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Reuters / January 12, 2017 The CEOs of 18 major automakers and their U.S. units urged President Trump to revisit a decision by the Obama administration to lock in vehicle fuel efficiency rules through 2025. In a letter sent late Friday and viewed by Reuters, the chief executives of General Motors, Ford Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), along with the top North American executives at Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and others urged Trump to reverse the decision, warning thousands of jobs could be at risk. On Jan. 13, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a determination that the landmark fuel efficiency rules instituted by then President Barack Obama should be locked in through 2025, a bid to maintain a key part of his administration's climate legacy. As part of a 2012 regulation, EPA had to decide by April 2018 whether to modify the 2022-2025 model year vehicle emission rules requiring average fleet-wide efficiency of more than 50 miles per gallon through a "midterm review." The agency in November moved up the timetable for proposing automakers could meet the 2025 standards. The auto CEO letter asked Trump to reopen the midterm review "without prejudging the outcome" and praised Trump's "personal focus on steps to strengthen the economy in the United States and your commitment to jobs in our sector." Days after Trump was elected, automakers quickly appealed to Trump to review the rules, saying they impose significant costs and are out of step with consumer preferences. Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said Sunday, automakers are "seeking a restoration of the process -- that's all. This is a reset." The chief executives of Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler also raised the issue in a White House meeting with Trump last month. The letter warned the rules could "threaten future production levels, putting hundreds of thousands and perhaps as many as a million jobs at risk." Environmentalists say the rules are working, saving drivers thousands in fuel costs and shouldn't be changed. Luke Tonachel of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said lowering the standards would "cost consumers more, increase our dependence on oil and put Americans at greater risk from a changing climate." Trump EPA nominee Scott Pruitt told a Senate panel he will review the Obama administration's decision. In 2011, Obama announced an agreement with automakers to raise fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon. This, the administration said, would save motorists $1.7 trillion in fuel costs over the life of the vehicles, but cost the auto industry about $200 billion over 13 years. The EPA said in July that because Americans were buying fewer cars and more SUVs and trucks, it estimated the fleet will average 50.8 mpg to 52.6 mpg in 2025.

Some of the so-called undocumented immigrants apprehended in the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have complained they were denied access to attorneys. In my view, Illegal immigrants (illegal aliens) are not subject to due process, as they are are inherently not subject to rights under our Constitution. It's ridiculous that these arrested illegal aliens are allowed their day in a U.S. immigration court, at additional cost to the U.S. taxpayer. By virtue of their criminal act, i.e. illegally entering the United States, they should be summarily deported within 48 hours of apprehension, and the expense of their deportation seized whenever possible from their confiscated assets. Would-be immigrants must respect/follow our immigration procedures. If they have no respect for them, they are not the kind of people that we would want to add into our population.

When you called Watt's Mack (provider of the BMT website) at 1-888-304-6225, what did they say ?

You're right Vlad. I'd like to see that Sonett.................http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/auctions_details2.php?photosel=auction_images/205/fullsize/0201.JPG&detail=205&pageno=2

Bernhard quits Daimler; Zetsche will be interim trucks boss Automotive News Europe - Reuters / February 10, 2017 Daimler has confirmed that trucks chief Wolfgang Bernhard, a top manager once seen as a successor to CEO Dieter Zetsche, will leave the company "at his own request and for personal reasons." Bernhard's contract had been due to expire in February 2018. The automaker gave no further details on the grounds for his departure. "We regret this resolution, but we have a number of outstanding managers to succeed. We thank Wolfgang Bernhard for his committed work and respect his personal decision," Manfred Bischoff, chairman of the supervisory board, said in a statement. Daimler said Bernhard will leave his role with immediate effect and Zetsche will take on his duties until a successor is appointed. Bernhard's skills as a turnaround manager landed him top divisional jobs such as head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Chrysler and as CEO of the Volkswagen passenger car business in a wide ranging career in the auto industry. But last year Daimler extended Zetsche's contract by three years, a move that effectively ruled out Bernhard as a potential successor. Bernhard will be close to 60 in 2019 when Daimler is due to choose its next chief executive. In February last year, Daimler also promoted Ola Kaellenius, a 46-year-old Swede, to become board member for r&d, a move that company insiders say made him a natural heir to Zetsche. Bernhard's departure from Daimler was first reported on Thursday by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.

