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Transport Topics / September 19, 2016 Kenan Advantage Group said it has acquired Agri-Carriers Group Inc., a company based in Jacksonville, Illinois, that specializes in hauling food-grade products in bulk, including soybean oils, yeast, vinegar and corn syrup, used to manufacture food products in the United States. The company also provides refrigerated and dedicated van transportation services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal doubles the size of Kenan Advantage Group’s food transportation business, according to executives at the North Canton, Ohio-based firm. The Agri-Carriers Group consists of two trucking companies: Landes Trucking Inc. in Jacksonville, Illinois, and Charles G. Lawson Trucking Inc. in Hope Hull, Alabama. The two companies operate a combined fleet of 250 tractors and 425 trailers, employ 375 drivers and office workers and operate five terminals and four food-grade tank washing stations. “By partnering with this ‘best-in-class’ organization, we have doubled the size of our food transportation business,” said Dennis Nash, CEO of KAG. “We are committed to the success of this growing platform. Their expertise and scale in this space complements our legacy business and firmly establishes KAG as one of the leading food-grade carriers in the U.S.” Roger Ross, CEO of ACG, said the “alignment of core values, operational structure and strategic plans made our decision to join KAG extremely compelling.” “By combining our talented employees, fleet and terminal locations, we expect to further enhance services to our collective customers while expanding our customer base and food-grade product service lines,” he said. “This will also provide additional career opportunities for our employees.” Kenan Advantage Group ranks No. 21 on Transport Topics’ Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list with 2015 revenue of $1.5 billion and is the largest carrier in the tank/bulk sector in North America. The company provides a variety of transportation services, including fuel delivery, distribution of chemicals, industrial gases, and ethanol and logistics services, including transportation management, fuel storage and transloading. The last major acquisition by KAG was the purchase in 2013 of RTL-Westcan, a bulk hauler operating in western and northern Canada. Prior to the latest acquisition, KAG operated 4,458 company-owned tractors and 1,875 owner-operator and lease-to-own tractors, along with 9,491 trailers. More acquisitions of food-grade bulk carriers could be in the offing, according to Charlie Delacey, vice president of corporate development for KAG. “The acquisition of ACG is a strong strategic fit that demonstrates our focus on the food-grade industry,” Delacey said. “We will continue to pursue additional growth opportunities in the sector as we further expand our leadership position in food-grade transportation.”

Making a SuperTruck: So that's how they did it Fleet Owner / September 18, 2016 Slide Show - http://fleetowner.com/technology/making-supertruck-so-thats-how-they-did-it#slide-0-field_images-200951

Heavy Duty Trucking / September 19, 2016 Sales of Ford’s medium-duty F-650 and F-750 trucks have increased 59% year-over-year through August, the best year-to-date sales through August since 1997, according to Ford. So far this year, Ford has sold 10,160 F-650 and F-750s, including Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab body styles as well as straight-frame, kick-up frame Pro Loader and a new dedicated tractor model for heavy-towing applications. “We’re seeing growing interest in the new tractor from beverage and hauling fleets,” said Kevin Koester, Ford medium-duty truck and Super Duty fleet marketing manager. “Giving our customers the choice of two exclusive powertrains, available across all body styles and designed specifically for the unique needs of the vocational truck market, has really helped drive sales of our new trucks.” ord offers a gasoline engine option for both the F-650 and F-750 with its 6.8-liter V-10 with 320 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque, a unique offering in the medium-duty truck segment according to Ford. The engine can be factory-prepped for converting to compressed natural gas or liquid propane gas alternative fuels. Ford also offers a 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbo diesel engine with 270 horsepower and 675 lb.-ft. of torque with available higher output options. The engines are paired with the company’s TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission. “Towing and rental customers have embraced the gas engine, and others are looking at this powertrain for more severe service applications,” Koester says. “Our diesel customers are praising the quietness of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine.”

