), the author of the plan, said at The Wall Street Journal CFO network this month. In a world with no interest deduction, debt-fueled leveraged buyouts by private-equity titans could become more expensive to finance and junk bonds less appealing. "That's not necessarily bad for society," said David Beim, a retired finance professor at ColumbiaUniversity. "We have too much systemic financial risk in our economy." But for some debt-reliant businesses the interest deduction's demise could be a significant blow. Crop growers who depend on bridge loans to work through seasonal business fluctuations could face higher tax bills for little benefit. Andy Hill, who farms corn and soybeans on about 600 acres in north-central Iowa, said he pays less than $10,000 a year in interest on a line of credit between $100,000 and $200,000. That loan helps him bridge gaps between his expenses and his income, between when he needs to buy seed and fertilizer and when he sells his crops. "[Losing the ability to deduct interest] wouldn't put me in the red by any stretch of the imagination, but it makes it very debilitating as far as household income," said Mr. Hill, who added that he has spoken to both of his senators and his House member about the issue. Midsize businesses may also get squeezed. "The people that utilize debt, they utilize it because they don't have the cash and they don't have the access to equity," said Robert Moskovitz, chief financial officer of Leaf Commercial Capital, which finances businesses' purchases of items like copiers and telephone systems. "A dry cleaner in Des Moines, Iowa? Where is he going to get equity? He can't do an IPO." The idea behind the Republican plan is to pair the elimination of this deduction together with immediate deductions for investments in equipment and other long-lived assets. Party leaders expect the capital write-offs would encourage more investment and growth and greater worker productivity, but not the debt often associated with it. From an accounting standpoint, the tradeoff could hurt companies' reported earnings because immediate expensing would just shift the timing of deductions and the loss of the interest deduction would be a permanent change. Dennis Kelleher, chief financial officer of CF Industries Holdings Inc., a fertilizer manufacturer, said at a conference in May that the most important thing for the company would be a lower corporate tax rate. "I don't think that's a good thing," he said of repealing the interest deduction. "I suspect that won't happen because it would be rather destabilizing, just to the capital markets generally." Unlike border adjustment, the idea of accelerating investment write-offs has broad support from conservative groups, such as the National Taxpayers Union, and some support from Democrats, including Jason Furman, who was President Barack Obama's chief economist. It was a move in the opposite direction, toward longer depreciation schedules, that helped doom a Republican tax plan in 2014. The tax code treats equity financing more harshly than debt. While interest is deductible, dividend payments typically aren't. Corporate profits can thus be subject to two layers of tax -- once at the business level and then when it goes to shareholders in the form of a dividend. That means the effective marginal tax rate on equity-financed corporate investments is 34.5%, according to a report released by the Treasury Department this year in the waning days of the Obama administration. The corresponding rate for debt-financed investment is negative 5%. That subsidy for corporate debt "potentially creates a large tax-induced distortion in business decision making," the report says. But borrowing and deducting interest are deeply ingrained in American corporate finance as a normal cost of doing business. Dislodging the traditional practice will be challenging. Some firms might look to borrow offshore instead to reap tax benefits elsewhere. "I don't even think people think about it much," said Robert Pozen, a senior lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management. "It's clear that they're going to finance it by debt if they have a big acquisition or a big project." Because so much is at stake for so many sectors, writing the law could get messy. Mr. Brady said small businesses and utilities could get exceptions or specialized rules, as would debt-financed purchases of land, which wouldn't be eligible for immediate investment write-offs. The administration, including a president who proclaimed himself the "king of debt," has been wary of repealing the interest deduction but hasn't drawn a hard line. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has said his preference is to keep it. Resistance could build among Republicans in Congress and among real-estate firms and the agriculture industry, which have formed a coalition to fight the proposal. Yet financial markets so far have registered little reaction to the prospect of the interest deduction going away. One reason: The tax change most likely would apply to new loans only. Junk-rated bonds, issued by companies that typically carry a large amount of debt, have returned 4.6% this year -- better than the 4.3% returns of investment-grade bonds, according to Bloomberg Barclays data. Without repealing the interest deduction, Republicans' hopes of providing full and immediate deductions for capital investment are dim. They probably wouldn't have enough money to offset the upfront fiscal cost of accelerating all those deductions. The plus for the GOP is that this issue is more familiar and less black-and-white than the complex border adjustment plan. Limits on interest and accelerated write-offs could be dialed to a politically comfortable spot. If Republicans can't stomach full repeal of the interest deduction and immediate write-offs, they could try something short of that with, say, half of capital expenses being deductible and half of interest being deductible. Andrea , head of global private investment research at Cambridge Associates, which advises institutions that invest in private equity, said the industry would survive a tax overhaul that removes the interest deduction. "The effects will reverberate for sure," especially among larger firms that rely more on debt, she said. "But debt is still going to be cheaper than equity, so I don't think it's going away."

Houston-based Stewart & Stevenson (better known for producing specialized equipment for the oil and gas industries) won a US government contract to supply FMTVs (family of medium tactical vehicles) in 1998, an Americanized version (Cat 3116, Allison MD3070PT) of the Steyr model 12M18 from Austria. Armor Holdings bought Stewart & Stevenson's military vehicle division in 2006, and BAE bought Armor Holdings in 2007. And then Oshkosh won the contract away from BAE in 2011 to build FMTVs, despite never having been involved in its development. I like Oshkosh. I don't like the FMTV. The FMTV's Steyr cab was assembled in the US in order to qualify for the U.S. contract by McLaughlin Body Company in Moline, Illinois from imported components.