Police say driver error was the cause of an accident that sent a semi over the side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Thursday. The truck's driver, Joseph Chen, was rescued from the water by a Navy helicopter but died on the way to the hospital. Wind had been widely speculated to be the cause of the accident. A storm that moved into the area Thursday morning brought powerful gusts out of the northeast. Chief Edward Spencer, head of the CBBT's police force, said wind can't be ruled out as a factor, but after interviewing witnesses and reconstructing the accident – the bridge has no video cameras along its spans – the preliminary investigation concluded that Chen went off the bridge while trying to pass another semi. According to police, he was traveling in the right lane of the southbound span, around the 15-mile marker, which is closest to the Eastern Shore side. A car was in the left lane. Another truck was ahead of Chen, in his lane. “He went to pass the tractor-trailer,” Spencer said. “He cut over in front of passenger car, and once he got over in the left lane, he ran up on curb and through the guard rail.” http://pilotonline.com/news/local/miles-of-scary-cbbt-is-notorious-among-truckers-but-police/article_01ef06a7-6465-51da-8aa6-770e90535aee.html

http://us.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/us-navy-planes-grounded/index.html

Kenworth Names 2017 Dealer Council, Supports Gold Level Customer Service Kenworth Truck Company / February 9, 2017 Kenworth Truck Company has named its 2017 Kenworth Dealer Council members. The council features eight prominent executives representing the more than 380 Kenworth dealerships in the United States and Canada. The council works in partnership with Kenworth to help provide leading-edge customer support throughout the dealer network with the Kenworth PremierCare and Kenworth PremierCare Gold Certified programs. PremierCare Gold is a superior level of service that offers extended dealer operating hours and expedited expert diagnostics, among other services, that assist customers in maximizing uptime and overtime performance. Kenworth Council members are: Chairman – Will Bruser, Truckworx Kenworth, Birmingham, Ala.; Mike Clark, Wisconsin Kenworth, Madison, Wis.; Boyd McConnachie, Inland Kenworth, Burnaby, B.C.; Mike Nagle, Bayview Kenworth, St. John, New Brunswick; Scott Oliphant, Kenworth of Louisiana, Gray, La.; Dan Penksa, Kenworth Northeast Group, Buffalo, N.Y.; Tim Spurgeon, MHC Kenworth, Leawood, Kan. In addition, Tom Bertolino of NorCal Kenworth in Sacramento, Calif., serves as the Kenworth line representative for the American Truck Dealers (ATD).

Today’s Trucking / February 9, 2017 Kenworth has included two Canadians on its eight-member 2017 Dealer Council that represents the company’s 380 dealerships. Boyd McConnachie of Inland Kenworth in Burnaby, British Columbia, and Mike Nagle of Bayview Kenworth in St. John, New Brunswick, will work alongside other dealer executives. McConnachie is the vice president of Inland Kenworth, and Nagle is a dealer principal. The council supports Kenworth PremierCare and Kenworth PremierCare Gold certified programs.

Transport Topics / February 9, 2017 Components supplier Dana saw fourth-quarter net income surge as a result of a tax benefit and a 5% increase in revenue compared with the same period in 2015. Net income for the period ended Dec. 31 was $489 million, or $3.34 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $79 million, or 54 cents, in the fourth quarter of 2015. The 2016 results included a $490 million tax benefit compared with a tax expense of $92 million in the same period of 2015. Sales totaled $1.45 billion, compared with $1.38 billion in same period of 2015. Benefits from the stronger global light-vehicle market were partially offset by weaker demand in the commercial-vehicle and off-highway markets. Net income for the full-year was $653 million, or $4.38, compared with $180 million, or $1, in 2015. Sales were $5.8 billion, $234 million lower compared with 2015, primarily due to unfavorable currency translation, the company said.

Transport Topics / February 9, 2017 Cummins posted higher fourth-quarter net income and slightly lower revenue. Net income for the period ended Dec. 31 jumped to $378 million, or $2.25 per diluted share, compared with $161 million, or 92 cents, a year earlier. “Despite weak conditions in a number of our largest markets, Cummins delivered fourth-quarter results that were a little better than expected due to our strong market share in on-highway markets in North America and the benefits of our cost reduction work,” said Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger. Revenue was $4.5 billion, down 6% from the same quarter in 2015, largely reflecting lower commercial truck production in North America and weak global demand for industrial engines and power-generation equipment. It shipped 18,500 heavy-duty engines in the quarter, down from 24,300 a year earlier. Medium-duty shipments were 58,000, down 1,700 engines from a year earlier. The Environmental Protection Agency has certified Cummins’ full range of heavy- and medium-duty diesel engines as meeting the 2017 greenhouse gas-emission standards. Net income attributable to Cummins for the full year was $1.39 billion, or $8.23, compared with $1.4 billion, or $7.84, in 2015. Revenue for the full year 2016 was $17.5 billion, 8% lower than in 2015.

