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Aging Pipelines Raise Concerns The Wall Street Journal / November 2, 2016 More than 60% of U.S. fuel pipelines were built before 1970, according to federal figures. Recent disruptions on Colonial Pipeline Co.’s fuel artery running up the East Coast show why some energy observers worry that this is a problem. The pipeline, which began operating fully in 1964, was partially shut down for nearly two weeks in September. Fuel prices spiked throughout the Southeast, rising more than 20 cents a gallon in places like Atlanta. Motorists this week began to worry again after the company’s main gasoline pipeline, which supplies about a third of the gas consumed on the East Coast, was shut down. It was struck by construction equipment Monday, killing one person and injuring several others. The company has said the 5,500-mile pipeline, which runs from Houston to New Jersey and serves 13 states, could restart as soon as Saturday, though as of Wednesday afternoon the pipeline was still on fire. Gasoline futures fell 2.4%, to $1.4479 a gallon, on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday after rising as much as 15% following the Colonial explosion. Colonial isn’t the only major pipeline constructed decades ago. That includes a 3,000-mile fuel pipeline that first opened in 1956 and serves California, Texas and five other states. Another system that now carries fuel more than 1,800 miles from the Gulf Coast to the Chicago area opened in 1971. Building pipelines has become harder amid opposition from landowners and environmental groups concerned about pipeline safety and stemming fossil-fuel development. Kinder Morgan Inc. had plans to build a new fuel pipeline from South Carolina to Jacksonville, Fla., by 2017. But it shelved the project after running into opposition, including legislation in Georgia aimed at keeping it from being built. Carl Weimer, executive director of the advocacy group Pipeline Safety Trust, said fuel pipeline systems can operate safely for decades if they are well maintained. But after 40 or 50 years, problems like corrosion increase. “Clearly, operators don’t have a complete handle on how to operate these older pipelines,” Mr. Weimer said, referring to maintenance issues that get harder as systems age. Companies, industry groups and even regulators have said that with advances in pipeline monitoring and repair techniques, as well as regular maintenance and inspection, pipelines can last a long time. Colonial’s pipeline carries more than 100 million gallons of fuel a day. Its role as a critical link between refiners on the Gulf Coast and consumers up and down the Atlantic Coast means that any problem on the pipeline can have an outsize impact on fuel supplies and prices at the pump. Most other regions that rely on pipelines to deliver fuel from far-flung refiners are located near a second system that could deliver fuel as a fallback. “If a pipeline from Los Angeles to Las Vegas goes down, there’s some capability to supply Las Vegas from Salt Lake City,” said David Hackett, president of consulting firm Stillwater Associates. Colonial Pipeline has spent more than $95 million on an upgrade that has allowed the pipeline to carry more than 200,000 additional barrels a day since 2011. But the company would need to expand its capacity by another 300,000 to 500,000 barrels a day to meet demand, Chief Financial Officer Dave Doudna said in a 2015 interview. He said that would require a new pipeline, which would cost more than a billion dollars and face large regulatory hurdles. “The permitting process takes a long time, the cost to build is expensive. And what you end up finding is that customers aren’t willing, or have not been willing to commit, for a period of 10 to 15 years,” he said. “I would say a lot of it is the regulatory environment we’re living in today.” Finding customers to underwrite the cost of a big investment like a pipeline is a challenge for the infrastructure industry broadly, said Rob Thummel, portfolio manager for energy-focused asset manager Tortoise Capital Advisors. In places like the Northeast, which can also take in fuel from overseas or waterborne shipments from the Gulf Coast in a pinch, customers aren’t always willing to lock in long-term contracts. Some customers worry that demand will change in the coming years or imports could become more attractive. “It’s not just, ‘Build it and they will come,’ ” he said. “You need a committed partner who is committed to pay the toll, not just for a year or two, but at least 10 years.” By contrast, more than 20,000 miles of new crude-oil pipelines have been built in the past decade, and natural-gas pipeline infrastructure has expanded as well, as production from U.S. shale formations increased rapidly, though these projects are also facing opposition. But the pipes that carry gasoline, diesel and other fuels haven’t experienced the same growth, because fuel demand isn’t rising everywhere and because some run through more populated areas than where crude is drilled and face more public resistance. .

