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Ford loses $1.7 billion in Q4 on pension charge, UAW contract costs Michael Martinez, Automotive News / February 4, 2020 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. lost almost $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter after taking a big accounting hit from employee pension liabilities and retirement benefits, but the automaker eked out a modest profit for the year. Ford on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter earnings before interest and taxes in the quarter plummeted 67 percent to $485 million, while automotive EBIT dropped 81 percent to $215 million. Ford's North American earnings fell 64 percent to $700 million, mostly due to UAW contract costs, warranty expenses and problems with the launch of the redesigned Explorer and Aviator crossovers. Ford last month warned that its fourth-quarter results would include a $2.2 billion charge related to its pension plans. The company has now reported two consecutive fourth quarter losses, after losing $116 million in the final period of 2018. Revenue in the fourth quarter fell 5 percent to $39.7 billion. For the full year, Ford posted net income of $47 million, down from $3.7 billion in 2018. "2019 financially was not OK," CFO Tim Stone said. "From a strategic perspective, I think we had strong progress executing our strategic vision. As I look to 2020 and beyond, I'm very optimistic." For 2020, Ford said it expects adjusted free cash flow of $2.4 billion to $3.4 billion and adjusted EBIT of $5.6 billion to $6.6 billion.

Ford Trucks International Press Release / February 4, 2020 Ford Trucks' Model 1848T 4x2 prime mover enables operators to go the full distance in domestic transportation. #SharingTheLoad #FordTrucks .

It is based on the highly successful DAF "LF". https://www.daf.co.uk/en-gb/trucks/daf-lf We can all note the common theme.......6.7-litre Cummins ISB. Ford and GM/Navistar chose in-house engines to reduce cost, but at what expense to sales??? Give the customer what they want!

These shipments of medical supplies are desperately needed in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the Coronavirus (2019-N-CoV). .

My kind of truck.....exactly what I would buy. However, these "concepts" never make it into production.

Yes. And the cab interior is as nice as a Scania. https://www.kenworth.com/trucks/k270-k370/ https://www.peterbilt.com/trucks/medium-duty/model-220