"In my opinion, the Mack-Signal merger was the most successful large corporate merger ever attempted." Zenon C.R. Hansen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mack Trucks was at a crossroads when they decided to bring Zenon C.R. Hansen on board to "fix the problem" and lead the company in an all new direction. He did. Zenon "wanted" Signal's financial support, and he later credited the Signal Companies' board for Mack Trucks' return to dominance. Their financial backing could, and did, supercharge Zenon's growth plans for Mack Trucks. And, Signal promised to allow Mack Trucks to operate with autonomy. They did. Mack earned more money for Signal than any other subsidiary, and Zenon famously kept them aware of that! In addition to Signal's financial backing being important to Mack's success, Zenon said "the really significant value has been this, that Mack has been associated with a high-grade organization which made good on all its agreements. We have kept our autonomy under Signal, and they have not meddled in the day-to-day operations of our business." Once, Zenon walked into a Signal board meeting to discuss bonus plans for the conglomerate companies. They didn't tell Zenon what bonuses were going to be handed out, rather he told them! Speaking to the board of the parent company, Zenon knew that it was his company, Mack Trucks, that was making all the money for Signal, and he told them so! "This is the bonus plan this year in my company [Mack Trucks]. I don't care what you're doing in your companies, but this is what I'm doing in mine." Particularly while Zenon C.R. Hansen ran Mack, the Signal Companies was extremely loyal to Mack Trucks. In 1964, prior to Zenon taking over Mack Trucks, the company reported US$275 million in sales. In 1966 with Zenon at the helm for two years, Mack sales reached US$411 million. And in 1970, sales leaped to US$534 million. We're talking about the man that issued every Mack employee a silver dollar-sized coin with a bulldog on one side, and a slogan on the other side stating "You Make the Difference". I carry my coin every day. Mack's outstanding earnings in 1966 was a double-edged sword........it made Mack Trucks a takeover target. Initially, to fight back, Zenon was designated chairman and CEO as well as president. But he finally realized that Mack needed the financial security and protection of a larger conglomerate, but the merger would be on Zenon's terms. Zenon said, "Our feeling was that if we had to get into bed with someone, it would be a Park Avenue glamour girl, not a Greenwich Village streetwalker." Zenon believed that a successful merger must address four priorities in this particular order: 1. The employees 2. The dealers; they have US$100 million tied up in Mack trucks and parts 3. The Mack customer 4. The stockholder In responding to critics who said that shareholders should be the first priority, Zenon said, "What good is the stockholder's dollar if the employees are not happy, if the dealers are in trouble, if they don't have a customer?" New York bankers introduced Mack Trucks to the Los Angeles-based Signal Oil & Gas Company, and it was the perfect match. Recalling their initial meeting, Zenon said, "You size up the people and pull it out fast. We had never met, and we had an agreement in two and a half hours." In the deal, Mack and Zenon retained complete autonomy, and Signal promised not to acquire any other truckmaker. Mack Trucks received Signal's financial backing to ramp up plant expansion, production and sales, and Zenon joined Signal's board of directors. As a result of the Mack-Signal merger, Mack Trucks in 1971 was once more the top selling diesel truck in the United States. One out of five heavy trucks wore a bulldog. By the end of 1973, nine years after Zenon C.R. Hansen had taken the helm at Mack Trucks: - Production had increased 138 percent - New truck deliveries increased 134 percent - Mack sales skyrocketed 200 percent, from US$275 million to US$880 million - Shareholder's equity rose 147 percent, with return on invested capital increasing from 2.7% to 13% - Earnings per share increased by an astonishing 764 percent All of this, because of Signal's support of Mack Trucks and Zenon C.R. Hansen, the best truckmaking CEO in the history of the industry right up to the present day. As Zenon proudly said, and history has gone on to confirm: "I don't think many companies can match that record. I have been asked many times how we did this. I will say it again, there's no substitute for experience. It all boils down to experience, damn hard work, and good application of effort by the Mack management team. Our talented, dedicated, ingenious Mack people have made a difference."

Marmon-Herrington Launches Even Bigger Sisu Heavy-Haul Planetary Drive Axles for North America Market Marmon-Herrington Press Release / June 20, 2017 Marmon-Herrington announced today the release of a new 90,000 lbs. Sisu tandem axle set and a new 136,000 lbs. Sisu tridem axle set. These new releases are double reduction planetary drive axles for heavy duty applications within the N.A. truck market. For approved applications, the tandem axle offers a maximum GCWR (gross combination weight rating) of 400,000 lbs. and the tridem axle offers a maximum GCWR of 600,000 lbs. Sisu Axles has also increased maximum approved ratings for its industry standard 70,000 lbs. tandem axle set to 400,000 lbs. GCWR, and 600,000 lbs. GCWR for its 106,000 lbs. tridem axle set. Marmon-Herrington and key customers within mining, heavy haul, and oil and gas are working to release truck configurations with Sisu’s new 90,000 lbs. tandem and 136,000 lbs. tridem offerings. The Sisu 70,000 lbs. tandem and 106,000 lbs. tridem are currently available through many truck manufacturers and part of Marmon-Herrington’s industry first Rapid Response program, a program that allows Marmon-Herrington to deliver its most popular product configurations to customers in 30 days or less. “We are pleased to offer these new products to satisfy the needs of our loyal mining, heavy haul, and oil & gas fleet users” said Rick Blair, Marmon-Herrington OEM President. “Sisu products have long been known for reliability and strength. The new 90K tandem and 136K tridem allows Marmon-Herrington to continue a tradition of offering industry-best products to our customers.” “We care about our customers and listen to their needs. We’re constantly striving and adapting to provide product solutions that meet the ever-changing needs in each of their industries” said Dan Souhan, Marmon-Herrington Director of Sales and Marketing, “These new offerings exceed the ratings of other product currently on the market. The 600,000 lbs. GCW rating for both the 106K and 136K tridem sets a new standard for high speed, double reduction planetary axles.” Production of these highly anticipated new offerings has already begun and product will be available to ship in the second quarter of 2017. Sisu Axles, Inc. has been supplying similar 90,000 lbs. tandem and 136,000 lbs. tridem axles for years to customers outside of the United States and Canada. Marmon-Herrington offers a full-range of double reduction, planetary axles and durable transfer cases for trucks and specialized vehicles within North America as well as class 6 through 8 all-wheel-drive conversions. With over a 100 years of driveline know how, Marmon-Herrington sets the standards in each of its product offerings. Marmon-Herrington and Sisu Axles are Marmon Highway Technologies/Berkshire Hathaway companies. Marmon Highway Technologies (MHT) supports the transportation industry worldwide with a wide range of high-quality products and services. For more information, contact Dan Souhan, Marmon-Herrington, 13001 Magisterial Drive, Louisville, KY40223, 269-873-5552, www.marmon-herrington.com. .

Transport Topics / June 23, 2017 Marmon-Herrington (http://www.marmon-herrington.com/), a unit of Berkshire-Hathaway, has released new [Finnish] Sisu brand axles, including a 90,000-pound tandem axle set and 136,000-pound tridem axle set intended for heavy-duty truck applications within the North American market. For approved applications, the tandem axle offers a maximum gross combination weight rating of 400,000 pounds. The tridem axle offers a maximum GCWR of 600,000 pounds, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said. Marmon-Herrington and key customers within mining, heavy haul, and oil and gas are working to release truck configurations with Sisu’s new offerings, the company said. .