Associated Press / November 2, 2016 Attorney General Loretta Lynch is facing a federal lawsuit to give details of a meeting she had with Bill Clinton days before she was to decide on his wife's fate. The meeting in June was barely a week before the Justice Department which she heads dropped its probe into Hillary Clinton's private email server. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed the lawsuit against the Department of Justice in Washington on Wednesday demanding more information about the meeting, which led to Lynch stepping aside from the server investigation. As head of the Department of Justice, Lynch was supposed to be deciding whether to proceed with charging Hillary Clinton over her unauthorized server arrangements while she was secretary of state. But she met with the Democrat's husband on June 27 on the tarmac of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport, Arizona. Bill Clinton delayed his flight's departure in order to meet with Lynch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ACLJ Press Release Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel ACLJ Files Lawsuit Over AG Lynch’s Secret Meeting with Bill Clinton – Will Hold Obama’s Justice Department Accountable I told you about the Obama Justice Department’s incompetence and corruption when, over four months ago, I called for Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s resignation. I told you about General Lynch’s decision to hold a secret meeting on her airplane with former President Bill Clinton – just days before the FBI interviewed his wife, the former Secretary of State, as part of a criminal investigation; and just days before General Lynch announced the former Secretary of State would not be indicted. Here’s what I said in June: Misconduct. Dishonesty. Impropriety. No matter what word you choose, Attorney General Lynch’s secret meeting with former President Bill Clinton was flat-out wrong. She’s clearly disqualified from participating in the investigations into former Secretary of State Clinton’s private email server. And she must resign. I’m leading our senior litigation team preparing to file legal demands and ethics complaints. If the DOJ doesn’t respond and she doesn’t resign, we’ll be back in federal court. As promised, we took action. We sent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Obama Justice Department and the FBI, demanding answers on how such a careless and perhaps intentionally underhanded meeting was allowed to happen. The FBI acknowledged our FOIA requests, and even granted our request for expedited processing by determining that we had shown our requests concerned “[a] matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.” The Justice Department remained silent. Then, last week’s earth-shattering news hit that the FBI – a component of the Justice Department – was reopening the underlying criminal investigation. And early this week, the FBI advised the ACLJ Government Accountability Project that “[n]o records responsive to your request were located.” Hard to believe. What may be even harder to believe, though, is the fact that the Department of Justice completely ignored our lawful requests for records. Or maybe that’s just par for the course. So today, we’re forcing their hand. We’re taking the Obama Administration to federal court. Again. We’re filing a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, to ensure true justice. If the corruption and flippant disregard for the law won’t stop, neither will our Government Accountability Project, and neither will our lawsuits. As we explained in our Complaint, we’re demanding records like this: Any and all records containing the names of any DOJ official, staff or employee who participated in any discussion regarding the meeting between General Lynch and Bill Clinton that occurred on Monday, June 27, 2016, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Any and all records, communications or briefings prepared, sent, received or reviewed by General Lynch or any other DOJ official, staff or employee, at any time, containing any discussion of or in any way regarding the meeting between General Lynch and Bill Clinton that occurred on Monday, June 27, 2016, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Any and all records of any communication or briefing received by General Lynch, any DOJ official, staff or employee from Bill Clinton or his staff regarding the meeting between General Lynch and Bill Clinton that occurred on Monday, June 27, 2016, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, regardless of whether the communication or briefing was received before, during, or after the meeting. Any and all records of any communication or briefing prepared, sent, received or reviewed by General Lynch, her staff, or any other DOJ official or employee or any other person from June 13, 2016 to Sunday, June 26, 2016, containing any discussion of or in any way naming, regarding, involving or referencing Bill Clinton. Any and all records of any communication or briefing prepared, sent, received or reviewed by General Lynch, her staff, or any other DOJ official or employee after the meeting on Monday, June 27, 2016, between General Lynch and Bill Clinton at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, containing any discussion of ethics rules or DOJ Standards of Conduct governing attorneys in connection with the meeting or Lynch’s relationship with Bill Clinton. Any and all records of any communication or briefing prepared, sent, received or reviewed by General Lynch, her staff, or any other DOJ official or employee after the meeting on Monday, June 27, 2016, between General Lynch and Bill Clinton at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, containing any discussion of the press, responding to the press, or the content of any press release or public statements in connection with the meeting. We told the Court: “The Defendant [DOJ] has wholly failed to respond to Plaintiff’s FOIA request.” In fact, the Obama Administration’s failure to respond violated the statute in two ways. So we brought two Counts. First, in Count I, we explained: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A), Defendant was required to determine whether to comply to Plaintiff’s request within twenty (20) days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays. Pursuant to this same provision, Defendant also was required to notify Plaintiff immediately of the determination, the reasons therefore, and the right to appeal any adverse determination to the head of the agency. Then in Count II, we described the additional violation: Defendant is in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(E)(ii), in that Defendant has failed to make “a determination of whether to provide expedited processing,” which “shall be made, and notice of the determination shall be provided to the person making the request, within 10 days after the date of the request.” The bottom line of our lawsuit is this: the “Defendant is unlawfully withholding records requested by Plaintiff pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552.” The Justice Department’s answer to our suit will be due in about 30 days. We’ll let you know how they respond and keep you informed as our newest lawsuit progresses. General Lynch has disqualified herself from this critical investigation. She has no business having any involvement in an FBI investigation of this magnitude. We will do, and are doing, everything we can to hold her accountable. Today’s filing is our fourth major federal lawsuit filed against the Obama Administration over its corruption and failure to comply with FOIA – the law. We’ve filed eight FOIA requests demanding information from: 1) the Obama State Department about the Iran lie, 2) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components about its “jihad” word purge, 3) the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI over Attorney General Lynch’s secret meeting on a plane with former President Bill Clinton, 4) the FBI and the DOJ regarding its decision to censor the Orlando jihadist’s 911 transcript, 5) the State Department over its funding of an organization that was involved in an attempt to unseat Israel’s Prime Minister, 6) the Obama State Department over its inaction on the ISIS genocide against Christians, 7) DHS and its components over the wrongful granting of citizenship to potential terrorists, and 8) the State Department over apparent pay-to-play collusion with the Clinton Foundation. We are currently in ongoing litigation against the Obama Administration over the Iran lie, inaction on genocide, collusion with the Clinton Foundation, and now the secret meeting between Attorney General Lynch and former President Bill Clinton. We are also winning in multiple federal lawsuits against the Obama Administration’s IRS over its unlawful targeting of conservatives groups. The stakes are high. The American people deserve a Justice Department with integrity. We must demand accountability for corruption. If we don’t, a constitutional crisis is imminent. The corruption must have consequences.

Two points here. 1) The Pentagon provided Iraq with 140 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks. In one way or another, you know the U.S. taxpayer paid for them. 2) Apparently, the dated Abrams tank, still the backbone of U.S. forces, is not capable of dealing with the latest anti-tank weapons. In this video, you see an ISIS-fired Russian 9M133 Kornet ATGM (anti-tank guided missile), which utilizes a tandem "shaped charge" HEAT warhead, taking out an Iraqi Abrams around Mosul, Iraq. .

