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Eduard Nikolayev wins the third stage of the rally "Dakar-2017" KamAZ Trucks / January 5, 2017 Press attaché team "KAMAZ-master" Eric Khairullin transfers from Jujuy (Argentina): - Stage "Tucuman - Jujuy" was the first real off-road test for the participants of the rally "Dakar". Special stage in a total length of 199 kilometers consisted of two segments separated by a 300-kilometer area of neutralization. Laid in the foothills of the Andes route was much more interesting than yesterday's, both in terms of piloting, and in terms of navigation. The second part of the race took place at altitudes of over 3,800 meters, surrounded by picturesque mountains and canyons, along the beds of dried up rivers and along the narrow mountain serpentine. Participants could even make out in the mist "tops of" San Martin. With the best time at the finish of the first SU (75-km) was marked by Eduard Nikolaev. Literally in seconds for him to follow Martin Coloma (TATRA) and Tony Genugten (IVECO). With the unexpectedly large backlog finished the first part of the race, Gerard de Rooy (31 minutes, 40 seconds). Already at the bivouac, the Dutch have explained that there were two punctures, due to problems with the paging system had to change wheels twice. Generally, the busiest day was full of adventure for almost all participants. The car Dmitry Sotnikov had a broken rear shock. The track is full of holes. In the words of Eduard Nikolaev, it was "our native Astrakhan, only fesh-fesh added." "There were very dangerous overtaking, miraculously slipped, so as not to offend jeeps, - said Edward after the finish. - The second part went to the highlands. It immediately felt and cars, and people. But this year we have specially prepared engines to the heights, and it is clear that there is an improvement. In addition, the second part of today's route was quite fast and twisty. It helped us to reflow in order to improve weight distribution, for example, we have changed the placement of the spare wheel, it was good for. " Some bad luck haunts crew Airat Mardeeva. Started guys quite well. From the start we toured three trucks, but at some point in the dust flew, and fell into a rut. According to Airat, at this moment the windshield and the whole car is literally covered with dust wave. For safety reasons, in order not to commit collision in conditions of zero visibility, the pilot decided to stop to wait until the dust clears, "I just stopped, not even buried. But the move has failed. I had to pull the truck in tow. Rescued Mathias Berenguer. I thank him very much. 11 minutes, unfortunately, lost. " Then Mardeeva crew got into a bunch of little of jeeps and trucks, sought a navigation point on the 20-kilometer. I had to go around cars stuck. Many nullah had one way out, and he was busy run down truck or jeep. About that same ill-fated checkpoint told us more Robert Amatych, navigator crew Anton Shibalova (№515): «Many are sorted pretty quickly, but managed to make tracks for those who came here later. The WPC - a new kind of control point in the year, which is "open" (signal of its capture is visible on the navigation device of the organizers established in the cockpit before the navigator - ed..) Within a radius of 300 meters. And when you go on the road course, this point is still somewhere in the side, before the arrow indicates the direction of managerial GPS to it. This year, it is not, this is done on purpose to complicate the work of navigators. We lost in this place for 7-10 minutes. " Prior to that, the crew of Anton Shibalova had to change a wheel. It took about another 12 minutes. The first loss in the team Renault. First, at the start I did not come out Gert Huzink. Yesterday, almost before the finish of his truck collided with a sporty SUV. Broken cabin and apparently with steering problems after hitting did not allow him to continue the race today. At the time of sending this press release is not finished, Martin van den Brink on the bonnet Renault Sherpa. Who was riding behind him while Dmitry Sotnikov, suggested that the Dutchman engine problems: "First of silencing billowed black smoke, then it became white. It is obvious problems with the engine or gasket is punched, and the water goes into the cylinders, valve or burned and in which a cylinder is no combustion and unburned diesel fuel is ejected. " rally-marathon organizers of "Dakar-2017" was fined three minutes of Czech rider Martin Coloma acting standings trucks, after the third stage. As a result, Coloma dropped from first to second place in the final standings, and became the leader of the pilot "KAMAZ-master" Eduard Nikolaev. In addition, because of the fine Ton van Genuten dropped to 12th place, and Martin Matsik from 11 th to 16 th, in the end, Anton Shibalov climbed to 10 th place in the standings trucks. At the end of three days of the race, Eduard Nikolaev led the general classification table cargo classification. Dmitry Sotnikov - in the sixth position (00: 11: 12). Anton Shibalov - the tenth (00: 21: 16), Airat Mardeev - fourteen (00: 35: 02). Today, January 5, the riders will be the fourth stage of "San Salvador de Jujuy - Tupisa", a total length of 521 km special stage length - 416 km. According to organizers, about 3,500 meters to reach Dakar "cruising altitude", in which contestants will have to go for six days. The first dunes that appear at this altitude, require crews to show all his skill to overcome them. In co-drivers will not have time to relax, waiting for their frequent change of direction in the Bolivian part of the special stage. The results in the third stage classification T4 A place participants A country Truck Result lag 1 Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov Russia Kamaz 2:45:51 - 2 Martin Coloma René Kilian David Kilian Czech Republic TATRA 2:49:39 00:03:48 3 Federico Villagra Jorge Perez Andres Memi Argentina IVECO 2:50:24 00:04:33 4 Sergey Vyazovich Paul Garanin Andrew Zhigulin Byelorussia MAZ 2:51:27 00:05:36 5 Hans Stacey Serge Bryuynkens Van der Vaeth Netherlands- Belgium MAN 2:57:29 00:11:38 6 Peter Verslёys Marcel Pronk Arthur Klein Netherlands Netherlands Germany MAN 2:57:41 00:11:50 7 Dmitry Sotnikov Igor Leonov Ruslan Akhmadeev Russia Kamaz 2:58:26 00:12:35 10 Anton Shibalov Robert Amatych Ivan Romanov Russia Kamaz 3:03:02 00:17:11 12 Ton van Genugten Anton van Limpt Der Kinder Netherlands IVECO 3:06:52 00:21:01 13 Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dm. whistlers Russia Kamaz 3:07:46 00:21:55 15 Ales Loprais Tomanek Strauss Czech Republic TATRA 3:15:46 00:29:55 18 Gerard de Rooy Darek Rodewald Torrallardona Netherlands- Poland- Spain IVECO 3:20:07 00:34:16 Final classification T4 A place participants A country Truck Result lag 1 Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov Russia Kamaz 5:57:56 00:00:00 2 Martin Coloma René Kilian David Kilian Czech Republic TATRA 6:00:23 00:02:27 3 Federico Villagra Jorge Perez Andres Memi Argentina IVECO 6:02:03 00:04:07 4 Sergey Vyazovich Paul Garanin Andrew Zhigulin Byelorussia MAZ 6:03:03 00:05:07 5 Peter Verslёys Marcel Pronk Arthur Klein Netherlands Netherlands Germany MAN 6:08:43 00:10:47 6 Dmitry Sotnikov Igor Leonov Ruslan Akhmadeev Russia Kamaz 6:09:08 00:11:12 7 Hans Stacey Serge Bryuynkens Van der Vaeth Netherlands- Belgium MAN 6:09:17 00:11:21 10 Anton Shibalov Robert Amatych Ivan Romanov Russia Kamaz 6:19:12 00:21:16 eleven Ales Loprais Tomanek Strauss Czech Republic TATRA 6:28:28 00:30:32 12 Ton van Genugten Anton van Limpt Der Kinder Netherlands IVECO 6:21:16 00:32:18 13 Gerard de Rooy Darek Rodewald Torrallardona Netherlands- Poland- Spain IVECO 6:31:00 00:33:04 14 Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dm. whistlers Russia Kamaz 6:32:58 00:35:02 .

Automotive Business / January 5, 2016 The Brazilian Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA) says heavy vehicle sales should return to growth in 2017 after three consecutive years of decline. ANFAVEA expects a 6.4 percent sales increase this year resulting in 65,600 heavy trucks and buses. Brazil saw 61,700 new vehicle registrations in 2016, almost 30% lower than the previous year. "There will be growth because the base is very low," says ANFAVEA vice president, Luiz Carlos de Moraes. The expected sales rise represents about 4,000 to 5,000 units more than 2016: "We are talking about an average of 500 more units for each automaker this year." A key factor is the need of fleets to replace aging trucks: "The reductions that have occurred in recent years have been very drastic; We still have older fleets, there should be a moderate renewal, "Moraes argues. Adding to this is the expectation for the next crop season, also capable of stimulating some market niches. In addition, Moraes cites the signaling of interest rate reductions, which may help in reducing inflation and, consequently, in a gradual improvement in the economic scenario. "The government also signaled infrastructure announcements by the end of the first half. Even if moderately, there will be growth, "he argues. If ANFAVEA is optimistic about 2017, 2016 is a year to forget: truck registrations totaled just 50,500 units, returning to the 1999 level. With a market well below the country’s truck manufacturing capacity, the production of trucks in 2016 was 18.2% below the previous year, closing with 60,600 units. In the bus chassis segment, the scenario was no different: in 2016, with a little more than 11,100 new buses registered, a decline of 33.5 percent. While domestic sales declined, bus chassis exports rose 33.2 percent to 9,700 units. However, production was still 13 percent lower than in 2015, when it totaled 18,700 units.