Green Car Congress / February 9, 2017 Allison Transmission Holdings and Cumminshave received certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for model year 2017 Allison Hybrid H 40 EP / H 50 EP hybrid propulsion systems paired with the Cummins B6.7 and L9 diesel engines used in transit buses and coaches. http://www.allisontransmission.com/docs/default-source/marketing-materials/sa5983en-h40-50-ep1BCB31AC06C2F2B94ACCEED0.pdf?sfvrsn=4 Originally issued by the ARB in 2014, the dual Executive Order (EO) is required to be reviewed for renewed eligibility on a model year basis. The paired Allison Hybrid EP systems and Cummins engine is used in both straight and articulated transit buses. The Allison H 40/50 EP has been proven to improve fuel economy up to 25% over similar diesel buses. Additionally, its regenerative braking capability can significantly extend the brake change interval by as much as 350%. The Cummins B6.7 is rated at 280 hp (209 kW) while the L9 is rated at 330 hp (246 kW) for the transit bus market. Since 2003, Allison has delivered nearly 8,000 hybrid propulsion systems which have accumulated nearly 800 million miles, saving more than 41 million gallons of fuel and preventing 400 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Related reading - http://ir.allisontransmission.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=227924&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=2244260

Reuters / February 9, 2017 Daimler trucks chief Wolfgang Bernhard, a maverick manager once seen as a successor to CEO Dieter Zetsche, has made clear he does not want his contract extended, German magazine Der Spiegel said. Bernhard's contract is due to expire in February 2018. Spiegel said supervisory board members, who were going to discuss extending Bernhard's contract at a meeting on Friday, were surprised to learn that Bernhard, 56, would not stay on if offered an extension. Bernhard's skills as a turnaround manager landed him top divisional jobs such as head of Mercedes-Benz cars, Chrysler and as CEO of the Volkswagen passenger car business in a wide ranging career in the auto industry. But last year Daimler extended Zetsche's contract by three years, a move that effectively ruled out Bernhard as a potential successor. Bernhard will be close to 60 in 2019 when Daimler is due to choose its next chief executive. In February last year, Daimler also promoted Ola Kaellenius, a 46-year-old Swede, to become board member for R&D, a move that company insiders say made him a natural heir to Zetsche.

Reuters / February 9, 2017 President Donald Trump’s “wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internal report seen by Reuters on Thursday. The report’s estimated price-tag is much higher than a $12-billion figure cited by Trump in his campaign and estimates as high as $15 billion from Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The report is expected to be presented to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly in coming days. The plan lays out what it would take to seal the border in three phases of construction of fences and walls covering just over 1,250 miles (2,000 km) by the end of 2020. With 654 miles (1,046 km) of the border already fortified, the new construction would extend almost the length of the entire border. Many cost estimates and timelines have been floated since Trump campaigned on the promise of building a wall. The report seen by Reuters is the work of a group commissioned by Kelly as a final step before moving forward with requesting U.S. taxpayer funds from Congress and getting started on construction. The first phase would be the smallest, targeting sections covering 26 miles (42 km) near San Diego, California; El Paso, Texas; and in Texas's Rio Grande Valley. The report assumes DHS would get funding from Congress by April or May, giving the department sufficient time to secure contractors and begin construction by September. Trump has said Congress should fund the wall upfront, but that Mexico will reimburse U.S. taxpayers. Mexico has said it will not pay. Several U.S. congressional delegations are visiting the border this month to assess funding needs. The U.S. government has begun seeking waivers to address environmental laws on building in some areas, and has begun working with existing contractors and planning steel purchases for the project. Trump told law enforcement officials on Wednesday, "The wall is getting designed right now." The report accounted for the time and cost of acquiring private land, one reason for its steep price increase compared to estimates from Trump and members of Congress. Uncertainties around the project could drive its cost up to as much as $25 billion. The second phase of construction proposed in the report would cover 151 miles (242 km) of border in and around the Rio Grande Valley; Laredo, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; El Paso, Texas and Big Bend, Texas. The third phase would cover an unspecified 1,080 miles (1,728 km), essentially sealing off the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

Where do America's illegal immigrants live? BBC / February 9, 2017 Out of America's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants almost 7 million live in the nation's 20 largest metro areas, according to a report by Pew Research Center. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38914536