Hacked emails show Clinton campaign communicated with State Department Associated Press / November 3, 2016 A State Department official coordinated with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign hours before the former secretary of state's exclusive use of private emails was first detailed in a news account last year, newly released hacked emails show. Emails from the files of Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta show that the department official provided Clinton aides with the agency's official response to a New York Times reporter in advance of the newspaper's March 2015 report that Clinton had used a private email account to conduct all of her work-related business as secretary. The stolen emails were released Wednesday by WikiLeaks. In a March 1, 2015 email, State Department press aide Lauren Hickey told Clinton's spokesman Nick Merrill and two other advisers that then-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki had "just cleared" a reply to the Times. Hickey provided the agency's response to the Clinton aides and also appeared to agree to a change requested by the campaign, saying: "Yes on your point re records - done below." It remains a secret what specific change was requested by Clinton and made. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday the department [your employees] refused to comment on alleged leaked documents. Kirby said the department's effort to "provide accurate information to the media" about Clinton's tenure at the agency has "at times required communicating with her representatives to ensure accuracy." [?????] In a hacked email chain from March 17, 2015, Clinton's campaign advisers discussed how to respond to a request by a Times reporter for comment on an upcoming story about how top State Department aides used private email accounts to communicate with Clinton. Clinton aide Philippe Reines wrote: "There's a lot to respond to here, but first and foremost the premise is wrong. There is nothing wrong with anyone having personal email addresses or her emailing someone's private account or vice versa. Maybe she was wishing (longtime aide) Jake (Sullivan) a happy birthday. Or I was sending her a note about her mom. ... We're allowed to have personal lives." Campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri wrote: "Strikes me as a big problem that the NYT is having selected emails leaked to them and I think we should do a call to discuss the proper way to handle." The email exchange occurred about a month before Clinton officially launched her presidential bid in a video released in April 2015. In an August 2015 email exchange, Clinton aide Huma Abedin points out that Clinton wasn't prepared for all of the questions surrounding the use of her private email and asks for a longer list of questions and answers "so at least it's out there and maybe she won't have to do it verbally again?" Separately, assistant attorney general Peter Kadzik wrote to Podesta in May 2015 to offer a "heads up" that a Justice Department official would be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and would likely "get questions on State Department emails." Podesta forwarded the message to top campaign staff, writing: "Additional chances for mischief."

Matt Wood, Trade Trucks AU / November 2, 2016 To be launched later this month, Volkswagen has a new Amarok for the Australian market Ahead of it’s much anticipated local launch, Volkswagen has revealed that the upcoming Amarok TDV6 diesel ute [i.e. pickup, bakkie] will also feature an over boost function that will see peak power jump from 165kW (221hp) to 180kW (241hp). Torque will also jump from 550Nm to 580Nm. Over boost kicks in when the accelerator pedal passes the 70 per cent depression mark in 3rd or 4th gear. The extra power is on tap for 10 seconds but can be unleashed again after a period of 5 seconds. There’s been plenty of buzz around the new Volkswagen dual cab. Nissan previously held the most powerful 4x4 dual cab mantle on the Aussie market with its V6 Navara ST-X 550. However, the launch of the NP300 Navara last year saw the end of the admittedly expensive, yet much admired V6 Nissan. To date, Volkswagen says that it has fielded 6,000 advance orders for the top of the tree Amarok. Claimed performance times aren’t too shabby either with 0-100km reached in 7.9 seconds. Until now, the Amarok has relied solely on a 2-litre twin-turbo diesel power plant. The Volkswagen family diesel V6 used in the soon to be launched New Amarok can also be found in Porsche and Audi products as well. As the dual cab market continues to boom and mature, VW will be one of the first to the table in the premium ute stakes with the covers coming off the Mercedes Benz X-Class last week and the Renault Alaskan pickup also a possibility for Australia. According to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Director Carlos Santos, "The Amarok V6 is not an over-hyped concept or a badge engineering exercise." "It’s real, it’s almost here and it brings the world’s best V6 turbo diesel, the same unit used by Porsche and Audi in luxury SUVs." The Amarok TDV6 will be launched locally in late November. Pricing and spec to be announced. .

McAleese trucking assets up for auction Australasian Transport News (ATN) / November 2, 2016 Auctioneer releases preliminary sale timetable for McAleese vehicles and equipment McGrathNicol has appointed online industrial auctioneer GraysOnline to handle the sale of assets including heavy vehicles and light trucks, cranes and general office and commercial equipment held by McAleese’s trucking arm. GraysOnline has published a preliminary sale timetable that lists the following for immediate sale: prime movers and low loaders/platforms (high spec prime movers, multi row low loaders and platforms, and dollys), 14 crawler cranes (Kobelco and Terex 110 - 400 tonne), seven all-terrain and rough cranes (Grove, Demag and Liebherr 30 - 220 tonne), franna cranes (AT20 and Mac25 units). There will be 30 prime movers and 60 trailers for sale in Brisbane, 20 prime movers and 20 trailers in Mackay, 13 prime movers in Melbourne, six prime movers and eight trailers in Perth, three prime movers in Adelaide, and some additional unreserved prime movers and trailers available for sale in Brisbane. The remaining assets are currently being assessed before being valued and listed for sale – a process, the company says, complicated by the fact that many of the assets have multiple components that need to located and documented first before they can be valued. The complete list of assets can be viewed on GraysOnline’s website, with sale and auction expected to commence soon. GraysOnline expects it will take up four months to complete the sale of all McAleese's Heavy Haulage and Lifting assets. The auctioneer says it is expecting interest from local and as well as international buyers. GraysOnline head of institutional and special situations Matt Aubrey says the GraysOnline team is working with administrators McGrathNicol to "assess, value, catalogue, market and ultimately dispose of" the McAleese assets. "Grays’ international network will have an important role to play in this sale," Aubrey says. "Over recent years we have a seen a consistent trend toward cross-border transactions, as offshore buyers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa seek quality used plant and equipment to support local projects. "That’s good for vendors in Australia as it ensures healthy tension in bidding." GraysOnline head of mining and transport Fenton Healy says the sale will be carried out in a series of auctions and direct sales based on the dynamics of each asset category. "Prices for the heavy transport assets have stabilised following the bottoming of the mining downturn," Healy says. "The market for general transport assets is generally pretty liquid and this part of the portfolio is well suited to a national, online auction. "Cranes are a more specialised category – we’ll be presenting the larger cranes to multinational buyers through our international network and putting the smaller Franna cranes into strategic sale lots depending on their age and condition. "It’s a complex assignment but one which the Grays team of experts nationally is uniquely placed to execute for maximum return to the administrators." McGrathNicol has been handling the restructure of McAleese since the company went into administration in late August. .