Car 2 Finishes 21st Despite a Tire Flat in the First Off-Road Segment ofthe Year. Car 1 Also Finishes the Stage at 36th in Great Shape. On January 4, Stage3 San Miguel de Tucuman (Argentina) - San Salvador de Jujuy (Argentina) Liaison: 164km, SS(A): 75km, Neutral Zone: 291km, SS(B): 124km, Liaison: 103km Total: 757km The itinerary for Jan. 4 took contestants to the foothills of the Andes in the northeastern part of the country where they raced two SSs with a total SS distance of 199km in the last Argentine stage in the first half of the rally. Upon leaving Tucuman, racers traveled on a 164km liaison route to the start line of the first SS in the foothills of the Andes at an elevation of 1800m. The SS challenged contestants with the first off-road terrain where they drove over wastelands with no roads. Some areas were reminiscent of Africa featuring sandy terrain with grass outcrops and dried river beds. The total SS distance for the Trucks category was 75km shorter than that for other categories (other categories raced for 240km). This also meant that trucks had to travel a longer, 291km, neutral zone from the finish line of the first SS to the start line of the second. In this neutral zone, contestants passed the 4960m point, the highest point of elevation in this year's Dakar Rally. This was followed by the second SS which was 124km long and set in highlands at 3500m+ elevations. After the SS finish line, racers headed down from the mountains on a 103km liaison route before reaching the bivouac at Jujuy which was set up in a parking lot by the side of a national highway. The total distance traveled this day was 757km. The two HINO500 Series trucks fielded by HINO TEAM SUGAWARA continued to deliver stunning performance on the day's course which challenged racers with an amped up level of difficulty. The Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura crew piloting Car 2 delivered error-free performance in segments that were particularly challenging for navigators. But later in the day, the truck suffered a flat upon hitting a tree stump, losing about 15 minutes replacing the tire. After this, the truck had a great run to the finish line under high elevation conditions, finishing 21st in the overall trucks category and top in the Under 10-litre Class. This brought the truck's accumulated standings so far to 20th place (preliminary). Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi finished the first SS in 40th place, and finished the day at 36th overall and second place in the Under 10-litre Class. This brought their accumulated standings so far to 34th place (preliminary). The itinerary for Jan. 5 will take contestants across the border into Bolivia where they will be racing a long 416km SS on their way to Tupiza. Teruhito Sugawara: I think we could have finished at a better standing had it not been for the flat. While that is regrettable, the engine felt powerful even under high-altitude conditions so the driving felt really good. I'm excited for the highland stages that are scheduled to begin tomorrow. Hiroyuki Sugiura: In terms of navigation, the fesh-fesh (powdery sand) made it quite challenging to make sure that we passed the waypoints. The flat was frustrating, but things went very well otherwise. Hiroyuki Azuma: Myself and other mechanics worked on the team in July in the Silk Way Rally, so we do have on-site experience, but it is much more hectic to be honest in the Dakar Rally because we have two trucks to service. We'll be facing back-to-back days where it can be difficult to complete our servicing by morning, so we’ll give it our best. Koji Nakamura: Mr. Azuma and myself play a backup role on the team where we would support work on whichever truck is in need of more hands. I've only worked on-site for two days so far and I'm still in the process of getting accustomed physically, so I hope to get up to speed asap. Junya Inoue: As the mechanic in charge of Car 2, I feel a great sense of responsibility as well as some pressure in doing my work. That said, we haven't come across any major problems so far, and I'm doing fine physically. Kenji Kunimoto: I'm in charge of Car 1. We aren't seeing any notable problems with the truck as its specs have been honed and matured. I'm a bit concerned as we head into high-altitude regions, and I've started taking altitude sickness pills. .

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / January 5, 2017 .

Dakar 2017: Flat tyres cost De Rooy time but Villagra puts IVECO on the podium in very challenging stage Iveco Trucks Press Release / January 5, 2017 The third stage of the 2017 Dakar Rally proved to be a great challenge in navigation for the crews of all categories. Although their route was shorter than the other classes', Trucks demonstrated their abilities in the ascent to San Salvador de Jujuy on tracks 4,000 metres above sea level. The 199 kilometres of the stage were divided into two sections, where the difficult conditions of the dry riverbeds in the first portion and the great altitude of the second posed the greatest challenge. Gerard de Rooy, PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO Team leader, had issues with his tyres. Already in the first part of the stage, three tyres deflated and he was unable to inflate them quickly due to a failure in the system. This cost the team more than half an hour and, when they arrived to the connecting section, they received two extra tyres from Wuf van Ginkel, who also provides direct assistance to his IVECO teammates. "The system broke down. Because of that three tyres deflated," explained De Rooy. The team swapped two tyres with the spare wheels they had with them, but for the third one, "we had to stop six times to pump it manually. Van Ginkel gaves us two new tyres, so that we were able to continue safely in the second part, with new tyres in reserve." The 2016 champion team lost 34m16s, finishing 33m37s behind the leader, and in 18th position in the overall classification. Ton van Genugten started the day by taking the lead in Waypoint 1 (WP1), but the Dutchman in the IVECO Trakker lost some time in the following points and was penalised with 20 minutes after the stage for having jumped one of the Waypoints. This meant that he lost the third place and fell back to 12th in the stage and in the overall classification. In spite of this, Van Genugten gave the best performance of the PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO team. After assisting Gerard de Rooy, Wuf van Ginkel continued on his way to 10th place, but was also handed a penalty for the same reason as his teammate. In the end he was classified in 16th position and lost his Top 20 position in the combined times. After the penalties and with another Iveco Powerstar, Federico Villagra sealed a neat stage to secure Van Genugten's third position, 4m33s behind the best time of the stage, securing the provisional third place in the overall classification as well. The 2017 Dakar Rally will cross the border to Bolivia, where competitors will have to cope with the altitude, desert and big temperature variations. Thursday the vehicles will have a 416 kilometre drive at more than 3,000 metres above sea level to reach Tupiza. Stage 3 Results – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 2h45m51s 2. Martin Kolomy (Tatra) + 3m48s 3. Federico Villagra (IVECO) + 4m33s 4. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) + 5m36s 5. Hans Stacey (MAN) + 11m38s ----------- 12. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) + 21m01s 16. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) + 33m33s 18. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) + 34m16s Overall Classification – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 5h57m56s 2. Martin Kolomy (Tatra) + 2m27s 3. Federico Villagra (IVECO) + 4m07s 4. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) + 5m40s 5. Peter Versluis (MAN) + 11m20s ----------- 12. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) + 32m18s 13. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) + 33m04s 22. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) + 1h14m40s

DOT Secretary nominee Elaine Chao to testify before Senate, cites infrastructure as key DOT concern Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / January 5, 2017 Elaine Chao, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Department of Transportation, will appear before a Senate committee next week as part of the nomination and confirmation process for Trump’s incoming administration. The Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a nomination hearing Jan. 11 to question Chao prior to voting on her confirmation. Trump named Chao as his pick for Secretary of Transportation in late November. She was Secretary of Labor during the entirety of President George W. Bush’s presidency, 2001-2009. In a questionnaire given to Chao by the Senate ahead of her hearing, Chao says the top priorities for her DOT will be infrastructure repairs and expansions, bridging the disparities between urban and rural transportation and “good stewardship on behalf of the American people.” “This means effective enforcement of safety measures; getting the most benefit from the Department’s expenditures, including strengthening its planning and acquisition practices; and preparing for the future by considering new technologies in our infrastructure,” Chao wrote. The hearing will be held at 10:15 a.m. Eastern time in Room 253 of the Senate’s Russell Building.