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The Economic Times / February 8, 2017 Export oriented forging companies such as Bharat Forge, Ramkrishna Forgings and MM Forgings are back on investors' radar, thanks to signs of recovery in the heavy truck market in North America. Exports to North America constitute nearly 25-40% of the total sales of these companies. Reflecting the mood, stocks of forging companies have surged 8-15% in the past one month as orders for heavy trucks to the US have picked up. The order inflows of Class 8 order -an indicator of heavy truck sales to North America -gained 20% year-on-year to 21,600 units in January . This is the second time in the past two years that order inflows of such trucks have posted a growth. According to Freight Transportation Research, US fleet operators are more confident about the market conditions now than they were four months back and fleet rates have started improving since December. Also, Paccar, a US commercial vehicle maker, has indicated that dealers are turning positive and expecting a better 2017. Bharat Forge is expected to gain the most among the forging companies due to the sheer size of its operations. It is expected to post 5% and 15% growth in FY18 and FY19, respectively . The management of Ramkrishna Forgings appears to be the first to sense an improvement. In the September quarter earnings concall, its management said that they expect export volumes to recover. Chennai-based MM Forgings got nearly 25% of the total revenue from the US in the last fiscal. It is ramping up its capacity to 65,000 metric tonnes by the end of this fiscal compared with 53,000 MT, currently . Imposition of border tax in the US could be a near-term risk. However, due to the nature of the US forging industry, full substitution may not be possible. Hence, some impact could be shared by the vehicle makers. Bharat Forge may be the least impacted as it recently acquired Walker Forge and this facility may be used for local production.

Big Rigs / February 9, 2017 Right now, as I write these words, there are thousands of truck drivers taking a rest over a steering wheel, stretched out for 20 minutes in a sleeper, driving and looking at the road ahead through tired eyes. Sure, this is not every truck driver, but right now in a snapshot of time, it represents a fair percentage. We all have our ways of fighting fatigue... and a fight it is. If we lose, we die. There are truck loads of experts pontificating on the causal factors of dangerous fatigue, often with little reference to the people with most experience, the people with a long history of driving trucks safely. The general transport media runs commentary from associations and groups, from people who have a distaste for the smell of diesel rather than embracing it. There have been many studies, reports, commissions that have looked into deaths on the road with a focus on the part that fatigue plays. The arguments still go on, commissions are formed, new bodies are established and still the search continues looking for an answer that is often plain to see. And still drivers are dying on our roads. The water is muddied because of vested interests and differing points of view stop the realisation of any answers that could have real meaning and save lives on the road. Transport workers dying in one of the most dangerous occupations in Australia seem to take second place to the arguments and vested interests of the industry's so-called leaders. NatRoad continues to call for further investigations, and over the past weeks is in a defensive mode apparently concerned by the challenges of the Transport Workers Union, frightened apparently by a push for safer conditions that might cost members a small cut of the profit cake. The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) is dancing around yet another, and potentially valuable, research project into fatigue as if this has never happened before. The Federal Government's position is reflected in Kate Carnell's Ombudsman report handed down last September after an inquiry into the RSRO / RSRT debacle. The Feds vest their interest and position in the National Heavy Vehicle Law legislation even though it has been taken up by only two-thirds of the Australian land mass. The Transport Workers Union fights for better conditions, which is a good thing, but has what seems to be an obsession on pay rates to drivers and owner-drivers as a fix-all snake oil cure for fatigue. The tiny membership of the National Road Freighters Association cites the example of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, jurisdictions that have refused to sign up to the National Heavy Vehicle Law. All these associations, bodies and jurisdictions each have their own take on fatigue and rightfully so. As the Transport Workers Union points out, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers handed down 12 months ago found that rules tackling the root causes of risks to safety in trucking, including fatigue, would cut truck crashes by 28 per cent. The union said the government chooses to ignore its own research to the detriment of every truck driver and every road user in the country. There is good reason that the NRFA members lean towards the NT and WA, because the legislation in those jurisdictions is not prescriptive. As a writer and truck driver, I understand this with modest experience of heavy vehicle long haul driving well up into seven figures of kilometres driven. I have an innate resistance to log books and set driving times. Is this some DNA aberration being passed down from a convict ancestry or some such thing? No, I don't think so. My body tells me when it is tired and I have stayed alive by listening to my body. Talking to many drivers on the road, I'm not alone with this view. I don't want to be told that I can drive now, that I must stop now for 15 minutes. And with the rules in place, owners and operations managers must demand drivers to drive to rules. There is a body of anecdotal evidence that this prescriptive driving regulation is one of the biggest killers on the road. The prescriptive regulations could be, well, deregulated. We live with governments that can deregulate entire industries, dairy and wheat come to mind. This wouldn't mean the end of regulation, just its prescriptive nature. There can still be limited driving times in a 24 hour period, in a seven day period ensuring adequate rest time. Electronic monitoring, in spite of what the Canberra-based associations might suggest is no longer a huge cost, certainly cheaper than draconian log book fines. Eleven hour or 14 hour driving days exactly as today, but how that driving time is distributed could be up to the individual and the unique circumstances of a human body and psyche. A driver might grab three hours only a couple of hours after setting out from home. I know I've done this once or twice, makes the rest of the run a breeze. The flexibility is a safety measure. In the Northern Territory many big fleets demand drivers stop between midnight and daylight, livestock fleets included, making use of the most valuable sleep time for the driver - not a stupid idea even if it does clog up the parking bays during that time. Meanwhile the TWU and NatRoad, NHVR, governments state and federal, ATA and NRFA all ride their particular fatigue ponies making the whole thing a mess and truck drivers still die. This is a matter of life and death and perhaps it's time for governments and representative bodies to stop and listen to the professionals in the million mile club, they haven't stayed alive because of regulation.