Navistar loses lawsuit against US Army and Oshkosh over vehicle buys Defense News / January 27, 2020 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled in favor of the U.S. Army’s decision to go with only one source for its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles for more than 10 years, denying Navistar’s lawsuit brought against the service and FMTV-maker Oshkosh Defense for not competitively procuring the vehicle. Following the Army’s initial five-year contract to buy FMTVs from Oshkosh, the service chose a sole-source procurement route with the company, arguing it didn’t have time to reopen competition because of urgent needs. Since 2009, the Army has spent more than $6 billion on FMTVs from Oshkosh. FMTVs are used for a wide variety of missions, including transporting for different cargo and missile defense radars. Navistar filed its lawsuit with the court in early August 2019. A bench trial was held Nov. 26, and a sealed decision was rendered Dec. 13. The court’s decision was unsealed this month. Navistar had filed a protest over the FMTV decision with the Government Accountability Office. But Navistar decided to sue the Army after the company said it was getting nowhere in its quest to get the Army to produce documents that would show the service’s reasoning to continue to order more vehicles from Oshkosh without competition and without proper legal justification. The company contended that the Army did not justify and had improperly awarded its most recent sole-source FMTV procurement in 2019 to Oshkosh, and that the service failed to provide proper notice to possible competitors in accordance with federal acquisition regulations and the Competition in Contracting Act, according to an extensive review of court documents by Defense News. In addition, the Army also ignored a stop-work order, which automatically went into effect when the GAO protest was filed. Navistar filed two complaints: One that claims the Army violated the law when it continued to buy Oshkosh vehicles outside of the scope of its contract without holding a competition, and another that claims the Army illegally continued to work on production of those vehicles despite a required stop-work order that must go into effect once a protest is filed with the GAO. Navistar contended the Army had ample time to compete for follow-on FMTV orders, and that the pool was deep with companies ready to provide vehicles that met the service’s requirements, but the Army never did. The Army instead issued a series of justification and approvals, or J&A, to extend its original contract award, including a September 2016 J&A, which Navistar protested with the GAO. Navistar settled with the Army, which included a deal to build vehicles for Iraq. To justify its orders in 2019, the Army amended the September 2016 J&A rather than issuing an entirely new one. Navistar claimed the move was not only against the Army’s previous practice but also against the rules of contract law. The court disagreed with Navistar’s argument that the Army’s 2019 sole-source contracting action constituted a “cardinal change” to the original contract or its subsequent 2016 J&A, which extended the contract. The judge decided the Army’s 2019 decision to procure an additional 1,916 vehicles did not “materially depart” from the scope of the original contract, which is one of the characteristics of a cardinal change. Additionally, the judge did not find any evidence that the 2019 orders fell out of the scope of the contract as modified by the Army in the 2016 J&A. The orders also fell within the terms of the contract, the judge found, which ended Aug. 25, 2019. The orders were placed between February and June of that year. The court also argued that Navistar and potential other offerors that might have participated in an FMTV competition were “adequately” notified of the possibility that the Army would procure additional tactical vehicles during the term of the contract. The judge found the 2016 J&A made clear the Army’s plan to extend and increase the value of the contract for the purpose of adding additional vehicles and made clear its reasoning not to hold a competition. The court argued that Navistar and others should have expected the possibility the Army would decide to increase the number of vehicles it might procure. The court also noted that the Army issued an explanation again in June 2019 outlining its need to buy more vehicles to bridge a gap between the current version of the FMTV and a new variant, for which Navistar did not compete. The judge wrote that additional vehicles were justified “because it’s well-established the Army’s estimate of its requirements is not a guarantee or warranty of the exact quantity required.” Navistar failed to show that the 2016 J&A limited the number of vehicles the Army could procure, according to the decision. The court also noted Navistar failed to show any statute or regulation that required the Army to issue a J&A every time it needed to add more vehicles beyond original estimates. The judge argued that even though it was the Army’s practice to do so when it ordered more vehicles, the absence of a complete J&A in 2019 was not against the rules. The court also found the Army had proper approval from a senior procurement official to extend its contract beyond the 10-year limit in accordance with the law. Navistar had argued the Army improperly extended the term of the contract. Additionally, the court argued that Navistar’s settlement agreement in 2016 — following the company’s GAO protest — precludes the vehicle maker from raising certain claims related to the FMTV contract because it waived its rights to appeal or protest any further orders under the contract. “The court agrees with the government that Navistar may not pursue claims related to the decision to extend the contract in 2016 or a challenge of the terms of the FMTV contract as they related to foreign military sales,” the decision stated. The judge also decided that since Navistar voluntarily withdrew its GAO protest and wasn’t successful in demonstrating the merits of its claims before the court, injunctive relief could not be provided. “When issues arise that warrant review before independent government agencies and the court, we have and will continue to bring them forward for review on the merits, especially those issues that directly impact U.S. taxpayers, our company and our dedicated employees who support critical U.S. missions around the world,” Kevin Thomas, Navistar Defense’s president, said in a statement to Defense News.

Daimler Press Release / January 30, 2020 In January, Daimler Buses signed a large order for 500 city buses for Morocco. The customer is the Spanish bus company ALSA which is part of the British National Express Group and has been operating bus routes in Morocco since 1999. This major order comprises 420 Mercedes-Benz Conecto solo buses and 80 articulated Mercedes-Benz Conecto G buses (150 buses are purchased on behalf of the Authority “L’ECI Al Baida” of Casablanca). The vehicles will be equipped in accordance with the Euro VI emissions norm and will be used in the city traffic of Casablanca where they will serve to renew the present fleet there. The city buses will be produced in the Daimler Buses Turkish plant and will be delivered successively until the end of 2020. After successfully mastering its Moroccan market debut in 2019 with more than 100 Mercedes-Benz Conecto buses for the country's capital Rabat, this is now the second major order in such a short space of time. The deliveries underline the strategic growth aims of Daimler Buses and the desire to conquer new markets and thus further strengthen its global market presence. In line with this, Daimler's bus division benefits from its Regional Centers established in 2015 – such as the Regional Center for North Africa - which guarantees close customer proximity in Sales and Service. The supply of these city buses also brings Morocco up to speed in terms of the environmental friendliness of its public transport offering whilst also demonstrating the contribution which Daimler Buses is making towards its overarching sustainability target of making cities around the world a better place to live. .