Outlook: Trucking regulations and the new administration Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / January 5, 2017 As Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office this month, many motor carriers are rightfully wondering how much change his administration will bring to the trucking industry. On the one hand, Trump’s unvarnished dislike of current trade agreements—the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is all but dead, and he’s publicly called into question sections of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—could potentially harm motor carriers. Much of the domestic freight hauled by trucks comes from trade activity. On the other, a “regulatory rollback” of sorts may be in store for several proposed rules (e.g., the speed limiter mandate) though ones already in place (e.g., electronic logging device requirement) may be left alone. David Kelly, a longtime automotive industry expert who served as acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under President George W. Bush and is now president of consulting firm Storm King Strategies, says whatever eventually happens regarding which rules stay and which ones go all boils down to the priorities set by the incoming administration. “Once a new administration comes in, everything that is pending is pulled; they stop working on them,” he explains. “Anytime you have a change in administration, even one with holdovers from a previous administration, you are going to have a change in priorities.” Kelly says advice given to him by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta bluntly illustrates that maxim. “He used to tell me, ‘At the end of the day, we are all staff,’ even the transportation secretary,” Kelly emphasizes. “Everyone has a higher pecking order; the only one who doesn’t is the president.” However, he adds that even presidential priorities must follow the rules of the regulatory game. And that means a rulemaking can’t become truly “final” until Congress has a chance to review it within 60 days, Kelly says. “When a new president comes in, all pending rulemakings that have not been finalized will be withdrawn pending an internal review,” Kelly explains. “So the date really isn’t Jan. 20—Inauguration Day—when any outstanding rule needs to be finalized. It was actually back on Nov. 20, 2016, when it needed to get published and sent to Congress before the 60-day review; otherwise, it becomes subject to a review by the new administration.” Avery Vise, president of consulting firm TransComply, anticipates that the long-awaited drug and alcohol clearinghouse posted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) back in early December should be safe. But others may be at risk, such as the following: ◗ Driver training: “On paper, it looks like everybody agrees because there was a negotiated rulemaking.” However, the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) are on opposite ends of the sprectrum when it comes to training. ATA is behind the published rule that includes performance-based training while OOIDA backs a minimum number of training hours and not based on the number of hours. ◗ Safety fitness determinations: “It’s not so much a partisan issue, as the whole proposal is greatly flawed. It’s not even clear that if Hillary Clinton had won the election that the rule would have proceeded.” ◗ Obstructive sleep apnea: “There are going to be some significant costs to carriers and potentially capacity-draining ramifications. I think we’re certainly going to go slow, and it may be shelved.” ◗ Speed limiters: “It’s somewhat more political than you would’ve expected. Now that it’s been proposed, the rule has become a lot more controversial than it might’ve been a decade ago [when ATA first petitioned for it]. In part, a lot of states have adopted higher speed limits, and putting speed limiters in will create a greater differential. That’s exacerbated by the fact that the proposal doesn’t even pick a speed and was very unclear. It’s particularly controversial in the Western states that have higher speed limits—and they’re very strongly in the Republican column.” ◗ Minimum insurance levels: “This is a proposal that really has died, even within the Obama administration. The trial lawyers are very close to the Democratic Party, and this is something that the community wanted. Higher minimums ultimately would lead to higher settlements and higher contingency fees. I put that as a virtual zero chance of happening.” The twist for trucking in all of this is that almost any list of priorities selected by Trump will impact the industry in some fashion, notes Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO. “When you move 70% of the nation’s domestic freight, there are few issues out there that we are not a part of either directly or indirectly,” he says. “Tax reform, trade, and infrastructure—we have a role to play in all of those issues.” For starters, he noted that the 10- year, $1-trillion infrastructure proposal put on the table by Trump late last year could be a big positive for the industry in a number of ways. “Infrastructure is our industry’s lifeblood. We need good infrastructure, and getting such a package passed is key right out of the gate,” Spear notes. “At least as proposed, that package will likely be tied to tax reform.” Spear says trade is another pivotal issue, as over 76% of NAFTA surface trade is carried by trucks. “Again, we have to help shape whatever trade proposals will look like,” he stresses. It depends When it comes to regulation, though, Spear says “it depends.” “We’re not afraid of regulations; we’re a very heavily regulated industry. But what we want are good, clear regulations that we can comply with without undue burden and a measurable return,” he points out. “Look at the Phase 2 greenhouse gas rules. They will define future efficiency for our industry and offer a measurable return for our investments. This is a win-win for us and the environment. “But where regulations don’t work, we’ll oppose them. For example, we will oppose the speed limiter rule [because] it’s a completely flawed approach.” In the end, he stresses, it “all really comes down to good give-and-take between industry and the regulators.” Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA, believes there’s been far more take than give in recent years where regulatory oversight of trucking is concerned. And he’s hopeful the changeover in administration might encourage a fresh look at highway safety as a whole. “The regulatory regime has been on steroids for the past few years. Is there a cumulative effect? There sure is,” he explains. “The kind of mind-set in the regulatory/legislative community right now is that more is better. But although there’s been more regulation and more compliance than there’s ever been, crash numbers keep going up, not down. So what the very people making all of these rules should be asking is, ‘What the hell is going on?’” This trend can be illustrated by data found in the Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2014 report issued by FMCSA in April of last year. From 1979 to 2009, total fatal crashes involving just large trucks and buses dropped from 6,007 to 3,193, a decline of 46%, or some 2,814 fatal crashes. But from 2009 to 2014—not quite a decade—fatal crashes increased from 3,193 to 3,649, an increase of 12%, or 456 crashes. According to preliminary data released by NHTSA last July, fatalities in crashes involving large trucks also increased by 4% during 2015, with 9 out of 10 regions within the United States reporting increases in traffic deaths for that year. “The [safety] system as it currently exists is missing everything; we’ve never had more regulations or compliance with regulations, yet crashes keep going up,” Spencer says. “At some point, you have to say time out. We have to ask what things are important. Enforcement and safety are not the same things; there’s no connection between more enforcement and fewer crashes.” Deceleration Sandeep Kar, global vice president of mobility for global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, also believes that a Republican-controlled Congress coupled with Trump’s presidency could mean a deceleration or “de-prioritization” of several regulations focused on trucking. Though hours-of-service regulations have long been unpopular among truckers, especially owner-operators, most industry observers expect them to be left unchanged since the regulatory focus of Trump’s administration in its first several months will likely be on issues concerning trade and immigration. “The ELD mandate, which is scheduled for introduction this year, will usher in a wave of digitization in trucking and also looks to remain unaffected as this mandate had strong Republican backing,” Kar adds. “Repealing it at this late stage seems unlikely.” Looking at it from a broader perspective, he stresses that few industries will face the impact—whether net positive or negative—of a Trump presidency as strongly as trucking, which he says is a “leading indicator of economic activity” and typically feels the effects of economic swings and fluctuations well before many other industries or sectors. “While the effect of the Trump administration’s legislative actions will be experienced primarily by the U.S. commercial vehicle industry, global market participants and markets will have much to note and consider,” Kar explains. “Most presidential transitions include reasonable certainties regarding upcoming policy priorities and changes that enable nations, markets, and industries to prepare for their impact,” he says. “Over the past several decades, proposed policy changes generally have had narrow boundaries. This time it is different, and it is going to be more different for trucking than ever before.” “Trump’s publicly stated stance on lowering corporate taxes will definitely have cascading effects on all aspects of U.S. and global industries.” - Sandeep Kar, global vice president of mobility, Frost & Sullivan “Lower corporate taxes would likely result in businesses considering either establishing or reshoring U.S. operations,” Kar emphasizes. “While on the surface this would appear to be great news for the U.S. trucking industry, it may not be as great for either U.S. or global truck manufacturers and suppliers. Lower corporate taxes will most likely drive service-based businesses to the U.S., which would be of less benefit to freight movement than a move of manufacturing operations.” Trade trends Another concern is that labor costs could spike as lower corporate taxes could drive inflation, resulting in wage hikes that would render the incentive of lower taxes much less effective. Moreover, Kar thinks the U.S. and many other economies are still unstable, with many nations skating dangerously close to recessionary boundaries. Thus, economic and trade policy changes could induce short-term recessionary spasms before a clearer and stable picture emerges, he says. Where trade is concerned, modifications or rejections of trade treaties, such as NAFTA or TPP, could adversely impact U.S. truck OEMs and their suppliers, he believes, as many manufacture and/or source materials from Mexico. But there may be a silver lining from that as well, Kar explains. “Several Asian OEMs in recent years have secured strong positions in light- and medium-duty truck markets, [and] new trade policies could hurt them, forcing more U.S. localization and higher taxation for market access—both of which will favor U.S.-based OEMs,” he notes. There is another positive, however. Expedited infrastructure refurbishment and/or enhancement projects and public-private partnerships focused on improving U.S. highways and freight movement infrastructure could have a net positive impact on freight and vehicle efficiencies, route congestion, and sales of off-highway vehicles if the administration implements many such projects immediately. “[But] this could prove difficult because funding [needs] could trigger higher taxes, and Trump has stated his opposition to increase the deficit to pay for his infrastructure plans,” Kar stresses. He points out that the U.S. leads other markets in developing and commercializing technologies, but he warns that any political policies that stifle innovation in digitization, Big Data analytics, information technologies, or mobile and wireless services could hold back the move into a new era for trucking. “Global freight mobility market fundamentals are slowly but surely being energized, new logistics models are being created, and freight efficiencies are being enhanced by commercial trucking’s digital transformation,” he explains. “All of that will disrupt commercial vehicle industry business models, result in the collapse of arcane and inefficient processes and technologies, and transform an industry that forms the backbone of U.S. and global economic activity,” Kar says.