McAleese assets to be sold in record auction Prime Mover Magazine / November 2, 2016 Online industrial auctioneer, GraysOnline, has been appointed by advisory firm McGrathNicol to handle the sale of assets held by a key division of the McAleese Group. In "one of the largest industrial asset disposition programs seen in recent years", GraysOnline said it will be managing the auction and sale of heavy vehicles, light trucks, cranes as well as general office and commercial equipment belonging to McAleese Heavy Haulage & Lifting. The heavy transport specialist was part of the McAleese group of companies, which – with the exception of Sunshine Refuellers – was placed into voluntary administration on 29 August. GraysOnline said in structuring the sale, the company has been working directly with administrators McGrathNicol in order to "leverage their expertise in value realisation strategy, financial analysis and transactional execution". GraysOnline Head of Institutional & Special Situations, Matt Aubrey, explained the sale process would see the Grays national team mobilise rapidly to "assess, value, catalogue, market and ultimately dispose" of the McAleese Heavy Haulage & Lifting portfolio. “Grays has built a strong track record for being able to execute complex sales straddling national and international borders with minimum ramp-up period. Our appointment is a credit to the reputation our B2B/ industrial team has built in recent years,” Aubrey said, adding the McAleese Heavy Haulage & Lifting sale is expected to commence this month, with the process likely to take around four months. GraysOnline Head of Mining & Transport, Fenton Healy, commented the sale would be structured as a series of direct sales and auctions depending on the dynamics of each asset category, and he expected healthy buying interest. “Prices for the heavy transport assets have stabilised following the bottoming of the mining downturn. The market for general transport assets is generally pretty liquid and this part of the portfolio is well suited to a national, online auction,” he said. “It’s a complex assignment but one which the Grays team of experts nationally is uniquely placed to execute for maximum return to the administrators,” he said. Interested parties can learn more about the sale at the GraysOnline website. .

Truck News / November 1, 2016 Natural gas truck sales in the US and Canada are down 29% year-to-date. Market analysts say, however, that the slowdown could reflect the broader truck market, which has seen Class 8 demand slide from last year. “While sales of natural gas powered units have their own inherent challenges, part of the reason for softness may also be related to factors impacting the broader truck market,” said one analyst. “Regardless of the fuel used, heavy trucks are all competing for the same freight, which has failed to increase for at least the last five quarters.” He added, “Coincidentally, many truckers increased their fleet sizes just as freight growth was slowing, setting up the current situation of excess capacity that is keeping the brakes on new truck sales, irrespective of fuel type.”

Bloomberg / November 1, 2016 Convoy Inc., a Seattle-based startup that aims to become an Uber for trucking, has struck its biggest deal yet -- with consumer goods giant Unilever NV. The four-year agreement will have Convoy connect Unilever to trucks for tens of thousands of shipments a year and is worth millions of dollars over the next year, Convoy Chief Executive Officer Dan Lewis said in an interview. Unilever, the company behind Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Lipton tea, chose Convoy over several other trucking technology providers, the company said. The deal is a vote of confidence in Convoy, which uses software to match companies needing tractor-trailers with smaller providers, line up deliveries and track them to better ensure on-time pickup and receipt. It’s particularly important as car ride-hailing app Uber Technologies Inc. gets into the freight market through its acquisition of Otto. Uber and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (also a Convoy customer) recently sent an 18-wheeler full of beer more than 120 miles down Colorado’s I-25 highway without a driver, a stunt intended to prove the company could use autonomous trucks for commercial deliveries. The company is working on trucking marketplace software to connect drivers of regular trucks with cargo loads and signing up shippers to try it when the app goes live, Uber said. Over time, Uber plans to merge the self-driving technology, obtained in its acquisition of Otto, and the marketplace app. “It doesn’t make me nervous -- the market is gigantic,” said Lewis about Uber. “All we see today is their self-driving truck. I haven’t seen anything in the field that implies there’s an actual freight service.” When Convoy, backed by Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos, Salesforce.com Inc.’s Marc Benioff and Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, started in April 2015, it was mainly focused on ad hoc deliveries for companies needing a truck here and there. It has since added deliveries scheduled ahead of time and on a regular basis, said Lewis. In fact, he’s starting to dislike the Uber-for-Trucking moniker because it leads people to think “we only mean an ad hoc truck waiting on the side of the road.” Besides Unilever, other customers include Anheuser-Busch, Peterbilt Motors Co. and lawn-care company Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. "We want to shift the mindset from Convoy is a little more niche to Convoy is going to build the highest service level trucking company in the world,” Lewis said. Becoming a regular trucking vendor for a consumer goods giant may help. Unilever has been trying Convoy since February and has graded the company against its existing trucking providers and other startups that use technology to try to improve the process. "Our partnership with Convoy allows us to jointly shape the future of on-demand trucking while adding flexibility into our supply chain," Reginaldo Ecclissato, a Unilever supply chain executive, wrote in an e-mailed statement. Convoy’s deal is not exclusive and Unilever will still be working with standard trucking companies, Convoy’s Lewis said. While it’s not as exciting as an 18-wheeler full of beer, organizing thousands of trucks full of soap, mayo and tea should be lucrative work for the startup.