IVECO Trucks Press Release / January 23, 2020 Lidl's new green fleet has been presented at their logistics centre in Somaglia (Lombardy) and will be used to restock points of sale in Northern Italy. With biomethane, CO2 emissions are reduced by 95% and resources are used in a circular cycle. Five new biomethane-fuelled vehicles in the Lidl fleet were today unveiled, a result of the company's collaboration with IVECO, LC3 Trasporti and Edison. This is a first in the Italian Retail and Mass Distribution Sector, which again highlights the partners’ unwavering commitment. Unveiled during a press conference at Lidl's logistics centre in Somaglia, the new IVECO Stralis NP 460 HP CNG will be powered by biomethane, a renewable and sustainable fuel both in terms of the levels of CO2 emitted by the vehicle and of life cycle emissions, which are significantly lower compared to other types of fuel. Pietro Rocchi, Managing Director of Sales and Logistics at Lidl Italia commented on Lidl's commitment to favouring greener logistics, “We are extremely proud to be the first Italian company to use the newest vehicles powered by biomethane, a fuel that promotes an economic model based on sustainability and the circularity of resources. Our long-term goal is to gradually switch from transport that mainly runs on fossil fuels to alternative fuels with reduced CO2 emissions, such as biomethane and liquid natural gas (LNG), already used in a large fleet of vehicles. Lidl's quest for more sustainable logistics started in 2015, when we introduced the first LNG-fuelled trucks. Since then we have achieved extremely positive results: even though we've continually expanded our activity and open on average 40 new points of sale per year, we have still managed to reduce CO2 emissions by 5.2% -- that's 620,000 tons of emissions avoided. We would like to thank our partners for helping us with this initiative: LC3, IVECO and Edison. They are all large companies, leaders in their respective sectors, and share our values and commitment to sustainability”. This choice was made possible by technology developed by IVECO, a leading manufacturer of commercial and industrial vehicles, as Alessandro Oitana, Medium & Heavy Business Line Manager at IVECO stated: “IVECO has realised that the path to sustainable transport requires alternative traction systems and has met the increasingly pressing demands in this area with natural gas powered vehicles (gaseous and liquefied), which, are today the only concrete and immediately available alternative in order to provide sustainable transport. The true alternative that is already a reality today is biomethane, which enables the almost total abatement of CO2 emissions, creating a virtuous circle of economical and eco-friendly self-sufficiency; in fact, it is a shining example of circular economy. To arrive where we are today, we at IVECO have been working for many years, reaching the point where we can guarantee safety, infrastructure and mileage range. The world is changing, and it is changing fast, and the future will definitely see the introduction of new technologies. However, the road to achieving the same conditions in terms of load capacity level, range, refilling times and infrastructures remains long, therefore we feel that the only current solution that is both readily available and economically sustainable is biomethane, in all forms, be it CNG or LNG.” Mario Ambrogi, Executive Director of LC3 Trasporti continued, highlighting that: “Ever since LC3 was founded we have paid maximum attention to technological innovations and technologies in the heavy-duty road transport production sector, which could signal the start of a new form of road haulage characterised by paying extreme attention both to environmental problems and active and passive safety. It is only thanks to the first vehicles introduced by IVECO in 2013, the innovative LNG-fuelled vehicles, and an awareness of environmental problems shown by Lidl, that LC3 have been able to develop our own new method of organising transportation, up until today, when we have achieved another important result by choosing biomethane- fuelled trucks. There still remains a lot to do as regards biomethane production systems, storage, liquefaction and widespread distribution systems; but in any case, LC3 confirms its commitment and reliance on biomethane, as do its partners IVECO, Lidl and Edison.” The topic of environmental sustainability and the protection of resources are what drive Edison Energia, as Davide Macor, Edison Business Market Director stated: “The use of renewable energy sources and the decarbonisation of transport are some of Edison's core objectives, in line with European targets on sustainability. Today we are extremely proud to announce another step forward in the mass distribution model, thanks to the responsible and joint commitment of all operators in the chain. Edison now supplies methane to more than 200 refuelling stations across Italy, is a member of GSE for biomethane, and is currently the main operator qualified to collect and distribute this fuel. Furthermore, Edison is involved in creating the first logistics chain that integrates LNG for further development of sustainable mobility in heavy- duty and maritime transport. Thanks to these developments, Edison's contribution to distributing sustainable mobility is based on a full range of services that include electrical, methane and biomethane, LNG and soon BioLNG mobility." The five biomethane-fuelled vehicles will operate in neighbouring areas around the logistics centre in Somaglia, one of the ten Lidl logistics platforms located across Italy. .