Heavy Duty Trucking / June 22, 2017 Acela Truck Company (http://acelatruck.com/) has released its Monterra line of trucks. The company's core innovation is the development of a proprietary process that resets U.S. Army Family of [Austrian Steyr model 12m18-based] Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTVs) to a near-zero-mile condition. The trucks are then used in commercial markets — including oil and gas, mining, pipeline construction, and forestry — where current chassis are not equipped to perform. Acela began developing its line of vehicles after several clients approached Acela President and CEO David Ronsen seeking a truck that could handle the extreme, rugged environments of the Canadian Oil Sands with a long life-cycle and a cost-effective price point. Versions of the Acela Monterra have proven themselves in the mines for over 7 years with a 96% documented uptime. FMTVs were originally developed for the U.S. Army to withstand the harshest conditions during combat, and have achieved the U.S. Army's coveted "ultra-reliable" status for 17 years running. Acela Truck Company's proprietary reset process restores FMTVs for commercial use. The company's first model of trucks—the Monterra—boasts the industry's most robust and dependable design features, including drivetrains, frames, axles, suspensions, tires and other components specially designed to withstand the rigors of the most extreme environments. The four pillars of the Acela Truck Advantage are: Total Cost of Ownership Ease of Maintenance On- or Off-Highway Capability One-Year Warranty The Monterra product line made its debut at the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, earlier this month. Acela Truck Company joined Canadian truck body builder Brutus Truck Bodies at the event. "The Monterra is undoubtedly the most extreme-duty truck ever introduced into the Canadian Market," notes Brutus CEO Curtis Turchak. "We are proud to be part of the official launch of Acela. We're confident that this line of trucks will be the number-one choice of chassis in the Canadian Oil Sands and related markets." .

Former VW engine chief told to stay in Germany or risk being detained in U.S. Automotive News – Reuters / June 24, 2017 MUNICH -- Former Volkswagen Group executive Heinz-Jakob Neusser has been advised not to leave Germany because he risks being detained by U.S. authorities. "I have urgently advised my client not to leave Germany. Only here is it safe," his lawyer, Annette Voges, told Germany's Bild newspaper in comments published on Saturday. On Thursday, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the U.S. had issued international arrest warrants for five former VW managers who have been indicted for conspiracy to fraud and violation of U.S. environmental rules. A sixth person, former VW manager Oliver Schmidt, was arrested in February in Miami as he was about to return from vacation to Germany. Voges said the managers would likely have to continue to forgo foreign travel because they could not rely on a statue of limitations, which would exempt them from charges after a certain amount of time. Under the constitution, German citizens can only be extradited to other European Union countries or to an international court. But leaving Germany could pose the risk of being extradited to the U.S. from a third country. Neusser is a former VW head of engine development and a member of the VW brand's management board. He was the highest ranking of six executives indicted by the U.S. in January. The others were Schmidt; Jens Hadler, former VW head of engine development; Richard Dorenkamp, who led a team of engineers that developed the first diesel engine designed to meet new U.S. emissions standards; former VW quality management boss Bernd Gottweis; and quality manager Juergen Peter. Neusser appears to have perfected a "defeat" device used by Dorenkamp and Hadler to evade emissions tests, according to U.S. court documents. A total of seven VW managers have been charged so far. U.S.-based engineer James Liang pleaded guilty in September and is cooperating with the authorities. VW admitted to U.S. regulators in September 2015 that it had cheated on emissions tests there using software installed in as many as 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide.

First of all Jim, the situation described, the minuscule Mack product portfolio, was in place when Martin Lundstedt arrived from Scania. One can arguably blame former ship's captain Olof Persson. And the reason he was begged to come over to Volvo, and Olof fired, is the fact that the company was in a financial crisis. Now, if Martin took "the Volvo reins off of Mack" today, just what heavy truck professional under the Mack brand at Volvo's Greensboro HQ would he be handing the reins over to? The last person they had of any substance was 40-year Mack veteran Kevin Flaherty who was forced into retirement by then Volvo CEO Olof Persson in September 2013.

Jim, they actually only have four models. Axle-forward and axle-back configurations are variants of the same model. We got out of off-highway because it was no longer profitable or practical. CAT works from a different angle........they can make it work but even for them it's about appearing to have a full portfolio rather than it being a profit center. We had the best executive vice president of fire apparatus sales there ever was. He retired after a decades-long brilliant career. He was replaced by a drunk, and our fire apparatus business collapsed. That was the only major mistake that I hold the former Mack Trucks accountable for. "Bleeding (divesting) for years"? Signal did not "dump" Mack, in the sense that I know the term. Signal changed drastically as a company and Mack no longer fit their new direction. As always, I respect your opinions, but mine are different.