Transport Topics / September 19, 2016 Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) is laying off 143 employees effective Sept. 19 at its Volvo Powertrain manufacturing facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, the company announced. “We regret having to take this action, but it’s a necessary step in our continued adaptation to market conditions, said VTNA spokesman John Mies. The layoff follows one in the first quarter, when VTNA laid off 138 Hagerstown employees. Earlier this spring, VTNA introduced its latest engines and related enhancements at the factory. The plant, built in 1961 by Mack Trucks, Inc., assembles engines and transmissions for Volvo and Mack Trucks, as well as Mack axles. Mack and VTNA are units of Sweden-based Volvo Group.

I plan to purchase both a global Ranger and Everest (rebadged as Bronco) after US production begins. However, this all hinges on Ford not destroying what is now a superb product, when they reconfigure them for the US market. Ford has a long history of doing so, from the superb Mk1 and Mk2 Capri to Merkur and the Kuga (Escape).

Haldex picks ZF's $647 million bid over higher Knorr-Bremse offer Reuters / September 19, 2016 Swedish braking systems maker Haldex has backed a 5.53 billion crown ($647 million) takeover offer from German car parts firm ZF Friedrichshafen, even though it is less than a rival bid from Germany's Knorr-Bremse. Haldex said today its board had unanimously recommended shareholders accept ZF's offer because there was greater certainty it would go through. ZF has received clearances from antitrust regulators, while Knorr-Bremse's bid ran the risk of not clearing all regulatory hurdles, Haldex said. Knorr-Bremse, which makes braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles, last week raised its offer to 125 crowns ($5.17) per share, while ZF's upped its bid to 120 crowns, corresponding to 5.53 billion crowns and 5.29 billion crowns, respectively. Several German car parts makers have been looking to buy Haldex, keen on its expertise in brakes for trailers in particular as they seek to develop integrated autonomous driving systems for commercial vehicles. "ZF has announced that it has received all necessary regulatory approvals and clearances, whereas there is a very real and material risk that Knorr-Bremse's offer would fail to complete," Haldex's board said in a statement. ZF, which acquired U.S.-based TRW in 2015 for $12.4 billion, makes transmissions and a range of other automotive components. Haldex's board had previously warned that overlaps with Knorr-Bremse's business would trigger lengthy antitrust reviews. Knorr-Bremse CEO Klaus Deller said on Friday he expected to get the green light from regulators in a "reasonable time" but would not be drawn on which assets might have to be sold or when a deal could close.. A spokesman for ZF said today the recommendation showed its offer was "better overall and quicker to realize." Shareholders have until Oct. 3 to tender their shares to the German group. Knorr-Bremse said it had taken note of Haldex's announcement and stood by its offer but was planning to comment in more detail once it had reviewed the statement in depth. It reiterated its full offer was slated to be published on Sept. 26 and the acceptance period for Haldex shareholders would run until about Dec. 5.

Ford tries to fire back at Trump, citing Ohio-made trucks Bloomberg / September 19, 2016 Ford Motor Co., attempting to push back against criticism by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for moving work to Mexico, is highlighting its booming business in big trucks after shifting production to an Ohio factory from south of the border. The automaker has sold 10,160 of its F-650 and F-750 trucks this year through August, up 59 percent from the same period in 2015 and the highest sales of those models since 1997, the automaker said in a statement today. The big trucks are used as commercial vehicles, including beer haulers and tow, moving and dump trucks. Ford is firing back at Trump, who last week called the automaker “a disgrace” after CEO Mark Fields told investors that the second-largest U.S. automaker is moving North American small-car production to Mexico, where labor costs are lower than in the U.S. After Trump threatened to levy a 35 percent tariff on Ford’s Mexican-built cars, Fields said the company is “absolutely not” cutting U.S. jobs to move small-car operations south because the Michigan plant currently building them will manufacture other models. ‘American jobs’ “It’s really unfortunate when politics get in the way of the facts,” Fields said in a September 15 interview on CNN. “And the facts are, Ford’s investment in the U.S. and commitment to American jobs has never been stronger. I mean, we’ve created more than 28,000 jobs in the U.S. in the last five years.” Ford began producing the F-650 and F-750 at its assembly plant near Cleveland a year ago after the company spent $168 million converting the factory from building Econoline vans. They previously had been produced in Mexico in a joint venture with Navistar International Corp. known as Blue Diamond Trucking Co., which disbanded in 2014. The automaker now builds its full-size van, known as the Transit, at an assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo. The company is focusing on building high-margin trucks, vans and SUVs in the U.S., where labor costs are more expensive than in Mexico. Ford derives most of its profit from its F-series truck line, Morgan Stanley has said. And the largest vehicles in the line generate the biggest return, according to analysts. By going it alone in the big-truck market, Ford no longer has to share profits with Navistar. After parting with Navistar, Ford redesigned the F-650 and F-750 to offer them in a variety of body styles and with either gasoline or diesel engines. General Motors exited that segment of the truck market following its 2009 government-backed bankruptcy. “We’re seeing growing interest in the new tractor from beverage and hauling fleets,” Kevin Koester, Ford’s marketing manager for the models, said in a statement. “Towing and rental customers have embraced the gas engine.”