Class 8 Truck Orders to See Expected Increase Heavy Duty Trucking / January 5, 2017 Class 8 truck net orders are projected to realize a significant increase in December, according to industry analysts. FTR had forecasted an increase in the last month of 2016 and based on early numbers, December will see a 10% gain over November. The solid order activity is in line with demand from the last two months, showing an upward trend in the Class 8 market. Month-to-month orders in the fourth quarter were very stable when discounting the higher cancellations in October, according to FTR. Class 8 backlogs are expected to increase significantly in the month as well, which will give the market momentum heading into 2017. “Another decent month that met expectations. Orders have been following stable, traditional, patterns for six months now, which is great news after the large drop-off in 2016,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “Production was weak in December, but based on the Q4 orders, it should begin a modest recovery in February.” Despite gains, order activity was still 24% below December, according to ACT Research. Net orders were at around 164,000 units for the year, but production was aided by a large backlog at the beginning of 2016. “The most recent economic news has been positive, so freight demand should keep orders propped up for a few more months,” said Ake. “2017 still looks to be a tough year, but now backlogs are growing and that means the worst should be behind us for now.” Medium-duty Class 5-7 orders hit an eight-month high in December, according to preliminary numbers from another analyst, who is projecting 20,600 units for the month. Combining medium- and heavy-duty orders for the year, he expects the full year tally to reach 415,600 units. “As December is historically the second-strongest order month of the year, seasonal adjustment reduces the month’s orders to 19,000 units,” he said. “For all of 2016, medium-duty orders of 228,500 units were a virtual carbon-copy of 2015’s net order intake, giving up 1.1% compared to 2015.”

Truck orders stable as 2016 ends Fleet Owner / January 5, 2017 December Class 8 orders were above projections, say analysts, though overall medium-duty demand remained on a downward trend. Class 8 and medium-duty orders made strong showings in December, according to preliminary data analysis, though medium-duty demand overall is declining, noted Michael Baudendistel, vice president with the Stifel Transportation & Logistics Research Group. Yet Baudendistel stressed that, for now at least, Stifel is maintaining its 2017 projections for 230,000 Class 8 and 230,000 Class 5-7 medium-duty units. “Fall order season closed out with December orders which were slightly above expectations, though still supportive of current 2017 production outlooks and not likely to lead to any significant change in estimates, in our view,” he explained in a research note this week. “Overall, we believe total orders for the month [of December] should be viewed as in line with relatively low expectations, with Class 8 slightly outperforming and Class 5-7 slightly underperforming expectations,” Baudendistel pointed out. “[It’s] perhaps encouraging that demand has not deteriorated any further.” Another analysts noted that demand for Class 8 units ended 2016 “on a positive note” with 21,400 units booked in December; the only month in 2016 in which orders rose above 20,000 units. However, year-over-year comparisons were negative, as Class 8 orders are down 24% in December 2016 compared to the same month in 2015. By contrast, medium duty Class 5-7 orders climbed to an eight-month high of 20,600 units back in December, though for all of 2016, medium-duty orders of 228,500 units were “a virtual carbon-copy” of 2015’s net order intake, giving up 1.1% compared to 2015. Stifel’s Baudendistel, though, noted that medium duty orders “have now declined for five consecutive months” and that following weak orders in November last (down 9% compared to November 2015), his firm reduced its 2017 medium-duty production estimate to 230,000 units from 235,000 units. “We are maintaining that forecast for now, though we believe persistent weakness in orders indicates there remains pressure to the downside on our recently-lowered forecast,” he added. That being said, Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles at research firm FTR, believes that Class 8 orders in particular “have been following stable, traditional, patterns for six months now,” and based on fourth quarter 2016 order volumes “should begin a modest recovery in February.” He added that the most recent economic news has been positive, so freight demand should keep truck orders propped up for a few more months. “[Though] 2017 still looks to be a tough year, backlogs are [now] growing and that means the worst should be behind us for now,” Ake said.

Transport Topics / January 5, 2017 Class 8 orders cleared 21,000 in December, ending the year on a solid but lukewarm note. Orders reached 21,400 units, down 24% year-over-year. In the 2015 period, orders were 28,150. December was the only month in 2016 in which orders rose above 20,000 units. In 10 months of 2015, orders climbed above 20,000, with two months clearing 30,000. Research company FTR pegged preliminary net orders at 21,200, calling the volume very consistent with the order demand of the past two months. Class 8 backlogs should rise significantly in results for December 2016, FTR said. Don Ake, FTR’s vice president of commercial vehicles, called the volume “decent” and said the demand “met expectations.” “Production was weak in December," Ake added, "but based on the Q4 orders, it should begin a modest recovery in February.”

Sears Buys Time With Craftsman Brand Sale, Store Closures The Wall Street Journal / January 5, 2017 Cash-strapped retailer will sell its brand of tools to Stanley Black & Decker for about $900 million Struggling retailer Sears Holdings Corp. has bought itself some breathing room through maneuvers that include the sale of its Craftsman brand for $900 million and the closure of 150 additional stores as it grapples with a prolonged sales slump and mounting losses. Sears has suffered through several weak quarters and warned Thursday that same-store sales fell as much as 13% in November and December. Over the past five years, Sears has booked $8.2 billion in cumulative losses. The moves by Sears Holdings this week coupled with the injection of $1 billion in financing from its controlling shareholder and CEO, Edward Lampert, helped shares climb off recent lows and reassured suppliers, who had grown increasingly uneasy over the retailer’s prospects. “Vendors had gotten really spooked,” said Gary Herwitz, a managing director of CoMetrics Partners, which advises companies that supply goods to Sears. “But now it seems that Sears bought themselves another year.” Its shares, which traded above $142 in April 2007 after adjusting for subsequent spinoffs, fell to a low of $8 last week. On Thursday, the stock was up 0.3% to $10.39 as of 4 p.m. trading. Sears has been cutting spending and selling off real estate to fund its operations, but its existing locations continue to struggle as shoppers spend more online and at other chains such as Wal-Mart and Target. Jim Loree, chief executive of Stanley Black & Decker Inc., which is buying Craftsman, acknowledged the risks on a conference call, particularly since 90% of Craftsman’s sales come from Sears-related stores. He said the company structured the deal to minimize its risks by assuming no contractual Sears credit risk and no obligation to supply Sears beyond current levels. The retailer bought Craftsman in 1927 for $500. “Eddie Lampert and his team at Sears Holdings have a compelling vision for the future of Sears, but they also have their share of challenges so there cannot be complete certainty about the future of Sears and what direction it might take,” Mr. Loree said. Sears will receive $525 million when the deal closes, $250 million after three years, plus annual payments over 15 years. Sears also said it would continue to shrink by closing 108 Kmart and 42 Sears stores, including the original Kmart location that opened in Garden City, Mich., in 1962. Over the past decade, Sears has closed, sold or spun off more than 2,000 stores. Lampert, a hedge-fund manager, took control of Kmart out of a bankruptcy proceeding and merged it with Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 2005. But the two retail chains, which had long been hampered by outdated stores and inefficient operations, have continued to languish despite Lampert’s efforts to spend more on technology and introduce services such as buy online, pick up in store. His firm owns more than 50% of the company’s shares and is a large creditor. Lampert said this week many of the stores that Sears will close this year have struggled with their financial performance but the company had kept them open to maintain local jobs and in hopes that they would rebound. The CEO also has been keeping the company afloat in recent years with asset sales and a series of loans. On Wednesday, affiliates of his hedge fund lent Sears $500 million backed by 46 real estate properties. That followed a $500 million secured letter of credit obtained the prior week. More asset sales are in the works. Sears said Thursday that its board has established a special committee to sell real estate with the goal of raising over $1 billion. It also has been exploring strategic options for its Kenmore appliance and DieHard battery brands. But unless Sears’s retail business returns to profitability, Mr. Lampert will run out of assets to sell. “There can be no illusion that there is any way to support a viable retail strategy,” said Mark Cohen, a former CEO of Sears Canada Inc., who left in 2004 over strategic differences and is now a professor at Columbia University. Lampert has long stated that his goal is to return Sears to profitability. At the same time, he has limited investments in physical stores, leaving many Sears and Kmart locations looking outdated. Sears has also been more aggressive than its peers in reducing inventory. According to an analysis by market research firm Haynes & Co., which visited stores in a dozen markets across the country during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, Sears had about 55% of the apparel on the floor that J.C. Penney carried. On the appliance front, Sears stocked double the number of refrigerator, microwave and washer/dryer models as Penney, which returned to the category in 2016. “By reducing our inventory investment and our payables, we have decreased the level of vendor support needed to run our business,” Sears said. Sears’s finance chief, Jason Holler, said last month that the retailer is focusing on big-ticket items, where it does better, while reducing its presence in apparel. Sears spent $348 million to build inventory heading into the recently completed holiday season, compared with more than $1 billion last year. By comparison, Penney, which has half the annual revenue, spent roughly $700 million.