Cummins Sees Its Business Slow Down as Demand Weakens The Motley Fool / November 1, 2016 Restructuring efforts can only do so much to offset the damage from a sluggish global economy. The global economy hasn't been kind to Cummins, and the engine maker has had to take dramatic actions to try to shore up its business and make the most of its opportunities despite facing tough conditions. Coming into Tuesday's third-quarter financial report, Cummins investors were bracing for declines in revenue and net income. Cummins' numbers on the earnings front were a bit better than most had expected, but tough sales conditions were evident and aren't likely to get better in the near future. Let's take a closer look at the latest from Cummins and whether investors should have much hope for better times ahead. Is Cummins stalling out? Cummins' third-quarter results revealed signs of just how tough the macroeconomic environment is for the engine manufacturer right now. Revenue dropped more than 9% to $4.19 billion, which was an even steeper drop than most of those following the stock had looked to see. Net income fell by nearly a quarter to $289 million, but even though the reported $1.72 per share in earnings was below the consensus forecast among investors for $1.96 per share, Cummins said that it suffered a $0.30 per share hit due to loss contingencies. On an adjusted basis, therefore, many saw Cummins as having beaten expectations. Taking a closer look at how Cummins fared, the reversal of fortune in where the company brought in revenue continued. The once-strong North American market suffered a 13% decline in sales, while international markets were down just 3%. In China, Cummins managed to increase revenue [primarily ISF light truck engines], helping to offset declines in the Middle East and Africa. The company blamed lower truck production in North America and weakness in demand for power generation equipment internationally for the overall drop in revenue. Cummins' key divisions were fairly weak across the board. The distribution business held up the best on the sales front, with segment revenue falling just 3%, but pre-tax operating income was down by more than a fifth. The components division suffered an 8% drop in sales but limited its profit decline to just 5%. Meanwhile, the engine segment and the power systems segment both saw their top lines fall double-digit percentages, and segment profit took hits as well. In particular, on-highway revenue for the engine segment fell 13% because of the pressure on heavy-duty and medium-duty truck production. CEO Tom Linebarger discussed the difficulties that Cummins faces. "Due to the slow pace of growth in the global economy," Linebarger said, "we continue to face weak demand in a number of our most important markets." The CEO noted that restructuring and cost-containment initiatives are helping to offset the negative effects of lower revenue, and he was proud of the operational performance that Cummins has had recently. When will Cummins start growing again? Unfortunately, Cummins doesn't see any immediate relief from the industry's tough conditions. It now expects full-year 2016 sales to fall 9%, which is at the midpoint of its previous guidance range for an 8% to 10% decline. However, Cummins did cut its expectations from pre-tax operating margin, now predicting a figure of 11.3%, down from its previous range of 11.6% to 12.2%. The company blamed the cut on higher loss contingencies from a field campaign that Cummins decided to expand, addressing emissions issues connected with third-party after-treatment systems about which some customers have reported problems. More importantly, the main downward impacts on Cummins' business don't appear likely to disappear anytime soon. The trucking industry is having its own problems, and that bodes ill for truck production, which is hitting both the core engine segment and the related components segment. Negative currency impacts have largely gone away as the dollar's strength wanes, but declines in organic sales on the distribution side of Cummins' business reflect the overall weak demand for its products overall. Meanwhile, power systems rely on healthy industrial sectors of the economy, and that strength hasn't been present, either. Cummins investors weren't happy with the report, sending the stock down more than 3% in pre-market trading following the announcement. Until conditions in the industrial economy start to improve, it will be tough for Cummins to see a return to fundamental strength in its core businesses.

Cummins third-quarter profit drops on weak truck production Reuters / November 1, 2016 Engine maker Cummins Inc on Tuesday reported a lower quarterly profit as revenue was hit by weak heavy-duty truck production in North America and poor global demand for power generation equipment. "Due to the slow pace of growth in the global economy, we continue to face weak demand in a number of our most important markets," Cummins Chief Executive Officer Tom Linebarger said. The Columbus, Indiana-based company provides engines for the large trucks that haul a large majority of U.S. freight. Truck makers have experienced a drop in sales this year as lackluster economic growth and high retail inventories have discouraged many trucking firms from putting in orders for new vehicles. The company reiterated its downbeat full-year revenue forecast. Sales in the company's engines unit were down 12 percent versus the same period in 2015. Third-quarter net income fell 24 percent to $289 million, or $1.72 per share, from $380 million, or $2.14, a year earlier. Excluding a one-time loss contingency charge, earnings per share were $2.02. Analysts, on average, expected $1.96.