Associated Press / September 19, 2016 Five armed Afghan men in an SUV were arrested Sunday night around 9:30 p.m. in connection with the New York explosion, following a traffic stop conducted by the FBI and NYPD on the Belt Parkway near the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge. The men were believed to be headed out of town or on their way to the airport. .

Back in 2001, I advised senior Ford management to bring the Transit to the US. They resisted, arguing that the Transit wasn't suitable. They said Americans like to tow with their vans, whereas the Transit wasn't engineering for towing because nobody tows with Transits in the global market. Still, I argued the Transit in every other way was 20 years ahead of the Econoline in overall form and function. They agreed, but decided to postpone a US launch. In Europe, the Transit is available in rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Like all global market light vehicles, the US gets the decontented version, because we demand a low price.

In theory, the European COE "has" a tougher struggle to become aerodynamic than a conventional. And that is why European regulations are going to change, so as to allow a slightly longer cab in the front for enhanced aerodynamics. However, having said that, when you observe the next generation Scania in the wind tunnel, you can see the truckmaker has achieved virtual perfection in aerodynamics. Frankly speaking, Scania has some brilliant engineers with a life-long passion for truck design. I really wish you were attending the global IAA show in Hannover. It's good for one's head (eye-opening) to get out of town (or country) and see what's going on around the world. .

Paul my friend, I'm not lumping together my thoughts on global trucking trends with anything else. Cars, motorcycles, education, government, unions, general intelligence and health care aren't on my mind. Although my thoughts are global in scope, I'll be the first to criticize the dysfunctional European Union. You can blame global big business for its creation, their scheme for enhancing profitability in Europe.

"The Mack Dealer assumes responsibility for min buy, collect freight, non-cancellable and not eligible for return" Absolutely shocking. Volvo's Mack brand parts policies are not consistent with American values.

Relax my friend. Nobody said the US is dumb and stupid. We talking about truck design, i.e. tractors and trailers. The US does have a unique go-it-alone tone, that's undeniable. I myself wish we had one set of emissions standards for the entire world, rather than U.S. standards, and the Euro standards that most of the world uses. We could could it the "Global Emissions Standards". Limited to small trailers and 80,000lb GCW limits, we aren't operating as efficiently as we could or should. I will bash the United States EPA for forcing EPA2004 and EPA2007 down our throats before the technology was mature for US market trucks. It costs American truck operators millions of dollars. Those trucks are nothing more than rolling advanced science experiments. The engine compartments were so hot, I watched windshield washer reservoirs melting under the hoods of Mack Visions. Nobody ever said that Americans are "dumb" for not driving COEs. People expressed their opinion. I myself appreciate the added efficiency, serviceability and visibility of COEs. Mack sold thousands and thousands of F-models, Cruise-Liners and Ultra-Liners for those very reasons. If you want maximum load capacity while keeping overall length in check, the COE has a strong argument.

C'mon Paul, we're talking about truck design, and trailers..................not any of the other you mention.

I know Paul, I know. But old habits die hard. At one time the benchmark for the world, the US truck market today is behind the curve.

Curtain sided trailer usage is extremely limited in the US, versus Europe and Australia where they are mainstream.