The Washington Post / January 5, 2017 Former CIA director R. James Woolsey Jr., a veteran of four presidential administrations and one of the nation’s leading intelligence experts, resigned Thursday from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team because of growing tensions over Trump’s vision for intelligence agencies. “Effective immediately, Ambassador Woolsey is no longer a Senior Advisor to President-Elect Trump or the Transition. He wishes the President-Elect and his Administration great success in their time in office,” said Jonathan Franks, a spokesman for Woolsey. Woolsey said on Thursday night that he did not want to “fly under false colors” any longer. “I’ve been an adviser and felt that I was making a contribution….. But I’m not really functioning as an adviser anymore. When I’m on the [television] screen, everybody announces that I’m a former CIA director and that I’m a Trump adviser and I’m really not anymore.” Woolsey has been excluded in recent weeks from discussions on intelligence matters with Trump and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the incoming White House national security adviser. Woolsey had grown increasingly uncomfortable lending his name and credibility to the transition team without being consulted. Woolsey was taken aback by this week’s reports that Trump is considering revamping the country’s intelligence framework. “Jim is very uncomfortable being considered an adviser in an area where one might consider him an expert when he is not involved in the discussions,” one person close to Woolsey said. “To be called ‘senior adviser’ and your opinion is not sought is something he cannot handle.” Woolsey has been a key player in the national security firmament since the late 1970s, when he served as undersecretary of the Navy in the Jimmy Carter administration. He has held other roles under former presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, culminating with the post as director of the CIA between 1993 and 1995. Woolsey has been chafed at Trump’s loose style on Twitter. Woolsey is described as a “very principled” diplomat who takes care to communicate the right message with just the right words. “This is a guy [for whom] commas, periods, etc., all have special meaning,” a person said. Woolsey joined the Trump campaign last September, issuing a statement commending Trump’s plans to grow and modernize the military. “Mr. Trump understands the magnitude of the threats we face,” he said in the statement.

Associated Press / January 5, 2017 Brushing aside Donald Trump's dismissiveness, the nation's intelligence chief James Clapper (director of national intelligence) insisted Thursday that U.S. agencies are more confident than ever that Russia interfered in America's recent presidential election. And he called the former Cold War foe an "existential threat" to the nation. Shortly after Thursday's hearing, news leaked that Trump would soon name former Republican Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana to replace Clapper after the new president takes office. [If our employees in DC have evidence/proof, put it on the table for all to see, so we can make a judgement call and move on.] The intelligence agencies' classified report, which was shared with President Barack Obama on Thursday, identifies multiple motives for Russia's interference, Clapper said, but he did not provide details. [Saying they had a motive for doing it is not the same as having proof their hand was in the cookie jar. One can't help but wonder if this is disinformation designed to put distance between the issue and the actual hacker] Shortly after Thursday's hearing, Trump announced former Republican Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana will replace Clapper as Director of National Intelligence . "The media lies to make it look like I am against 'Intelligence' when in fact I am a big fan!" Trump tweeted Thursday.

Exported Mexican car production to the U.S. and Canada January thru November 2016 General Motors 495,790 units Nissan Motor Co. 464,877 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) 404,160 Ford 351,691 Toyota 124,439 (up 37% from the year-earlier period, but well behind other automakers)

Nikkei Asian Review / January 6, 2016 American President-elect Donald Trump challenged Toyota Motor on Twitter Thursday, writing that there was "NO WAY" the Japanese automaker could export its Corolla cars to the U.S. from a planned Mexican plant without a "big border tax." “Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax,” Trump wrote Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said Thursday that having established a plant in the region [Mexico] already, the company bore "responsibility for employment and local society" there, and indicated that he had no intention to change plans at present. The new plant is expected to begin production in 2019. Trump's message appears to have been in response to Toyoda's statement. Japanese automaker Honda likewise shows no signs of backing away from producing cars in Mexico. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Donald Trump just threatened Toyota — but it looks like he got the facts wrong The Washington Post / January 5, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump continued his Twitter tirade against the auto industry on Thursday, slamming Toyota for investing in Mexico but appearing to misstate key details of the company’s operations. Trump warned Toyota it could face hefty fines for building a plant in Baja, Mexico, to sell the popular Corolla sedan to American consumers. But Trump’s tweet looks to be incorrect: Toyota’s factory in Baja assembles Tacoma trucks. A new plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, will manufacture Corollas. (Wall Street Journal: The new plant, announced in April 2015, will produce around 200,000 Corolla compact cars a year for the North American market starting in 2019. Production of the Corolla will move from Cambridge, Ontario to the new plant in Mexico, although Corolla cars will continue to be built at Toyota’s plant in Mississippi. The Corolla is the second-best-selling compact car in the U.S. behind the Honda Civic, with Toyota delivering 360,000 in 2016.) (Automotive News: Toyota will continue to build the Corolla at its Blue Springs, Mississippi plant, which built 170,177 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2016. Toyota sold 360,483 Corollas in the U.S. last year, meaning Toyota would need to more than double its U.S. Corolla production capacity to maintain current sales level in the U.S. alone. Doing so would go against the plans to shift much of its car production to low-cost Mexico while building high-margin pickups, crossovers and SUVs in the higher-cost U.S.) That factory broke ground in November, and production is expected to begin in 2019. The work is being shifted to the plant from a facility in Canada. Toyota said Thursday that there is no change in employment and production in the United States as a result of the new operations. “Toyota has been part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 60 years,” Toyota said. “Toyota looks forward to collaborating with the Trump administration to serve in the best interests of consumers and the automotive industry.” This is the first time that Trump has warned that a foreign company could face similar repercussions. There is debate over whether Trump could unilaterally fulfill his campaign promises to levy blanket double-digit tariffs on imports from Mexico and China. Generally, that authority lies with Congress, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) opposes such measures. “No, we’re not going to be raising tariffs,” he said on Wednesday. “We think tax reform is the better way of addressing imbalances, leveling the playing field without starting trade wars, without having the adverse effects that you get with protectionism or trade wars.” Trump’s tweet came shortly after Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda said his company is “oriented in the same direction” as the United States. Toyota has invested nearly $22 billion into its U.S. operations and employs about 136,000 workers.

When you call the good folks at Watt's Mack (provider of the BMT website) at 1-800-304-6225, armed with your truck's model (RS612LST) and serial number, what did they say?