Transport Engineer / November 2, 2016 Independent lubricants blender Millers Oils has acquired two Renault Trucks Range T rigids as part of its nine0strong HGV fleet revitalisation process. Both are 26-tonne Range T380 6x2 rigid curtainsided vehicles, supplied on a six-year contract hire deal through BRS, and follow two Renault Range D Wide 18-tonne curtainsiders which have been running on Millers Oils’ fleet since 2014. Delivering lubricants across the UK, the new Range T380 sleeper cabs – which have Roco Truck Bodies’ rigid curtains, Mellor Flow Trans’ inter pump hydraulics and full rear closure tail lifts – were specified with Renault Trucks Comfort Pack and Fuel Eco Pack. “Our drivers are out on the road for two or three days at a time, so it’s vital that we create an environment where they feel appreciated,” states Millers Oils managing director Jamie Ryan. “I was first introduced to the Range T two years ago at the CV Show: I sat in the truck and was extremely impressed by the size and comfort of the cab,” he continues. “Our drivers’ satisfaction is highly catered for in these top-spec Range Ts and we’ve even added extras such as air suspended seats, three ambient lighting modes, microwave, fridge, TV and DVD player.” But Ryan also points this new trucks’ fuel efficiency. “Through our Eclipse fuel treatments, Millers Oils is working hard to increase fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and maintain clean injectors. “Our specific aim was to invest in energy saving vehicles, like the Range T, which has had aerodynamic improvements made and … these new vehicles will help sustain and prolong our fleet life as well as helping to protect the environment too.” .

Transport Engineer / November 1, 2016 Derbyshire-based earthmoving, plant hire and recycling services specialist JC Balls & Sons has bucked the trend and added three six-wheel tippers to its 38-strong fleet, instead of industry preferred 8x4s, citing their versatility and manoeuvrability. Conceding its new tippers reduced payload capacity at 15 tonnes, director Jamie Balls counters that his new 26-tonners are ideal for work on local highways contracts. “A 6x4 truck is a lot more manoeuvrable than an eight-wheeler, which is a big advantage on some of the roads in this area,” insists Balls. “Also, of course, the lighter vehicle comes at a lower purchase price, and is cheaper to operate too,” he adds. And Balls points out that because highways contracts are mostly summertime activities, he needs his tippers to handle aggregates, muckaway and the like in the winter months. “So versatility is all-important for us, and this new chassis-body combination is living up to all our expectations,” smiles Balls. Supplied by Derby dealer Mertrux, its new Arocs 2635Ks were specified with ClassicSpace M-cabs and the 7.7-litre 354bhp engine driving through the PowerShift AMT (automated manual transmission). They have been bodied by Thompsons with its lightweight, all-steel Stonemaster, and tip the scales at an unladen weight of 10,700kg. “These are still very early days but the drivers have certainly taken to the Arocs, with the responsive engine and smooth-changing PowerShift being particularly well received,” continues Balls. JC Balls inspects and maintains its trucks in its own workshops but will be using Mertrux for regular deliveries of Mercedes-Benz GenuineParts. .

Volkswagen Group Press Release / October 28, 2016 Volkswagen Truck & Bus sees unit sales continue to increase in Q3 • Around 133,000 trucks and buses sold from January through September 2016 • Truck sales of the MAN and Scania brands up 12% in Western Europe • Renschler: "Commercial vehicle sales in Brazil are set to pick up again in 2017" Volkswagen Truck & Bus sold 132,860 trucks and buses from January through September 2016, up 3% year-on-year. MAN Truck & Bus sold 19,670 vehicles in the period from July through September, up 7% on the same quarter of the previous year. Scania recorded 3% growth in the third quarter of 2016, selling 18,420 trucks and buses. In a challenging market environment in South America, MAN Latin America's sales of the Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and MAN brands fell 16% to 5,500 vehicles. Andreas Renschler, the Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for commercial vehicles and CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, is pleased: "The third quarter of 2016 also went well. We continued to boost total unit sales, despite the ongoing crisis in Latin America. The market in Brazil seems to have bottomed out now. I expect that sales will start to pick up again slowly in 2017 and that we will be able to leverage our strong position there." The growth trend in the trucks business continued in the first nine months of 2016: at 120,610 trucks, the Volkswagen Truck & Bus brands sold around 3% more than in the previous year. The trends in the individual regions varied: the ongoing economic recovery in Western Europe led to a year-on-year increase of 12%. Italy, the Netherlands, and France in particular all recorded growth. Volkswagen Truck & Bus delivered significantly more trucks than in the previous year with its own brands in Central and Eastern Europe too, lifting its unit sales there by 21%. Due to the persistently difficult macroeconomic climate and tougher financing conditions, truck sales in Brazil decreased by 22%. Volkswagen Truck & Bus also saw positive developments in its bus business: at 12,250 vehicles, unit sales in the first three quarters of 2016 grew 3% year-on-year. In the third quarter alone, unit sales of buses increased by 21% compared with the previous year. Theme-wise, the third quarter of 2016 was dominated by the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover. The IAA Startup Night saw the MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands showcase their trade fair highlights together for the first time under one roof. Volkswagen Truck & Bus presented its new brand RIO, a digital platform linking all the players in a transport system up with one other – regardless of the vehicle brand or function – thus allowing them to boost their efficiency and profitability. MAN Truck & Bus MAN's appearance at the IAA 2016 included a look at its new MAN TGE transporter. Through a downward extension of its product line, MAN now offers commercial vehicles from three through 250 tons. The MAN TGE is identical in construction to the new Crafter from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Both vehicles are produced at the newly opened plant in the Polish town of Września, Europa's most modern factory building of its kind. Hanover also saw MAN present the concept of a fully electric heavy-duty delivery truck based on the MAN TGS in the form of its eTruck. The company has also made great strides in optimizing its production and spare parts network as part of its future-proofing program. This includes a job guarantee for all MAN Truck & Bus employees until at least 2025. Scania In August 2016, Scania unveiled its new truck generation to the world. It has been ten years in the making, fueled by an investment of around twenty billion Swedish krona. The new generation significantly expands Scania's offering to include more performance levels, connectivity services, and sustainable transportation solutions tailored precisely to the customer. Thanks to an improved drivetrain and optimized aerodynamics, the new Scania needs around 5% less fuel than its predecessor. The S-series of the new truck generation was crowned "International Truck of the Year 2017" at the IAA show. Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (Volkswagen Truck & Bus - Brazil) In order to reduce its dependence on the Brazilian market, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus presented an internationalization strategy that is already bearing fruit. The company succeeded – in a very difficult economic climate – in selling more than 460 vehicles in key export markets such as Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. In Mexico, the company secured a major order for 246 MAN- and Volksbus-branded buses for the tourism industry. Volkswagen Truck & Bus Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and is a global leader in commercial vehicles with its brands MAN, Scania, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus. In 2015, the brands of Volkswagen Truck & Bus sold a total of 180,000 vehicles. Its product range includes medium- and heavy-duty trucks as well as vans and buses that are manufactured at 25 sites in 17 countries. As of December 31, 2015, the Company employed 76,000 people at all commercial vehicle brands worldwide. The Group is committed to driving transportation to the next level — in terms of products, services, and as a partner for its customers.