Volvo has a non-returnable parts policy? That's the most absurd thing I ever heard. I thought such a policy in the United States by auto and truck makers was still illegal. The policy of the former Mack Trucks was, any part still packaged and saleable as new goods could be returned.

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / September 1, 2016 Today, on the 1st of September, on the occasion of Knowledge Day, KrAZ truck in conjunction with the Ukrainian government donated school supplies to underprivileged schoolchildren in the Molodyozhniy district. Almost seven hundred gift bags filled with supplies for studies were presented to the children after the first bell. The parents expressed their appreciation for the paints, notebooks, pencils, felt pens, colored paper and many other stationery items donated to their children for learning activities. Teachers and schoolmasters of the Molodyozhniy district also expressed their gratitude. Schoolmistress of the school No 17 Mrs.Valentina Marchenko said: “In our school alone, 124 first grade schoolchildren received stationery items required for learning activities. As for the whole school district, this number comes closer to 1,000. We sincerely thank our local government and KrAZ Trucks for help and support. In this difficult period for our country, companies, institutions, and parents, only such support can help us preserve our values, and we are happy to have such responsible helpers”. Pupils of the school No 31 had another present. The local government and KrAZ Trucks invested over UAH 200,000 to provide the school with a new outdoor sports ground complete with all the necessary equipment. KrAZ Trucks pays special attention to children realizing that, to move forward, young, talented and enterprising children are the key to our future. We are glad to welcome young additions into our family. They are worthy of taking over from today’s workers, and will continue to build excellent trucks in the KrAZ tradition. .

Hyundai Commercial Vehicle / May 19, 2015 .

The Guardian / September 19, 2016 Five explosive devices have been found in a backpack near Elizabeth train station in New Jersey. Two men called police after discovering the backpack with wires and a pipe coming out of it in a garbage can around 8:30 p.m. Sunday at North Broad Street and Julian Place. One of the devices exploded at 12:30 a.m. Monday when a bomb squad robot tried to disarm it by cutting a wire. .

The Financial Times / September 18, 2016 Groups to unveil aerodynamic components that promise to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions Mercedes-Benz Trucks has teamed up with trailer-maker Krone (http://gruppe.krone.de/english/) to sell a package of aerodynamic components that promise to improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon emissions. The two companies will demonstrate the new products on Thursday at the 66th IAA Commercial Vehicles conference in Hanover, where they hope to show the trucks industry has not been asleep at the wheel when it comes to the environment. The EU seeks to reduce emissions in the long-haul sector by 30 per cent by 2030, but Daimler — Mercedes’ parent — has been critical of Brussels for focusing narrowly on tyres and engine improvements, rather than the whole picture of how vehicles are actually used. Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler’s trucks division, said regulators were trying to trim grass that had been lawn-mowed, but there was still grass standing sky high in places where nobody was looking. “It’s more cumbersome to look at trailer aerodynamics than it is to look at tyre classifications. We need to start looking there — there is a lot to be gained,” he said. Last year Daimler performed efficiency runs to determine what sort of fuel savings could be gained on heavy-duty lorries equipped with optimised trailers, tractors and tyres, as well as “predictive powertrain control”, a cruise control unit that uses GPS and 3D maps to look ahead and maintain an efficient speed on inclines and declines, saving fuel. The result was 12 to 14 per cent fuel savings. The lesson was that a few tweaks to the aerodynamism of a lorry would give a completely different air flow for the vehicle. The problem was, Daimler makes tractors — the front part of a heavy duty vehicle housing the engine — not trailers. So Mr Bernhard commissioned Krone, a family-run group and the second largest-trailer maker in Europe, to see if they could churn out a product at an economical cost. Krone was able to develop a package comprising side panels, a four-part rear wing and “A-label” low-resistance tyres that delivers a 7-9 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency. The “Profi Liner Efficiency” package it will unveil this week will cost €2,000 and be available right away. Previously something similar would cost €5,000. The lower price is meant to entice haulage companies when they are buying a new vehicle: the average lorry drives 120,000km per year; if a company can save 7-9 per cent in diesel, at €1.10 per litre, the savings will be €2,000 to €2,500 a year, said Gero Schulze Isfort, managing director of sales and marketing at Krone. The savings could have an outsized affect. Transportation in general accounts for one-quarter of man-made CO2 emissions, and while heavy-duty vehicles account for just 4 per cent of vehicles in the EU they are responsible for 30 per cent of on-road emissions, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. A retrofit kit for existing vehicles will cost about twice the price, depending on volume, plus assembly cost. Mr Bernhard estimates that would pay for itself after about two years, on average. “Seven to nine per cent improvement is a huge step,” said Mr Bernhard. For context, he points out in the past 20 years Daimler lorries improved their fuel efficiency by 22 per cent. Lab-tested fuel efficiency figures have looked suspect since the Volkswagen emissions scandal was revealed one year ago, so Daimler and Krone first offered the efficiency package to five companies for three months of testing. The companies — Elflein, Grosse-Vehne, Rhenus, Seifert and Wiedmann & Winz — then used the trucks for everyday operation to compare their fuel efficiency with its normal fleet. “If you want to give a message to customers, you use real-life customers under their weather conditions, their roads, their vehicles,” Mr Isfort said. Separately, Daimler will be showcasing in Hanover its latest generation Mercedes-Benz Actros model with an OM 471 engine, which saves up to six per cent on fuel. Combined with the Krone products and its cruise-control unit, Daimler says the vehicle is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than a standard semi-trailer-tractor combo from 2014. .