Driving the new Volvo VNR Truck News / June 22, 2017 The design of the all-new Volvo VNR was heavily inspired by driver feedback WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — If it takes a village to raise a child, as the African proverb goes, perhaps it takes an industry to design a truck. That was Volvo’s approach to developing its new VNR regional haul truck, which was unveiled at ExpoCam in Montreal in April, and made available to the truck press for initial rides and drives here June 1. When designing the new VNR, Volvo consulted with about 2,000 customers and drivers, and results of their input can be found everywhere throughout the cab. There were so many ‘why hasn’t anyone else thought of that?’ moments noticed during my time in the VNR, that it was clear Volvo was listening carefully to driver feedback, and not just going through the motions. Mostly, it’s the little things. For example, drivers can adjust the interior volume of the turn signals and hazard lights, from obnoxiously loud to barely audible. A good idea for those times a team driver is trying to get in some sleep in the bunk. Also, cupholders can be removed and relocated to the exact position the driver wants them at along a rail on the center console. The driver can even install additional cupholders there. And the cupholders themselves are versatile enough to accommodate everything from large Big Gulp-type mugs, to small Styrofoam cups or narrow water bottles. Volvo powertrain marketing rep Allison Athey told me she inadvertently put the cupholders to the test, when she placed in it a full coffee without a lid and forgot about it. On the road, she looked down in a panic, thinking she’d made a mess of one of the very first prototype VNRs to roll off the line, and to her relief saw that the cup hadn’t spilled over. Chalk it up to an effective cupholder design and the smooth-shifting I-Shift transmission. But enough about cupholders. There’s lots to like about the new design of the VNR, especially if you’re a driver. Volvo defines a regional haul truck as a work truck that tends to make deliveries within a 200- to 300-mile radius. Common applications involve bulk haul, flatdeck, tanker, and city P&D. These drivers typically don’t live out of the truck, but they spend enough time in it that they deserve to be every bit as comfortable as their linehaul brethren, and that’s what Volvo brings to them in the VNR. The interior is stylish and comfortable, with exceptional visibility offered over the short, tapered hood. For the first time, Volvo is offering a full range of seats, regardless of interior trim level selected. If you want to splurge on a comfortable seat you spend all day in, but save on the interior trim level, now you can do so. And why not? Tying the available seat selections to the interior package limits customer choice, and the new VNR is all about choice. Seven levels of seating are available, including high-end RollTek and Bose Ride System seats. You can also choose heated and cooled seats, or a passenger seat with an integrated refrigerator to eliminate the need to clutter up the cab with a cooler. Even the most basic seats are extremely comfortable. I drove a VNR 400 on the highway and assumed my seat was an upgraded option, only to discover it was the most basic one on offer – the X1 vinyl seat from National. The new Position Perfect steering wheel is more comfortable than past designs, and can house up to 19 controls. It’s also pretty much infinitely adjustable. The VNR is a modern truck that doesn’t discriminate; drivers of all shapes, sizes, and statures will be comfortable in this truck. The new steering wheel even offers a neck tilt option so you can position it just right to see the new, colorful driver information display. This five-inch display uses strategic colors – red and green – to convey key messages to the driver with minimal distraction. The display is also customizable, and where drivers can adjust things like the signal light volume, but that’s only possible when the truck’s parked. The door panels have been redesigned as well, the speakers relocated to offer better acoustics and deeper pockets that provide more storage. A cool blue interior light on the door offers interior visibility for the driver and passenger, and a new puddle lamp on the bottom of the door shines down on the step and any hazards below when the door is opened. That’s another idea that had to have come from a driver. No more soaked work boots! Even the door-mounted fingertip controls for the windows, locks, and mirrors were revamped for a better feel. I drove two VNRs – the 400 with 48-ft. flatdeck trailer loaded to about 75,000 lbs on highway, and the VNR 300 with 28-ft. trailer on a city route – and both were incredibly quiet. This is in part due to improvements to engine design, but also thanks to a new rubber floor covering insert that keeps road noise to a minimum. Both trucks were powered by the D11 engine rated at 425 hp and 1,550 lb.-ft. of torque and Volvo I-Shift 12-speed automated manual transmission. The D11 is the standard engine for the VNR and it’s plenty powerful enough for loads grossing up to 80,000 lbs on reasonably flat terrain. The 13-liter will probably be preferred in many Canadian applications. The highway tractor I drove was set up with the XE package for optimum fuel economy through downspeeding, while the city truck had a direct drive transmission and straight torque engine configuration. Both had fleet-level interior trim packages, but these were very well-appointed cabs and perfectly comfortable to drive. The highway tractor had a 42-inch mid-roof sleeper, home to a more comfortable higher-end mattress, while the city truck was a day cab. Both had ample, well placed power options inside the cab, another result of the consultation designers did with drivers. These include USB and 12-volt power outlets at the top of the dash, close to the slots and pockets drivers can use to store their electronic devices. Volvo cleaned up the dash, making it more intuitive while eliminating unnecessary empty switch blanks. An optional touchscreen infotainment system is available, but both trucks I drove were without. The exterior of the truck is indisputably more handsome than the 20-year-old VNM it will replace. The truck has a more modern, streamlined appearance. But changes to the exterior were as much about function as they were aesthetics. Bearing in mind regional trucks are often required to work in tight spaces where damage can easily occur, Volvo designers took steps to protect against damage and to simplify repairs when required. For example, the headlights are inset from the edge of the fenders, where they’re less likely to get cracked. Two bumper end plates can be removed if the truck is going off-highway, or replaced if they get dented. Volvo went with all-LED lighting, which is rated at 10,000 hours, making even bulb replacements less frequent. The bumper hugs the chassis so it doesn’t stick out where it’s vulnerable to damage. The hood offers incredible visibility from the driver’s seat, and Volvo’s stylish hood-mounted mirrors provide excellent visibility around the truck without detracting from the truck’s appearance. The hood is attached to the cab, offering easier access to underhood components. The air intakes on the side of the hood– while not as distinctive as the inverted hockey stick shape I personally am fond of – offer excellent ventilation, Volvo officials said. The truck has a 113-inch BBC, one of the best in the industry, and 50-degree wheel cut, for excellent maneuverability. I was really pleased with how the VNR 300 handled on a tight city route in Winston-Salem. You can tell by looking at the VNR that it’s a more aerodynamic design than the VNM it replaces, which Volvo says will net a fuel economy improvement of about 1%. The new GHG17 engines Volvo rolled out earlier this year contribute another 2.5-3% improvement in fuel economy. So fleet owners will really like the new VNR and its ability to boost their profit margins. But to me, this truck is really about the driver, and bringing unsurpassed comfort, versatility, and customization to a segment that hasn’t always been afforded such luxuries. .

Interpol seeks 5 ex-VW managers over emissions fraud Reuters / June 22, 2017 BERLIN -- The U.S. has issued international arrest warrants for five former Volkswagen managers accused of wrongdoing in connection with the carmaker's diesel emissions-cheating scandal, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday. The five ex-managers and developers, including two executives under former CEO Martin Winterkorn, were indicted by U.S. authorities for conspiracy to commit fraud and violation of U.S. environmental rules, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. A spokesman at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters declined comment. A sixth person, former VW manager Oliver Schmidt, was arrested in February in Miami as he was about to fly to Germany. He is awaiting trial in a U.S. prison after being denied bail. German authorities were unlikely to extradite the five accused to the U.S., Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. Under the constitution, German citizens can only be extradited to other European Union countries or to an international court. But leaving Germany could pose the risk of being extradited to the United States from a third country. VW, the world's largest automaker by sales, admitted to U.S. regulators in September 2015 that it had cheated on emissions tests there using software installed in as many as 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide.