Outback Truckers Website - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5SpQEhj09YNozsi7cVttvw .

Scania Group Press Release / November 1, 2016 On an icy October morning in Malmberget, a small Swedish mining town just north of the Arctic Circle, local residents have gathered to witness an unusual spectacle – an entire neighbourhood being picked up and carted seven kilometres away, house by house. The project, a joint undertaking by Swedish mining giant LKAB, Legendary Dutch heavy haulage company Mammoet (http://www.mammoet.com/) and Swedish construction firm NYAB, will see 30 houses and apartment buildings, the biggest weighing in at 230 tonnes, transported to the nearby village of Koskullskulle. While many buildings in the town have been or will simply be dismantled as part of a decades-long urban transformation, LKAB has chosen to preserve a number of historical buildings, the oldest dating to 1909, at the request of Gällivare municipality. Culturally significant “We have decided we want to save them for cultural and historical reasons. These are also some of the oldest houses in Malmberget and were built for the LKAB workers,” says Maritha Mossberg, communications officer at LKAB, explaining that apartments in these houses will be available for rent. Using a team of Scania trucks, including a Scania R 620 V8 outfitted with an Allison automatic transmission for heavy haulage, Mammoet transports the houses to their new neighbourhood once the initial prep work has been done and the buildings have been lifted from their foundations. 18 axles, 144 wheels After backing it up underneath each house, Mammoet’s team slowly raises the 63-tonne, 18-axle Nicolas MHD trailer, balancing the weight of each house evenly on the trailer’s 144 wheels before securing the load and pulling away. “The trailer can take 36 tonnes per axle maximum,” explains Mammoet driver Trond Friis, putting the trailer’s capacity at above 600 tonnes. A generator that sits on the back of the truck powers the trailer’s hydraulics and steering systems, and a technician who sits on the front end of the trailer manages those systems during transport. While the specially equipped Scania R 620 has been approved for loads of up to 250 tonnes, for the larger houses Mammoet also attaches a second truck to the rear of the trailer to assist with both pushing and braking. Working quickly, Mammoet can cover the entire seven kilometre distance in less than an hour once each house has been loaded. Decades-long transformation Fourteen of the buildings were moved in October, with the rest scheduled for transport in 2017. The project is the result of LKAB’s plans to expand iron ore extraction underneath the town, whose history has, quite literally, been shaped by iron ore mining, which has been taking place here since the 18th century. Apart from the town’s name, which means “The Ore Mountain,” visitors might be tipped off to the local industry once they notice the giant pit that splits the town in two. While Kaptensgropen, or “The Captain’s Pit” as it is called, will eventually be filled in, underground mining work will continue to displace the town, with the centre expected to be cleared by 2032. Residents, whose livelihoods are dependent on mining production, will move to Koskullskulle or the larger town of Gällivare as Malmberget is transformed. “We are so lucky that we don’t have to create a town. We already have a town just a few kilometres from Malmberget. Gällivare will grow, Koskullskulle will grow, and Malmberget will disappear,” says Mossberg. “The mine, LKAB, and the town are dependent on each other. So no town without the mine – without the mine, no town.” .

Scania Group Press Release / November 1, 2016 European TV audiences know Glenn Kendall as one of the stars of the hit reality TV show Outback Truckers. And now the extroverted big-rig driver has found fame in another way – by being crowned Australia’s best truck driver in the 2016 Scania Driver Competitions. Kendall, who viewers of Outback Truckers know by the nickname ‘Yogi’, edged out tough competition to take the national truck driving title in the final in Melbourne. “It feels amazing,” he says. “Scania is working hard to portray a good image for the industry and they are actually putting their money on the line. I’m really excited to have been part of that.” The road to the champion’s crown was a long one for 40-year-old Kendall, who with his family runs Kendall Trucking & Co from the town of Katanning in Western Australia’s outback. A driver for nearly 20 years, he had entered every Scania Driver Competition since the event was established in Australia in 2007 without progressing to the final. This year was different. “I made it through to the final 12, and I think maybe that’s because I have honed my skills by working as an owner-driver over the past four years,” he says. No special training To take part in the finals, Kendall flew over 3,300 kilometres from the west coast of Australia to the east. Incredibly, he did no special training for the event, even though he normally drives a 1990s American bonneted truck – a completely different vehicle to the sleek Scania G 480 used in the competition. “When I got into the Scania, I was blown away by all the electronics and the ways that the truck will tell you what to do,” he says. “You can tell that Scania are the leaders with this kind of technology, and on the road it was absolutely phenomenal.” “I loved the challenges” Kendall says he thought his chances of winning were over when he knocked over a cone just two minutes into his first event – the Slalom. But he kept his cool and recovered enough in the other events to take the winner’s trophy. “I loved the challenges,” he says. “I loved the manoeuvring challenges, I loved the B double reversing, I loved working through the theory, the on-road drive.” Apart from winning, Kendall says one of the best things about the competition was having the chance to meet and talk with other professional drivers. “Where I operate its fairly remote and rural, so you don’t tend to talk to a lot of people during the day,” he says. “So, it was excellent to meet the other competitors who are like-minded people and are pushing for the industry to be better.” “Glenn’s achievement in winning the 2016 Scania Driver Competition should not be underestimated,” says Ron Szulc, Brand and Communications Manager for Scania Australia. “Not only did he beat a very talented field, but he adapted quickly to a cab-over truck from his traditional bonneted truck. To do this, and complete the manoeuvring tests with such style underscores his talent behind the wheel. “We are very pleased to have Glenn as our champion this year.” Kendall has recently shot another series of Outback Truckers which will soon be shown in Australia and in European countries including the UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. .