Owner/Driver / September 16, 2016 Family-owned operation Brompton Road in Western Australia has come up with an innovative solution to hauling train wheels involving two Kenworth K104s Brompton Road is a small family-owned and operated company based in Bullsbrook, 25km north of Perth on the Great Northern Highway. Charlie Berne and his wife Julie started Brompton in the early 1970s. Today the couple’s two sons Jason and Tim are an integral part of the business. Owner//Driver recently caught up with Charlie and Jason at the BP Kewdale truck stop. The boys had just grabbed some breakfast and were about to head off to unload. "Except for a brief time offshore I have been with dad since the day I left school in ’95," Jason says. "That’s over 20 years now." Like many operators Brompton Road saw the advantages of specialising. The company has been working for rail companies for the past 30 years. "I should call myself ‘TNT’, trains not trucks," Charlie laughs. "We are not general carrier, we just specialise in looking after our customers’ needs." For Bromptons that has meant the need to solve a few tricky problems while working out transport solutions for their clients. The additional services means it’s more than just a transport company. One of Brompton Road’s big jobs is hauling rail wagons from Adelaide to Port Hedland. Charlie explains that the pilot vehicle costs on that job alone were $280,000. Charlie and Julie organised four trucks to carry out the work, with help of a subbies, two of which were towing Brompton trailers. Jason explains that they would unload the cars, take the bogies out of the bins and put them on the track. "We hook up the hoses and either Charlie or Julie do a brake test," he says. "So we commissioned the cars and that is why secured getting the job and with the combination that Jason’s got, we go up with three wagons and were only using 150 litres more fuel than the trucks carrying two. "Life is full of challenges and we love challenges." Brompton’s most recent challenge was moving railway wheels. The wheels come out of Newcastle to Brompton’s yard before being trucked north. It is a new concept because, previously the wheels were in skip bins unrestrained. The new ‘pallets’ allow the old wheels to stand up," Charlie says. "Everything is held and restrained; we have a patent pending on this system. "We think it is pretty good and it’s so simple and yet works so well. "The wheels go into the robots lying down and they come out of the robot standing up and that’s how we designed it." Despite their hands-on work, Charlie and Jason both agree that Julie is the backbone of the company. "She does everything," Jason says. "Mum cooks for us, does the paperwork, the finances and drives a truck, and she keeps us all honest. "For some families it doesn’t work, but for us I think it is the feature of our business. We all work together for a common good." .

ABC News / September 18, 2016 GOP vice presidential candidate Mike Pence said his role model for the number two spot is the last Republican to hold the job -- Dick Cheney. “I frankly hold Dick Cheney in really high regard in his role as vice president and as an American,” Pence said on ABC’s "This Week." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With those remarks about Cheney, Pence has lost all credibility.