Isuzu: New Class 6 is right truck at right time Fleet Owner / June 22, 2017 QUEENS, NY. The rapid shift from traditional retail store shopping to the purchase of products over the internet is driving major changes to delivery networks as well – including changes to the capabilities of the trucks tasked with making those deliveries. During a ride and drive event held in the shadow of New York City’s Citi Field, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America and Canada showed off its brand-new Class 6 FTR medium-duty cabover truck model, which the company believes is positioned perfectly to benefit from e-commerce driven growth in the delivery of goods to residential areas. “When you look at where a lot of packaged goods are now being delivered, places of business or home, versus going to retail outlets, this is an outstanding vehicle,” Shaun Skinner, Isuzu’s president, told Fleet Owner. “There’s a couple of things advantageous that it [the FTR] brings to the marketplace,” he stressed. “The first is its cab-forward [cabover] design and really from the outset is for urban delivery. A cab-forward product allows not only for a crowded environment, it allows for great visibility and better maneuverability.” Skinner noted that the FTR’s four-cylinder diesel engine gives it a unique advantage as well, as Freightliner is the only other truck maker in the market offering a four-cylinder diesel engine in a Class 6 product. “We believe that brings with it a number of advantages, number one being fuel economy,” he pointed out. “Our vehicle has outstanding fuel economy … and that drives down the cost of ownership.” The FTR is powered by a turbocharged 4HK1-TC engine four-cylinder diesel engine that offers “B10 life” of 375,000 miles, meaning that 90% of those engines should reach that mileage before requiring an overhaul. “Some people could look at that [a four-cylinder engine] as a perceived weakness,” added Skinner. “We look at it as a strength [because] we’re not looking to put it into highly vocationalized areas where you have this robust use of the vehicle from a standpoint of horsepower and torque requirements. This is going to be more of a delivery and pick-up vehicle. From an ownership standpoint, the four-cylinder engine will really be an advantage.” The New York event at Citi Filed is one of several Isuzu held in recent weeks across the country to help familiarize its fleet customers and dealers with its new Class 6 FTR cabover. “A lot of the design work [for the FTR] was done in the U.S. at the Isuzu Technical Center of America in Plymouth, MI,” Skinner said. “Usually for trucks in this market a great deal of the design [by Isuzu] is done in Japan. It’s assembled at the same campus as our gas truck is, with our partner Spartan Motors in Charlotte, MI.” Isuzu expects to begin shipping the FTR by early July. “There’s still a few things we have to make sure of, but so far zero defects have been found,” Skinner noted. “We’ve been out of the Class 6 product since 2009, so this is the first chance we’ve had to reintroduce it in the U.S. and Canada markets,” he added. “That’s because our original strategy was attached to our alliance with General Motors,” Skinner explained. “When they declared bankruptcy, one of the things that went away was the medium duty, their commercial truck part of the medium duty. So when we lost that alliance we had to reformulate how to get back to the U.S. and Canada markets with a Class 6 product.” But once Isuzu found itself able to re-enter the Class 6 market on its own, “we got very excited, because there are about 40,000 Class 6 cab-forward customers out there with not a lot of options,” Skinner emphasized. “We have a high level of U.I.O’s, units in operation, that haven’t had anything since 2009. It’s exciting for us that we now have a product we can bring to market for these people.” .

Spy Shots: First Look at Navistar/GM Medium-Duty Work Truck Trucks.com / June 22, 2017 Here’s the first look at the medium-duty truck Navistar International Corp. and General Motors Co. are developing together. The companies have an agreement to develop and assemble future conventional cab trucks in the Class 4 and 5 work segments. The deal puts Navistar back in a truck category it exited when production of its International TerraStar model ended earlier this year. It also helps GM to expand its Chevrolet commercial truck portfolio. This spy shots are of a mule, or test vehicle. They show a chassis cub work truck with a fiberglass International-style hood that swings up from the windshield. The photos were taken this week at a Bosch facility near Ann Arbor, Mich., where the truck is undergoing testing. The new truck line is jointly developed using Navistar's expertise in rolling chassis configurations and manufacturing capabilities, and GM‘s commercial components and engines. The vehicles are slated for production in 2018 and will be manufactured at Navistar's facility in Springfield, Ohio. Navistar plans to add 300 jobs and invest more than $12 million in facility upgrades and state-of-the-art equipment to produce the new vehicles. “Our collaboration with GM is another example of our customer-centric, open integration approach – providing our customers with the best technologies available,” Bill Kozek, Navistar’s president of trucks and parts said when the project was announced. The truck is expected to debut at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis in March. GM has already announced that its version will have a Duramax diesel engine and Allison transmission. .

Tim Kaine: U.S. strikes on Syrian forces ‘completely illegal’ Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent / Yahoo News / June 22, 2017 WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Wednesday sharply condemned U.S. strikes on Syrian regime forces — like the shoot-down of a military jet over the weekend — as “completely illegal.” “I think the military action that is being taken against Syrian government assets is completely illegal,” Kaine said. There have been four known instances of U.S. forces firing on Syrian government targets in recent weeks, including the early April cruise missile strike in retaliation for the government’s use of chemical weapons. Over the weekend, a U.S. Navy fighter shot down a Syrian warplane. The Pentagon says it has legal authority to act under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed after the 9/11 attacks, which effectively permitted the invasion of Afghanistan and global efforts to stamp out al-Qaida. Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama cited that legislation as the legal justification for the global war on terrorism. Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, bluntly disagreed with the Trump administration’s position. “The 2001 authorization said we can take action against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. Nobody claims that Syria was a perpetrator. Nobody claims that they are connected to al-Qaida. In fact, they’re battling against al-Qaida in Syria,” Kaine countered. “So I think this is a completely unlawful use of power.” Kaine also blamed “political cowardice” as a factor in congressional resistance to debating and voting to authorize the nearly three-year war on the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in places like Syria. “Part of this is, in my view, political cowardice — not wanting to be on the record on a war vote,” Kaine said. Previous attempts to push Congress to debate and authorize the escalating but undeclared war on the terrorist army in Syria and Iraq have fallen short, in large part due to politics. Clinton’s fate in the 2008 Democratic primaries, when her vote in favor of the 2002 AUMF against Iraq became one of Barack Obama’s most potent weapons, haunts Democrats. And Republicans preferred to criticize Obama’s handling of the conflict from the sidelines without taking any steps that might make them co-owners of the strategy. Kaine and Sen. Jeff Flake, R.-Ariz., have written a new AUMF to cover ISIS and other extremist groups. Kaine, who has tried since mid-2014 to get Congress to debate and vote on a new AUMF, said he thinks the political moment might be right to get lawmakers to act. “This has been enormously frustrating,” Kaine acknowledged. But President Trump’s November victory has revived interest in the discussion. “Any change in administration is kind of an opportunity to look anew at the strategy,” he said. But lawmakers are “starting to get nervous” about Trump’s use of military force, Kaine said. “We haven’t heard the strategy about ISIS. We don’t have a strategy about Afghanistan. We’ve now taken action against the government of Syria and their military without a strategy about that,” Kaine said. “So we’re starting to worry about the 2001 authority just being used carte blanche all over the place by this administration, and I think that provides some additional impetus to get this right. Flake and Kaine’s measure, which repeals both the 2001 AUMF and the 2002 AUMF allowing Bush to use force against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, would explicitly authorize making war on ISIS, al-Qaida and the Taliban, as well as “associated forces,” to be defined by the administration and Congress. The legislation would expire after five years.