Daimler Gains on Car, Bus Lines, But Truck-Making Lags Transport Topics / February 2, 2017 Daimler AG had a strongly profitable fourth quarter to top off a year of modest improvements, but the growth came from the sale of Mercedes-Benz cars and buses, while the global truck division reported double-digit contractions in operating profit and revenue for both the quarter and the year. In the most recent quarter, Daimler Trucks earned the equivalent of $374.4 million on revenue of $9.13 billion. In the 2015 fourth quarter the division had an operating profit of $690.9 million on revenue of $11.03 billion. Quarterly operating margin for truck making declined to 4.1% from 6.3%. “The negative development of earnings was primarily the result of sharply decreased unit sales in the Nafta region, Turkey, the Middle East, Latin America and Indonesia. Earnings were also reduced by intense competition in Europe,” the company said of its truck division in a Feb. 2 earnings statement. The truck unit is Daimler’s second-largest manufacturing business behind cars, but ahead of vans and buses. Daimler also has a large financial services division. Daimler is the world’s largest truck maker. For all of Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler, the company earned the equivalent of $2.38 billion, or $2.17 a share, on quarterly revenue of $44.24 billion. In the 2015 fourth quarter the company had net income of $2.05 billion, or $1.85, on revenue of $44.27 billion. Looking forward, management expects truck sales this year will be roughly similar to those in 2016, with the second half of the year better than the first six months. The company said its North American truck sales this year will be driven “by the new Freightliner Cascadia, the flagship in the North American market, which went into production at the beginning of 2017.” Daimler Trucks global investment was $1.33 billion in 2016, up from $1.22 billion the year before, the company said. For the year the truck division earned $2.16 billion on revenue of $36.74 billion, down from 2015 when it earned $2.86 billion on revenue of $41.71 billion. Daimler AG’s full-year revenue rose to $169.66 billion from $165.91 billion in 2015.

Scania Group Press Release / February 8, 2017 Scania will start its first field tests of coming battery electric buses in the northern Swedish city of Östersund. Three Scania Citywide LF buses will be in operation from the end of 2017 with an additional three buses added in early 2019. “Östersund, with its seasonal climate of cold winters and moderately warm summers, is the ideal location for testing performance in actual operations,” says Anna Carmo e Silva, Head of Scania Buses and Coaches. “The trials constitutes the initial stage in the ongoing development of battery electric buses.” Scania presently offers the widest range of buses and coaches for alternative fuels, including biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and hybrid electric buses. “By adding battery electric buses, we will further strengthen our focus on sustainable transport and complement this broad range with buses particularly for inner-city operations,” adds Carmo e Silva. Two new charging stations will be built in Östersund to supply the six buses at both ends of the 14-kilometre (8.7 miles) major bus line. With 10-minute charging, buses will run every 15 minutes for a total of 100 journeys each day. “The introduction of battery electric buses here is really exciting,” says Project Manager Anne Sörensson, City of Östersund. “They will contribute to our aim of achieving fossil-free transport by 2030.” The trials will be carried out in collaboration with public authorities, including the City of Östersund and Region Jämtland Härjedalen’s Public Transport Authority, and the publically owned energy supplier Jämtkraft. The buses will be operated by Nettbuss, a subsidiary of the Norwegian State Railways, NSB, which is the second largest bus operator in the Nordic countries. .