On Tuesday, September 14, 2016, Ford CEO Mark Fields said the automaker was going to shift Focus and C-Max production to Mexico. Today, after the dust has settled, Focus and C-Max production is still being shifted to Mexico. Ford’s Hermosillo plant produces the Fusion and slow selling Lincoln MKZ (a rebadged Fusion). The Fusion, the US market variant of the global market Mondeo, saw 265,840 U.S. sales in 2016, down from 300,170 in 2015. The lackluster Fusion/Mondeo-based MKZ saw just 30,534 U.S. sales (Resuscitated Lincoln will not succeed, but that’s another story) Now, Ford will spend money to expand its existing Hermosillo plant so as to accommodate Focus/C-Max production (Ford's mum on that), rather than build a separate new plant in San Luis Potosi. It's all smoke and mirrors. Ford says they cancelled the plant. Trump can voice success. Focus/C-Max production shifts to Mexico as planned. Big business and Trump win, while U.S. job creation is nixed. Ford would have had to hire more U.S. workers to build the Ranger, Bronco and electric/hybrid cars, as well as maintaining U.S. Focus/C-Max production. If Wayne continued to build the Focus/C-Max, Ford would have had to build a new factory in the U.S., stimulating the U.S. economy while adding to the tax base. Light vehicles with high volume sales in the U.S. market, the world’s second largest, should all be built in the U.S., to the benefit of “our” country’s economy. 168,789 Focus cars were sold in the U.S. market in 2016. That volume should dictate U.S. production. The equivalent of the VW Golf Sportsvan, the C-Max only saw 19,834 U.S. sales in 2016, due to poor promotion. Because the C-Max rides on the Focus platform, the C-Max must be produced alongside the Focus wherever that is.

Stage 2 Results MAZ Trucks Press Release / January 4, 2017 All the three crews of "MAZ-SPORTauto" team have finished the second stage of the rally-race Dakar-2017. This stage was successful for Siarhei Viazovich's crew no.511. As they finished in the 4th place, now they occupy the sixth position in the general ranking. Alexey Vishneuski's crew no.533 finished in 18th place and is at 21st position in the general ranking now. Alexander Vasilevski's crew no. 522 finished at 23rd place and thus they take 22nd line in the general ranking. The route of the third stage between San-Miguel-de-Tucuman and San-Salvador-de-Jujuy will lead the competitors to the highlands, where the height will be up to 5000 meters above sea level in some places. Besides, very hot weather which has already created difficulties to the competitors at the previous stage still remains. The startig time from bivouac for our first truck is 8.49 in local time. The total length of the stage is 757 km, including two specials - 75 and 124 km, divided by neutral zone of 291 km. Starting time of the crews at the third stage: 511 (S.Viazovich / P.Haranin / A.Zhigulin) - 11:39 (17:39 Minsk time) 522 (A.Vasilevski / D.Vikhrenko / A.Zaparoschanka) - 12:03 (18:03 Minsk time) 533 (A.Vishneuski / M.Novikau / A.Neviarovich) - 12:01 (18:01 Minsk time). .

"Africa Eco Race 2017": the second stage KamAZ Trucks / January 4, 2017 Traditionally, as often happened in the past of the African race, double victory for the team "Kamaz-Master" completed the second stage of the rally-raid "Africa Eco Race": crew Andrew Karginova come first "gas" KAMAZ Sergey Kupriyanov - second. The second phase of "Domain Mule - Tagunov" length of 393 km, 370 km special stage. Behind - the second stage of the rally-marathon "Africa Eco Race". Athletes traveled almost 370 km in "combat" mode and another 30 on public roads to the start and from the finish to the bivouac. Andrew Karginova crew team "KAMAZ-master" again came in first in the standings, "trucks", securing leadership in its category. "I am quite pleased with the stage. However, almost at the start, somewhere on the fifth kilometer special stage we punctured tire. They changed in six minutes and continued the race in a good, fast pace, although the track complex, lethal, "- said after the finish Karginov. The pilot of the second crew team "KAMAZ-master", acting on the Africa Eco Race, Sergei Kupriyanov, called the current stage "excellent." As he wrote in his Instagram: «The second stage behind! Today, passed without incident, went around a lot of cars on the road had everything! And sand dunes, and sand beds, and stones, and quick passes and bumpy roads! Today, the 10th in the absolute, 2nd (for Karginova) in trucks. We climbed in the classification of good, we will continue at this rate! ". "When everything is going well, there are no surprises, even desirable, that it lasted longer. Today, however, there was one time, in one place, we met two similar paths, we first went on one that was Levey, but realized that she was wrong, and rebuilt. And there gathered ten cars. We went to two trucks, jeeps, and several more have already took the lead ", - said Sergey Kupriyanov. Kupriyanov crew continues to "run in" on the African routes, new tires with special tread pattern. "In addition, these tires have greater rigidity. Sometimes, you will not notice anything on the road, we have to brake sharply, and as a result of tread blocks are cut. With these tires, nothing like this happens, and it's great, "- said the pilot Sergei Kupriyanov. This year the organizers of the rally "Africa Eco Race" are united top athletes in the categories of "Jeep" and "trucks". According to the pilot Andrew Karginova this innovation - a special "highlight" the current race. "Why not! If it is obtained, we will fight for the leadership. If not - zaymёm the place, which deserve ", - said the KAMAZ driver. After the first two stages of the African race crew Andrew Karginova ranked first in the standings, "trucks" and the second place in the absolute classification. Sergei Kupriyanov crew "trucks" category - the second place. On Wednesday, January 4, the rally-raid "Africa Eco Race" will continue in Morocco. The organizers planned to stage from Tagunov Assy length of 525 kilometers, of which 433 will be high-speed special stage. The level of complexity it will be comparable to the previous stage and begin to sand dunes, which can then withdraw combat crews to Yreka lake. The results of the second stage in the general classification T4 A place participants A country Truck Result 1 Andrew Karginov Andrew Mokeev Dmitri Nikitin Russia Kamaz 4:08:30 2 Sergei Kupriyanov, Alexander Kupriyanov Anatoly Tanin Russia Kamaz 00: 19: 39 3 Jaroslav Valtr Czech Republic TATRA 00: 20: 37 4 Tomas Tomeček Ladislav Lala Czech Republic TATRA 00: 46: 20 5 Miklos Kovacs Peter Chegledi He Tamas Hungary Scania 01: 04: 03