Both the engines offered in the Sprinter, the 2.1L 4-cylinder and 3.0 V6, are diesels. They can put off diesel light vehicle sales, but the Sprinter show must go on. M-B broke ground on the new US$500 million Sprinter plant in North Charleston, South Carolina on July 27 this year. To be clear, they're adding onto the existing SKD assembly facility, adding body manufacturing, painting and final assembly lines. They're reportedly going to start hiring people in "mid-2017".

Cummins Reveals "Repower" Diesel Crate Engine Program at SEMA 2016 Truck Trend / November 1, 2016 Making its debut at the 2016 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show this morning was Cummins Repower, the new crate engine program designed for consumer auto and truck enthusiasts. The program’s first (and so far only) offering will be the Cummins R2.8 Turbo Diesel, an I-4 engine commonly used for Jeep projects. Cummins Executive Director – Global Pickup/Van Business Jeff Caldwell said the decision to offer the R2.8 was made after seeing the immense demand for Cummins engines from the consumer aftermarket. “They want reliable power, and this segment of the aftermarket exists because there is no off-the-shelf vehicle that satisfies enthusiasts’ appetites for personalization,” Caldwell said. According to the company, the R2.8 will come with 50-state emissions compliance, and the company is working with the California Air Resources Board to ensure the R2.8 has clear guidelines regarding which vehicles and vintages it can power. Electronically controlled high-pressure common-rail injection provides reliable and consistent power delivery, and the kit includes all necessary components to ease installation. Cummins says even novices can handle the kit, although we’d suggest rookies have a little help regardless. The company claims that a Jeep Wrangler TJ with the R2.8 engine swap has improved torque ratings across the engine’s rev range, with fuel economy that’s doubled or even tripled compared to the stock engine. We believe that claim, as Cummins’ compact I-4 turbodiesel was lots of fun to drive in the Frontier prototype we sampled a few years ago. The R2.8 will begin consumer sales early next year. .

Cummins Press Release / November 1, 2016 There’s no place quite like SEMA Show to make a major announcement… Today, Cummins formally announced the long-awaited crate engine program called Cummins Repower™ as a means of offering brand new engines from the factory direct to the consumer market. ”For nearly 100 years, the Cummins legacy has been built on repowering anything from early river boats to modern 95-liter locomotives and everything in between,” said Jeff Caldwell, Cummins Executive Director – Global Pickup/Van Business. “Clessie Cummins repowered automobiles, race cars, buses and trucks, demonstrating the benefits of the diesel engine over their original power plants. We are proud to be continuing the legacy of our namesake by enabling passionate enthusiasts to repower their vehicles for the same reason Cummins repowered his own.” The announcement, made on the first official day of the 2016 SEMA Show, comes after research and voice of customer surveys identified significant demand for Cummins in the consumer aftermarket. “They (customers) want reliable power, and this segment of the aftermarket exists because there is no off-the-shelf vehicle that satisfies enthusiasts’ appetites for personalization – they build their own,” Caldwell continued. Engine Details The first Cummins Repower engine offering will be the R2.8 Turbo Diesel, including other major components to ease the installation process, as well as the necessary documentation to make it 50-state-emissions-compliant. The turbocharged 2.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine is based on a global platform which is currently used in small pickups, chassis cabs, SUVs, vans, commercial vehicles and industrial equipment around the world. The proven platform is a lightweight, electronically controlled, High Pressure Common Rail (HPCR) compact package ideal for most small pickup and SUV applications for qualifying vintages. The kit will include the major components necessary for the engine operation to help ensure that even the shade-tree novice has most everything they need to make their Cummins Repower installation as painless as possible. Testing the R2.8 Turbo Diesel Initial testing with the R2.8 Turbo Diesel installed into an otherwise stock Jeep® Wrangler® TJ (pictured above) demonstrated that the vehicle not only gained higher peak torque, but the amount of accessible peak torque across the RPM band also increased. In addition to the performance gains, preliminary testing indicates that the R2.8 more than doubled the fuel economy of the Jeep – in some real-world drive cycles, even tripling it – all while meeting the Transitional Low-Emission Vehicle (TLEV) LDT2 vehicle emissions standards of that particular gasoline engine vintage. Start of sales is anticipated for the first quarter of 2017. Future engine family introductions into the Repower product lineup will be announced at later dates. Cummins Repower website - https://cumminsengines.com/repower

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I buy a new car for 10 years minimum, if not 20. Seriously. I take meticulous care of it, like you probably do as well, I choose carefully. If I was you, knowing what we know at this juncture, I'd keep your diesel Sportswagon and ignore any parts or software recalibration recalls. I'm looking ahead at both the US market Ranger and Everest, but that remains to be seen. I assume we'll see the 5-cylinder 3.2L diesel since the Transit is already here with it, but the standard 4-cylinder 2.2L diesel has abundant power and still better fuel economy. So many of the cars and trucks I like aren't available in the US market, or aren't available with a diesel in the US. You could ask your M-B dealer if the GLC300d is still coming.