Judge dismisses Navistar Defense case over FMTV Inside defense / January 27, 2020 The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has dismissed Navistar Defense's complaint in which the company accused the Army of violating the "automatic stay" requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act in procuring vehicles as part of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles program. The court released the decision on Jan. 10 about Navistar's complaint filed last September. Navistar alleged the Army did not suspend performance of the FMTV contract, awarded to Oshkosh Defense, in response to a July 8 protest Navistar filed with the Government Accountability Office. The latest complaint argued the Army also failed to notify GAO of its plans to continue performance, violating the CICA. The court says the issues in this lawsuit were not unique to those under a previously resolved 2016 GAO protest by Navistar, meaning the company had waived its right to raise certain claims related to the FMTV contract when it agreed to a settlement in 2016. The judge ruled the Army's 2019 sole-source contracting action to Oshkosh did not constitute enough of a change to be considered separately from the previous resolution Navistar had worked out with the Army. The judge also says Navistar's challenges to the Army's sole-source award, including the allegedly improper extension of the performance period, "lack merit."

Ringing in #February2020 w/ this beautiful photo of City of Green Bay #Autocar #ACX Labrie Enviroquip Group #ASL. We appreciate the opportunity to serve #GreenBay! Always Up - Autocar Trucks .

Our #WOC2020 booth is just about ready! Thanks to our partners Allison Transmission Cummins Inc. & Stertil-Koni USA Inc. Visit us in booth C6661 World of Concrete Beck Industrial #Autocar #dieselconventionalcab #concretemixer #LVCC #AlwaysUp #uptime #ROI #itsallabouttheuptime

In my mind, there's quite a variety of Class 6 and 7 truck types here, from the refined Kenworth and Peterbilt to the low price F-650. And we haven't mentioned cabovers.....the 5.2-litre 4-cylinder Isuzu FTR/Chevrolet 6500XD is a strong choice, with it's fuel economy, visibility, maneuverability and ease of maintenance. I regret they don't offer the 4-door crew cab in the US market. And then we have the conventional cab (bonneted) Hino AL Series in Class 6 and 7 (the new XL is also available in Class 7 but is substantially more expensive). https://www.chevrolet.com/commercial/low-cab-forward-cab-over-truck https://www.isuzucv.com/en/fseries/index https://www.hino.com/hino-trucks.html

Hino's are the best that Japan Inc. has to offer, as wealthy parent Toyota has the most money to spend on R&D. Isuzu makes a solid truck, as we all know, and represents the best value play from Japan. The T270/370 cab as you said has the best fit and finish (build quality). The cab is smaller, but not too small and cramped in my opinion. The Mack brand is way too late to the party. I can only see this being successful if they had brought a game-changing new design. And being the last one to the party gave them the opportunity to trump the known competition with a better mouse trap. However, I'm just not seeing that here. This is a "me too" product that brings nothing new to the table. So in an overcrowded truck segment with razor thin margins, what was the point of this exercise? It's not like Mack brand dealers were demanding it, much less asking for it. They weren't. They all long ago took on other franchises to meet the Class 6/7 demand due to a lack of product from Volvo.