Steve Brooks, Australasian Transport News (ATN) / January 3, 2016 Victorian tipper operator Steve Tyquin takes great pride in all his gear but perhaps none more than a new A-double combination operating under Performance-Based Standards At a quick glance, there’s a lot to make you think life has been very good for Steve Tyquin for a very long time. The meticulously restored homestead on rolling farmland, the small but perfectly preserved collection of iconic Aussie cars, and the immaculate trucks and trailers. It’s all mightily impressive, and there’s no question pride pervades. Even the workshop and driver’s room are more museum than truckie’s hangout. Meet this big, burly bloke for the first time, though, and it’s soon apparent that the showpieces of success have not come without long labour or harsh lessons in the raw realities of commercial life. There are no silver spoons in this story. In fact, it’s an abrupt Steve Tyquin who concedes that the impacts of ‘the recession we had to have’ in the early 90s saw the small but ambitious Tyquin tipper business suddenly teeter close to the point of no return. "We were just starting to grow a bit but in what seemed like a heartbeat we went from three trucks back to one and I wasn’t even sure we would end up keeping one," he says bluntly. "It was a close thing. But you learn a lot if you get to survive things like that. "In my case, it definitely made me smarter and more careful, especially about borrowing money and the need to maintain good cash flow. It also teaches you to put money away, just in case." These days, he splits his time between a home office in Keilor East on Melbourne’s north-western fringe and the 12 hectare property and truck depot little more than a stone’s throw off the Calder Highway near Sunbury. Typically, the mobile phone is both constant companion and business lifeline, and the calls are incessant as customers, drivers and any one of eight full-time subbies dial in. Finally, he hands it over to a trusted off-sider and quickly settles back to talk trucks and trailers. Only memory and experience now bear the scars of those tougher times and, surrounded by the success of several decades of dogged perseverance and carefully considered initiative, the company known as S. & S. Tyquin Bulk Haulage boasts one of the best-presented tipper fleets you’re likely to find anywhere. And for good reason. The way Tyquin puts it, the trucks and trailers are the frontline of the business and presentation is everything. "If it looks good, people will see us in a positive way, whether they’re into trucks or not," he remarks. More than anything else, though, you get the distinct impression that whatever it is, he just likes his gear to look good. "Sure," he shrugs. "Good gear attracts good drivers who’ll take pride in the equipment, so it pays off all-round." There are 12 company-owned trucks in the business today, ranging from water trucks and a couple of Isuzu 4x2 rigid tippers, through to a Kenworth T359 eight-wheeler and a mix of Kenworth T909 and K200 body trucks hooked to three and four-axle dog trailers – plus a pair of K200 prime movers towing semi-tipper combinations. One of the prime movers is the latest member of the Tyquin team, a new K200 ‘Big Cab’ hauling an equally new Hercules A-double tipper set, which, like almost every other truck and trailer combination in the outfit, obviously operates with PBS compliance. It is also said to be the first A-double to operate within the 26m overall length limit of B-doubles. We’ll get to the specifics of the A-double shortly. Meantime, it’s blatantly apparent Tyquin has a strong preference for Kenworth, saying: "They stand up to the job and their resale is better than anything else." Likewise, strong relationships based on product quality and service have developed with tipper builders Hercules Engineering and Chris’s Body Builders. There is, however, one other truck in the operation that sits outside the square yet holds a particularly special place for Tyquin and long-term friend and workmate Steve ‘Chooka’ Thomson. "It’s basically Chooka’s truck," Tyquin says of the stunningly refurbished Mack Super-Liner V8, which earns its keep attached to a three-axle dog trailer. "He did all the hard work rebuilding it and he keeps it in top condition. It’s a real credit to him and the thing goes like a train. They just don’t make trucks like that anymore." Indeed they don’t! Evolution With a broad smile, it’s a reflective Tyquin who admits that, 40 years ago, when he went to South Australia as a 16-year-old with a couple of mates to acquire a rigid truck licence – "Back then you could get a licence in South Australia younger than you could in Victoria" – the thought of one day owning a pin-up fleet of trucks wasn’t anywhere on the agenda. "My father had a couple of trucks carrying hay and milk, and I just reckoned I could make more money driving trucks than anything else at the time," he explains. "It was really as simple as that." Back home, he eventually bought his own tipper and started subbie work with local quarries. As is often the case, one thing led to another and, with the opportunity to sell quarry products direct to end users, the future started to take shape. Admittedly, the balance between potential and profit had its fair share of challenges, but with the lessons well learned, the Tyquin operation now bears all the markings of a successful enterprise in what he admits is a tough business where competition is never too far from the door. He keeps the details close to his chest, but lists quarry products, gypsum, lime, compost, firewood and woodchip as the main loads in trucks that average around 100,000km a year. "It’s not big mileage compared to some, but that’s probably due to the fact that we don’t haul grain," Tyquin comments. "There’s enough competition in that work without me adding to it." Ironically, or perhaps fortuitously, it was the thought of encroaching competition that first caused Tyquin to give serious thought to a new regulatory and industry initiative called Performance-Based Standards, PBS. At that point, he was largely running 19m truck and quad dog combinations grossing up to 50.5 tonnes. However, the prospect of PBS compliance providing a jump on the competition by allowing a gross weight of 57.5 tonnes on the same number of axles was too good to ignore. The timing wasn’t perfect, though. It was 2007, and not only was PBS in its infancy, with compliance sure to demand any number of bureaucratic checks and balances, but the global financial crisis had kicked in and any investment had to be carefully considered. Still, the potential benefits ultimately drove him headfirst and alone into the cost and confusion of the PBS process, singlehandedly working his way through the seemingly endless hoops and hurdles of VicRoads and the National Transport Commission. "It was a bloody stressful nightmare," he says with cold conviction. "The costs were scary and the whole process was daunting to say the least. "Many times it got to the point where I wondered if the whole thing would be worthwhile. There was upwards of $20,000 in just getting the assessment and design modelling done, and most of that was spent with ARRB [Australian Road Research Board]. "So there were all those costs on top of a new truck and trailer built for PBS compliance, and I can tell you they didn’t come cheap." To put sour icing on an already bitterly expensive cake, Tyquin explained that even when the truck and trailer were built, approved and ready to start work, it took three more months to actually receive an access permit to operate. Here was a new purpose-built Kenworth T908 and Hercules Engineering four-axle dog combination built to operate within a 20m overall length at a PBS-approved gross weight of 57.5 tonnes, spending several months waiting for a permit to operate. "It was bloody ridiculous," he says sharply. "It was over 19m long, so officially it needed a permit, otherwise it’d be operating over-length." "Like I said, bloody ridiculous, especially when it’s sitting here with full PBS compliance doing nothing for three months while I’m paying for it. I can tell you, it hurt." There was, however, one bright note. It was around this time he first met Ken Cowell, a highly qualified and much respected consulting engineer who firmly believes in the productivity benefits of PBS, but also holds the view that the compliance process is unnecessarily complex and too often stymied by various bureaucracies. It was a meeting that would forge a strong relationship over following years as the two worked to maximise the potential of PBS combinations. Anyway, the ‘over-length’ permit finally arrived, and in 2008 his first PBS-compliant combination went on the road. Best of all, the commercial attributes of a truck and quad dog combination able to carry seven tonnes more payload were quickly realised, and it’s an adamant Tyquin who maintains the costs of compliance were recouped in a matter of months. In fact, so prompt was the payback, that 12 months later he went through the whole exercise again, admittedly a tad wiser, to put an identical unit on the road. "The process was little better, but at least I knew what I’d get out of it." Yet despite all the problems and inconsistencies in achieving compliance, there’s no question PBS has had anything other than a hugely positive effect on the Tyquin operation since that first unit went to work. PBS has, in fact, become the norm for all his frontline truck and trailer combinations, just as disc brakes have also become the standard stopping force. "The process is a still a pain in the arse and it’s certainly not a cheap exercise, but for what we do, PBS pays off," a resolute Steve Tyquin confirms. Out of the Ordinary From a distance, or up close, it is a hugely impressive combination and, typifying the presentation of all his equipment, Tyquin has spared nothing in making the A-double a flagship of the fleet. It is, however, productivity that stands as the key to the combination’s true commercial merit. Overall length is a tad over 25.8m with each 8.8m-long aluminium trailer having a load capacity of 40 cubic metres, and depending on the roads it’s operating on, the combination is able to run at gross weights up to 74.5 tonnes. "It’s close to a 50-tonne payload, so there’s nothing to complain about as far as earning capacity goes," Tyquin says. He is, however, quick to concede the combination carries plenty of ‘extras’ that contribute to a hefty total tare weight of almost 25 tonnes. It would, he agrees, be relatively easy to pull a tonne or so out of the tare to further increase payload, but given his obvious satisfaction with the complete unit, that’s unlikely to happen. An ‘extra’ he definitely wouldn’t be without are the slippery quick-flow bin liners, which he describes as huge assets for both safety and efficiency. "They stop product from hanging up in the corners of the bin, and it’s amazing how much quicker the product comes out. The load’s gone long before the hoist is at full height," he enthuses. "The amount of time it saves over a day is incredible. "The liner material definitely isn’t cheap and it probably adds a fair bit of weight, but it easily pays for itself. The amount of wear it saves on the aluminium bins is huge." There’s no question that over the past seven or eight years, PBS compliance has come with many frustrations and difficulties for Tyquin. But, likewise, there’s no question PBS has paid off handsomely for his particular operation. On the A-double specifically, the added versatility of being able to operate as two single semi-tippers or with the second trailer used as a quad-dog is an extra bonus. As he candidly states: "There’s no way I would’ve invested so much on this combination if I wasn’t absolutely sure of a good payback. Believe me, there’s a lot of money tied up in the truck and trailers." On the PBS approval process for the A-double, he’s quiet for a moment, before commenting: "I suppose being first with an A-double operating within the 26m B-double length was always going to come with a few hassles and hold-ups. "The authorities aren’t big on anything that’s a bit different, but the way I see it, it’s a lot easier now to get PBS approval on a truck and dog than it was when I first tried. "So maybe it’ll be the same with the A-double, and three or four years from now getting approval for a unit like this will be a lot easier and less complex. "At least, you’d like to think it will be," he concludes with a wry grin. .