Pentagon 'wasted $28 million' on Afghan camouflaged uniforms BBC / June 21, 2017 US taxpayers unnecessarily spent $28m on uniforms for the Afghan National Army, according to the US inspector general tasked with overseeing the war. In a scathing report, John Sopko said that officials bought "forest" pattern uniforms, despite the country's landscape being only 2.1% wooded. The decision was "not based on an evaluation of its appropriateness for the Afghan environment", he wrote. A former Afghan defence minister chose the pattern in 2007, he says. In the 17-page report, Mr Sopko writes that Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak chose the privately owned pattern over a cheaper pattern that the US military already owned. US officials, who had been searching for patterns online with Mr Wardak, authorised the purchase because he "liked what he saw", they wrote at the time. "My concern is what if the minister of defence liked purple, or liked pink?" Mr Sopko told USA Today in an interview. "Are we going to buy pink uniforms for soldiers and not ask questions? That's insane. This is just simply stupid on its face. "We wasted $28 million of taxpayers' money in the name of fashion, because the defence minister thought that that pattern was pretty." For years, Mr Sopko's office has criticised the Pentagon for wastefulness during the United States' longest war. In January, he told a think tank in Washington there was evidence that Taliban leaders had instructed commanders to purchase US fuel, ammunition and weapons from Afghan soldiers, because it is cheaper. Senator Chuck Grassley called the uniform decision "embarrassing and an affront to US taxpayers". "Those who wasted money on the wrong camouflage uniforms seem to have lost sight of their common sense," the Republican senator added. The Pentagon is currently considering raising the level of US troops in Afghanistan, with a formal announcement expected this week.

For thousands of U.S. auto workers, downturn comes fast Automotive News / June 21, 2017 LORDSTOWN, Ohio -- Wall Street is fretting that the U.S. auto industry is heading for a downturn, but for thousands of workers at General Motors factories in the United States, the hard times are already here. Matt Streb, 36, was one of 1,200 workers laid off on Jan. 20 -- inauguration day for President Donald Trump -- when GM canceled the third shift at its Lordstown small-car factory here. Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, the only vehicle the plant makes, have nosedived as U.S. consumers switch to crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks. Streb is looking for another job, but employers are wary because they assume he will quit whenever GM calls him back. "I get it," said Streb, who has a degree in communications, "but it's frustrating." Layoffs at Lordstown and other auto plants point to a broader challenge for the economy in Midwestern manufacturing states and for the Trump administration. The U.S. auto industry's boom from 2010 through last year was a major driver for manufacturing job creation. The fading of that boom threatens prospects for U.S. industrial output and job creation that were central to President Trump's victory in Ohio and other manufacturing states. "This is about economics, not what Trump says," said Robert Morales, president of UAW Local 1714, which represents workers at GM's stamping plant at Lordstown. "Even if Trump went out and bought 10,000 Cruzes a month, he wouldn't get the third shift back here." Last week the Federal Reserve said U.S. factory output fell 0.4 percent in May, the second decline in three months, due partly to a 2-percent drop in motor vehicles and parts production. Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has compiled data from government sources that show the auto industry punching higher than its weight in job creation in recent years -- accounting for between 60 percent and 80 percent of all U.S. manufacturing jobs added in 2015 and 2016. In the first quarter of this year, the auto industry accounted for less than 2 percent of the 45,000 manufacturing jobs created. "There's no argument with the idea that auto has been pulling the manufacturing sled up the mountain for the last three or four years," Muro said. "If you take auto out, you’re left with a very tepid outlook indeed." Long-term auto layoffs could threaten the economies of communities and states directly affected, although after decades of boom and bust, many communities in the auto manufacturing heartland have diversified. In Ohio's MahoningValley, which was battered by the collapse of the once-dominant steel industry, the boom in drilling for shale gas helps offset job cuts at auto plants. Lordstown Mayor Arno Hill says the town salted away money during the boom to pay down its debts and new businesses are coming in, including a $900-million power plant being built in town that will burn cheap natural gas produced in the region. GM makes up 40 percent of tax receipts versus 85 percent in the early 1990s, he said. "GM is still the brightest star in the MahoningValley, but luckily we have diversified our economy," Hill said. "There is pain for the laid-off workers, but it won't hurt us as bad it used to." Lordstown's workers have taken steps to blunt the impact of layoffs, with help from GM. Matt Streb's wife is due to start work soon after getting a degree, while he hopes to return to a former job as a mailman. In the meantime, GM gave advance notice of job cuts so he saved extra money and has drastically cut his spending. "The auto industry is cyclical and has always had its ups and downs," Streb said. "This is just another Lordstown downturn." Stalling sedan sales The recent decline in U.S. auto sales is still minor compared to the dramatic collapse during the 2007-09 financial crisis, when demand for new vehicles plunged to its lowest levels in decades. However, the days when auto assembly and parts plants throughout the Midwest were running flat-out because of high demand for nearly every type of vehicle are over. Recent sales trends show consumers becoming more selective, shunning older models and especially smaller cars. For much of the boom that ran from 2010 through to a record year in 2016, when 17.55 million new vehicles were sold, the share held by cars has declined versus "light trucks" -- or pickup trucks, SUVs and crossovers. After peaking at 51.32 percent of all sales in 2012, passenger cars fell to 40.4 percent of light-vehicle sales in 2016. That decline equates to the output of seven or eight vehicle assembly plants. Through the first five months of this year, car sales fell 11 percent, even as light-truck volume rose 4.7 percent. To avoid profit-sapping discounts, and reverse a decline in prices of used vehicles, automakers are ordering more and deeper production cuts. GM has laid off more than 5,000 workers so far this year -- including 1,000 at its Fairfax plant in Kansas that makes the Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan. GM has also laid off 1,100 workers at a plant in Lansing because it has ended production of the GMC Acadia crossover there. More GM workers will be hit with temporary layoffs this summer. The Lordstown plant will shut up shop for five weeks this summer, much longer than the usual two-week summer vacation closure. Many laid-off GM workers are finding temporary employment at other sites or taking permanent transfers to plants like its Arlington, Texas, factory where production of large SUVs continues unabated. However, those temporary postings require workers to relocate hundreds of miles from home. Randy Freeman, president of UAW Local 652, which represents workers at GM's Grand River plant in Lansing, Mich., which produces Cadillac sedans and the Chevrolet Camaro, says he has been pleased by GM's efforts to rehire workers and relations with the automaker "are on an upward swing." The threats to U.S. workers building sedans are not likely to ease, barring a spike in the price of gasoline. Ford Motor Co. signaled its long-term pessimism about small-car demand in the United States by announcing plans on Tuesday to shift production of the Focus compact car model to China. The Michigan plant that builds the Focus currently is expected to switch to building pickup trucks and SUVs in 2018. At GM's Lordstown and Lansing Grand River plants, UAW representatives say they are focused on improving quality in the hope that GM will pick their plant when it's time to find a location for producing a new truck or SUV. At Lordstown, for instance, union officials tout the fact the plant has just won a quality award for local innovation on a part that helps the Cruze run better. "We're working hard to make the best product we can," said Glenn Johnson, president of UAW Local 1112 at Lordstown, "so we can raise our hands and say to GM 'look at what we can do.'"