Chassis Recycling Among Nikola Motor's Plans Tom Berg, Heavy Duty Trucking / December 2016 A "cab replacement program" will enable Nikola fuel cell-electric chassis to be reused "over and over again," the company's founder said, answering one of many questions answered at the launch event last month. Recycling of the chassis and components is among plans for Nikola One and Two fuel cell-electric heavy trucks, declared Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola Motor Co., during the unveiling and technical briefings early this month at the firm’s base near Salt Lake City. Many details of the development program for the futuristic vehicles were revealed by Milton and his associates on Dec. 1 and 2, some during presentations and others during a question-and-answer session. Enthusiastic but healthily skeptical people in the audience posed the questions, and most of them said they were owner-operators or owners of small fleets. A question about the trucks’ projected “life span” got Milton talking about recycling. “We will have a cab replacement program so the truck can be reutilized over and over again,” he said. The entire chassis will be reusable because the frame, batteries, electric motors, fuel cell and other parts will be rugged and long-lived. He forsees a chassis refitted with a new cab at least twice, at 500,000 and 1 million miles, at which point the truck could be sold into secondary markets. New cabs could be equipped with the latest in electronics to enhance operations and safety, including security and autonomous driving, he said. That will periodically bring a truck up to date. Nikola Motor could control this recycling process because Milton foresees most units being acquired through full-service, 72-month leases, which means Nikola will retain ownership. Eventually the chassis will be worn enough for the components to be removed and renewed or scrapped. The high-performance lithium-ion batteries could be sold in 80-kw/hour “slices” for use as energy storage units for homes, he said. These would become part of current solar-panel systems that generate electricity during the day for use during hours of darkness. Ex-Nikola batteries will still be healthy but cost less than new batteries. “The secret to long life for batteries is keeping them at a constant temperature,” he said. So in Nikola trucks, the batteries will be surrounded by an electric grid and a refrigerant jacket to automatically warm or cool them, depending on ambient temperatures. Batteries and other systems are designed to work down to minus 40 degrees. Batteries naturally get hot during operation, but cooling them extends their truck-based lives from 100,000 miles to 500,000 or more. “I’m a big believer in building something that lasts a long time,” he said. One questioner wanted to know about the “security” of a Nikola’s batteries: Could they be stolen? That’s very unlikely, Milton answered. “Lithium’s very heavy, and the batteries weigh thousands of thousands of pounds. You would have to lift the truck” to get at them, then use machinery to handle them. “It would be like trying to steal the engine out of your truck.” Another questioner noted that tanks for the hydrogen fuel are in an external cabinet behind the Nikola One prototype’s sleeper area. As long as you’re designing the vehicle from scratch, why not build them into the truck? To bare them for mandatory inspections, Milton explained, and to allow line-purging operations that will be routinely done to lessen chances of the gas being accidently ignited by a spark. For on-board storage, hydrogen will be compressed to 5,000 psi, about a third of what it can be, to control tank costs as well as the cost of compression, which consumes energy. How will tanks stand up in a collision? Tanks are very strong, even “bullet proof,” and will resist strikes by rounds as large as .30-06 caliber, he said. Isn’t hydrogen gas difficult and dangerous to work with? Hydrogen is as safe to handle with proper equipment and training as compressed natural gas, and safer than gasoline, which is actually rather dangerous. “Gasoline today likely wouldn’t be approved” for use by the public if it were a new fuel, he asserted. How will fuel taxes be paid? “We’re working on that,” Milton said, and it will be arranged with government authorities. The model might be California, where hydrogen fuel-cell cars are in limited use. Taxes “should be pre-paid into the lease,” along with all other operating expenses including the fuel itself, tire wear and maintenance. The 364 hydrogen filling stations that Milton intends to build to supply fuel will be “awesome” places that people will want to visit and that Nikola drivers will deserve, he said. They’ll have restaurants, rest rooms, and free truck washes. He will model them after a chain of upscale stations in Utah that have become “destinations” for the traveling public. Although hydrogen fuel will be part of a lease and thus supplied at no charge to Nikola operators, the stations will be open to the public and sold at the equivalent of $1.50 per gallon, he said. Some questions reflected basic practicality. How much damage will a Nikola One get if it strikes a deer or elk? Will a “bull bar” be optional? Designers are working on a larger bumper that will withstand such a collision and still retain aerodynamic properties, Milton said. How will a driver escape the cab if the truck rolls on its left side, where the Nikola One prototype’s single door is? Instead of one sliding door, which opens backward, as on a minivan, production models will have two smaller doors, one on each side, for improved convenience and safety, Milton answered. A dump-truck operator wanted to know if the Nikola Two daycab, which will be aimed at regional and short-hauling but also suitable for vocational use, be available with a power take-off. Yes, Milton said, and it will probably be electric. Accessories such as the air compressor, belt-driven by diesels in today’s trucks, will be electric for efficiency, and so they can be mounted conveniently. From images displayed during the briefing, it appears that the Nikola Two will have a tilting hood for access to the fuel cell and other components. Access panels on the streamlined non-tilting Nikola One’s cab and nose will make it easy for technicians to get at various systems on that vehicle, he said. How will build quality be ensured when production begins? this reporter asked. “We get that question a lot,” Milton answered. He’ll do it by hiring “bright minds” already at work in manufacturing to design the factory he plans to build. Robotic assembly will be employed to lessen mistakes sometimes made by humans. Milton and his colleagues had ready answers to these and other questions, as though they had thought through all possible concerns. That, plus financial backing from Ryder System and others, and the $4 billion in purchase deposits that Milton claims to have on hand, suggest that the Nikola Motor project will survive the next three years of further designing and testing before trucks enter production in 2020. To maintain interest in the project and satisfy the curious, Nikola Motor has scheduled an open house at 11 a.m. on Jan. 28, according to the company’s Facebook page. Lunch will be served and an RSVP is required. That will be at its headquarters on the west side of Salt Lake City.

Steve Skinner, Australasian Transport News (ATN) / January 5, 2017 It’s summer on one of the hottest continents on the planet, so we check out some of the main systems for keeping cool in the bunk Perhaps surprisingly, truck manufacturers don’t supply factory-fitted bunk coolers for Australia, and there’s no peak body for after-market bunk cooling suppliers. So we visited supplier Truck Art at Wagga Wagga in southern NSW on the crossroads between Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Believe me, it doesn’t get much hotter in Australia than in Wagga. Truck Art owner Terry Gibbs also has cooler installation workshops in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. One of his early ventures was manufacturing sleeper cabs in the days before widespread bunk air cooling, about 15 years ago. "It was a no-brainer for me to see the industry needed something in the sleeper cabin," says Terry, who sold his first Viesa to Paterson’s Transport at nearby Narrandera. "I still remember the driver, he was an older bloke, coming in after it had been fitted and thanking me, and he said ‘This is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to have a proper sleep in the summer time’." "It wasn’t long before people had to have it, and I think the main thing is it was fatigue management … and that helps overall with insurance costs because tired drivers have accidents. "Drivers expect it today. Once it was a luxury but now they need it and not only that, I think if there was an accident due to a man not sleeping, and he didn’t have air cooling, the company could have something to answer for." No perfect solution Truck Art’s cheapest product is the evaporative Viesa cooler, manufactured in Argentina and a common sight on Australian roads these days. They are priced at up to $3,600 installed, with the annual service to clean the filters and so on costing about $150. Terry says that contrary to some opinion, the small amount of humidity can’t possibly rot the cabin; the water drains back into the tank on the back of the cab when not in use; and the unit can’t run the truck battery flat because there is a cut-off mechanism when the voltage gets too low. He says of course there can be problems with cool air quality and quantity if Viesas aren’t cleaned for four or five years, "which we often see". There seem to be several advantages of an evaporative system over the next one up in the pecking order – a battery operated refrigerative system, such as the "Pure Air" or "Koolkat" which Truck Art supplies. Terry says a Viesa uses only 8 amps of power per hour, and will give the driver a sleep on a very hot day by at least blowing moist air over them. On the other hand a battery refrigerative system draws lot more power and may not be able to overcome an extremely hot day at all. These can run for between four and seven hours depending on how hard the compressor is working, and Terry says they are best suited to night time or a few hours during the day. They cost from about $5,000 to about $9,000 for a unit with its own batteries and which is big enough to cope with a big-cab Kenworth for half the day in the sun; and they are more expensive to maintain than evaporatives, for example with gassing. "It’s horses for courses and some people love them," Terry says, adding the truck needs to be driven for as long as the aircon has been running, to charge the batteries, whether the unit runs off the truck or is independent. Top of the range of course is diesel powered refrigerative air-conditioning, such as the well-known "Icepack", which now offers a 1,000 hour extended service interval. Truck Art’s offering is the "Ecowind" with single cylinder Lombardini engine using about 700ml of fuel an hour, and costing between $10,500 and $13,000, depending on where on the truck it’s fitted. The Australian Trucking Association’s Volvo "safety truck" runs one of these. As the ATA points out, in 2013 after its lobbying efforts the Tax Office ruled that the fuel used in truck sleeper cab air conditioners is now tax free. As a result the ATA estimates trucking businesses could save up to $300 per truck per year. Diesel powered units can pump out cold air indefinitely if need be, regardless of the outside heat, but of course their downside is noise for other truckies trying to sleep nearby. The Ecowind is relatively quiet at 60 decibels but Terry acknowledges the noise issue is becoming a problem. "We are finding in certain areas now, especially up towards Queensland, there are service stations with signs saying you are not to run air-conditioning motors when you’re stopped." The bottom line from all this on sleeper air cooling? "There’s no perfect product out there yet." .

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