No deadline for NAFTA renegotiation, says U.S. trade representative Reuters / June 21, 2017 WASHINGTON -- U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday there was no deadline for completing NAFTA trade talks between the U.S., Canada and Mexico even as lawmakers warned that U.S. business would be hurt by prolonged negotiations. "There is no deadline. My hope is that we can get it done by the end of the year, but there are a lot of people who think that is completely unrealistic," Lighthizer told a Senate Finance Committee hearing to discuss the USTR's budget. He said reaching a NAFTA deal by year-end was a "very, very quick timeframe (and) we're not going to have a bad agreement to save time." Under U.S. law, Lighthizer, a veteran trade lawyer, will be the principal U.S. negotiator on NAFTA, although U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will have a major role. The renegotiation of the 23-year-old NAFTA was a key campaign promise of U.S. President Donald Trump, who pledged to shrink trade deficits with other countries. While the talks are expected to begin in mid-August, Lighthizer said discussions were underway with Canada and Mexico to firm up a start date. "We are in the process right now talking to our negotiating partners about when the first day of the meeting will be," he added. A number of senators urged Lighthizer to avoid lengthy negotiations, which they warned would hurt sales by American businesses and farmers. Lighthizer was also pressed on the Trump administration's investigation into whether foreign steel and aluminum imports threaten U.S. national security. Findings of the investigations are expected by the end of June. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., expressed concern that possible sweeping tariffs or quotas on steel and aluminum would impact American manufacturers. "I've got businesses in Missouri who use raw materials which aren't made in the United States and they are very worried about the impact a decision in this area will have on their costs of producing goods, but they are also worried about any other national security blockades," she said. Lighthizer said while steps were needed to crack down on foreign steel and aluminum flooding the American market, it was likely that an "exclusion process" would be introduced whereby U.S. businesses could apply to import products not made in the United States. "Situations where there are legitimate cases of a manufacturer who needs a steel product or aluminum product not made in the United States should go in and I think they will be accommodated. In most of those cases, it will be accommodated with an exclusion," he added.

House Bill Would Repeal Heavy-Truck Federal Excise Tax David Cullen, Heavy Duty Trucking / June 21, 2017 A new effort to ax the 12% federal excise tax on most heavy-duty trucks, tractors, and trailers has been mounted on Capitol Hill by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA). He introduced the Heavy Truck, Tractor and Trailer Retail Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2017 (H.R. 2946) on June 20, a bill that would repeal the FET on the retail sale of trucking equipment. “The excessive 12% federal excise tax on heavy trucks adds tens of thousands of dollars to truck purchases and directly impacts the cost of food, consumer goods and other products Americans need,” Rep. LaMalfa said in a statement. “Even worse, truck owners large and small pay this tax whether a truck is driven 100,000 miles or never driven at all, forcing them to pay taxes on an investment that may not be generating any revenue. “Repealing the truck tax will help small businesses invest in new equipment while jump-starting domestic manufacturing.” He added that removing the truck FET should be considered by the House Ways and Means Committee when it drafts legislation to reform the overall tax code. The FET was originally imposed in 1917 to help defray the cost of World War I. The tax has grown from 3%, when it was incorporated into the Highway Trust Fund in 1955, to 12% now. The American Truck Dealers, a division of the National Automobile Dealers Association, applauded LaMalfa’s bill. “The 12% federal excise tax on heavy-duty trucks is the highest percentage rate of any federal excise tax that Congress levies, and it adds $12,000 to $22,000 to the price of a new heavy-duty truck,” said ATD Chairman Steve Parker, who is president of Maryland-based Baltimore Potomac Truck Centers. “The FET depresses new heavy-duty truck sales and delays the deployment of cleaner, safer and more fuel-efficient trucks.” Parker also called the FET “essentially a tax on American jobs,” stating that the tax “hurts truck sales and inhibits job growth, directly affecting the 7.3 million Americans employed in the U.S. trucking industry. Congress should include H.R. 2946 in the upcoming tax reform bill. A repeal of the FET will spur new-truck sales and get our economy moving.” .

Report touts savings from 33-foot twin trailers, downplays truckload's concerns Fleet Owner / June 21, 2017 Change would mean less congestion and emissions, FTR says. A new report from FTR Transportation Intelligence said allowing twin 33-foot trailers on the nation’s highways could lower costs as much as 10%, while having minimal disruption on the operations of the overall trucking industry. “The productivity gains from allowing 33 foot trailers will reduce the amount of work required in the trucking industry - resulting in fewer trucks on the highways, less damage to the pavement and reduced emissions,” said lead author Noel Perry, FTR partner and transportation economist. Perry previously held research positions at Schneider National, Cummins Engine Co. and CSX Corp. Perry said “the economic case for doubles limits the application to a very small part of the market,” and that the “drawbacks of increased handling and additional shipper dock access will prevent their use in the overwhelming majority of truckload freight.” Size-and-weight rules have long been a contentious issue within the trucking industry. Recent federal efforts to approve the use of twin 33-foot trailers have failed, but some analysts have suggested they could receive approval during the Trump administration. FTR said the additional length provides an 18% increase in cubic capacity over the current 28-foot trailers, and 24.5% gain over 53-foot dry van trailers. By putting more freight on trucks with the longer doubles, the result would be lower costs to carriers, shippers, and end consumers, especially those fueling “the exploding online market place.” Adoption costs would fall mainly on the less-than-truckload and parcel carriers interested in the change, and there would be little, if any, cost to the public, the report said. At the same time there would be a reduction in trucks on the road. FTR’s report breaks down several of the frequently cited reasons public safety groups and truckload carriers tend to oppose the change. Perry noted although individual tractor-trailers would produce additional emissions, he estimated a 10% reduction when factoring in the fewer number of rigs needed. Similarly, he projected drops in fuel use, highway wear, and congestion, as the larger trailers move the same amount of freight in 14% less highway space. Additionally, Perry suggested any potential per-truck safety risk “should be more than offset by the reduction in overall rigs.” FTR projects the total population of doubles could increase from 5% of all trucks today to as much as 8%. While that does represent a significant increase, a common refrain from safety advocates, the argument falls flat when factoring in the overall decline in total trucks on the road, the report said. Perry was also critical of truckload carriers fighting the change, suggesting their economic concerns are overblown. He estimated it would impact less than 2% of the truckload market. “Any pressures on truckload operations will be limited to small, specialized niches,” the report said. As with previous innovations, Perry said truckload executives would be able to efficiently manage these changes through rate alterations or operational adjustments. Earlier this year, the Truckload Carriers Association reiterated its opposition to efforts to gain approval for twin 33s. “While TCA strongly supports a thoughtful, evolutionary pace for the development and deployment of productivity innovations that benefit the entire trucking industry, the revolutionary change of allowing twin 33-foot trailers on federal-aid highways would have only benefited a small minority of the trucking industry, while the nature and pace of such a change would have been detrimental to the trucking industry in general, and to the truckload carrier segment specifically,” the group said. FTR’s report also listed several factors that could limit the use of the longer trailers, if they are approved. Facilities need to be located close enough to approved highways to allow direct pickup and delivery, and provide the needed the maneuvering space and extra docks to handle the longer doubles. Another limitation could be the ability to find backhauls to make them economically viable, the report noted. .

New legislation aims to repeal federal excise tax on trucks Fleet Owner / June 21, 2017 Originally introduced in 1917 to help defray the costs of World War I, the FET now stands at 12%. U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) introduced a bill this week that seeks to eliminate the 12% federal excise tax or “FET” most heavy-duty trucks, tractors and commercial trailers – a levy the American Truck Dealers (ATD) group claims can add anywhere from $12,000 to $22,000 to the sticker prices for such equipment. “The excessive 12% FET on heavy trucks adds tens of thousands of dollars to truck purchases and directly impacts the cost of food, consumer goods and other products Americans need,” Rep. LaMalfa noted in a statement. “Even worse, truck owners large and small pay this tax whether a truck is driven 100,000 miles or never driven at all, forcing them to pay taxes on an investment that may not be generating any revenue,” he stressed. “Repealing the truck tax will help small businesses invest in new equipment while jump-starting domestic manufacturing and Congress should address this issue as we consider how to reform our outdated tax code,” Rep. LaMalfa added. “The 12% FET on heavy-duty trucks in the highest percentage rate of any federal excise tax that Congress levies,” noted ATD’s Chairman Steve Parker in a statement. “The FET depresses new heavy-duty truck sales and delays the deployment of cleaner, safer and more fuel-efficient trucks.” Rep. LaMalfa’s bill – H.R. 2946 and dubbed the Heavy Truck, Tractor and Trailer Retail Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2017 – follows a similar effort to eliminate the FET attempted five years ago. ATD noted that the FET was originally imposed in 1917 to help defray the cost of World War I. The tax has grown from 3%, when it was incorporated into the Highway Trust Fund in 1955, to its 12% level today.

Jason Cannon, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / June 21, 2017 U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) introduced Tuesday a bill that seeks to repeal the federal excise tax (FET) on the retail sale of most heavy-duty trucks, tractors and trailers. Bills similar to H.R. 2946, “Heavy Truck, Tractor and Trailer Retail Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2017,” have been introduced over the past several years, with none gaining enough traction to get the 12-percent tax removed from the sticker price of the truck. LaMalfa’s bill now heads to the House Ways and Means Committee. “The excessive 12-percent federal excise tax on heavy trucks adds tens of thousands of dollars to truck purchases and directly impacts the cost of food, consumer goods and other products Americans need,” LaMalfa says. “Even worse, truck owners large and small pay this tax whether a truck is driven 100,000 miles or never driven at all, forcing them to pay taxes on an investment that may not be generating any revenue. “The 12-percent federal excise tax on heavy-duty trucks in the highest percentage rate of any federal excise tax that Congress levies, and it adds $12,000 to $22,000 to the price of a new heavy-duty truck,” adds American Truck Dealers (ATD) Chairman Steve Parker, who is also the president of Baltimore Potomac Truck Centers. “The FET depresses new heavy-duty truck sales and delays the deployment of cleaner, safer and more fuel-efficient trucks.” Rep. LaMalfa’s bill has the support of ATD, which represents more than 1,800 U.S. commercial truck dealers. The group is hosting its annual legislative fly-in to Washington, D.C., this week to rally congressional support for the legislation. LaMalfa says repealing the truck tax will help small businesses invest in new equipment and jump-start domestic manufacturing, while also reforming an outdated tax code. The FET was originally imposed in 1917 to help defray the cost of World War I. The tax has grown from 3 percent, when it was incorporated into the Highway Trust Fund in 1955, to 12 percent today. Parker called on Congress to include H.R. 2946 in the upcoming tax reform bill.

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