It’s move-in day at #WOC2020! This #Autocar DC-64M diesel #conventionalcab Beck Industrial #concretemixer is definitely the best looking truck in the #LVCC. Visit us in booth C6661. World of Concrete #AlwaysUp #uptime #ROI #itsallabouttheuptime .

To me, Kenworth's Cummins ISB-powered T270/370 is the Class 6/7 with the highest level of refinement. Plus there's the Class 5 T170. And the same goes for Peterbilt's Class 6 Model 330 and Class 7 Model 337. And Peterbilt also offers the Class 5 Model 325. Freightliner's M2, available with the Cummins ISB, is not a low quality truck. The high-roof crew cab is selling well. But with up to 50 percent market share, Daimler has the economy of scale/sales volume to sell them at the most competitive prices in the industry and meaningfully profit. International's Cummins ISB-powered MV (formerly Durastar/4300), though aging, remains popular via pricing and competitive in specs. And then you have Ford. Nobody can touch Ford's price on the Class 6 F-650. But with the Power Stroke / 6R140 6-speed tranny combination, it doesn't appeal to everyone including many fleets and municipalities. It does however have the gasoline 7.3-litre engine and crew cab availability going for it. It seems the Class 7 F-750 can't gain a following without the Cummins ISB/Allison option that many Class 7 operators like. https://www.kenworth.com/trucks/t170-t270-t370/ https://www.peterbilt.com/trucks/medium-duty https://freightliner.com/trucks/m2-106/ https://www.internationaltrucks.com/trucks/mv-series https://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/f650-f750/

Arrival is airborne.

Financial Times / January 29, 2020 UK electric-van maker Arrival has received an order for up to 20,000 custom delivery vehicles from UPS in a deal worth hundreds of millions to the British start-up. UPS has ordered 10,000 purpose-built vans to be rolled out between 2020 and 2024, with the option to purchase another 10,000 in 2023. The vans will be produced at Arrival’s production sites in the UK in Bicester and Banbury, as well as a new plant in Reading, one in the US in New Jersey and another site in mainland Europe. Deliveries of the first vehicles will begin later this year. The orders are a further boost to the group, which has been a bright spot in a UK car industry struggling with falling output amid lower sales because of trading uncertainty following Brexit. The order comes a week after the company received €100m from Hyundai and Kia [US$132 million], valuing the start-up at €3bn [US$3.961 billion] and providing capital for the business to expand. The first generation of Arrival vans were existing conventional vehicles retrofitted with battery electric technology and used by companies including Royal Mail and BT. Its new generation of models have been designed from scratch and use a flexible skateboard-style base, or chassis, for battery vehicles that can be used to make large vans or smaller cars. Its production method allows the business to use a network of “microfactories”, which can make tens of thousands of vehicles, producing cars flexibly in several locations, rather than relying on the large facilities used by traditional manufacturers. The production centres employ about 40 to 100 people. UPS and Arrival have been working together since 2016 to develop the new vehicle based on the skateboard platform. The delivery group has also invested tens of millions of euros into Arrival, which has been seeking new investors to help fuel its growth plans. Arrival has about 400 employees in the UK, as well as 400 others across the world. Denis Sverdlov, founder and chief executive of Arrival, said: “UPS has been a strong strategic partner of Arrival, providing valuable insight to how electric delivery vans are used on the road and how they can be optimised for drivers. “Together our teams have been creating bespoke electric vehicles, based on our flexible skateboard platforms, that meet the needs of UPS from driving, loading and unloading, depot and back-office operations.” Juan Perez, chief information and engineering officer at UPS, said: “We recognise the need to work with partners around the world to solve both road congestion and pollution challenges for our customers and the communities we serve. “Electric vehicles form a cornerstone to our sustainable urban delivery strategies. Taking an active investment role in Arrival enables UPS to collaborate in the design and production of the world’s most advanced electric delivery vehicles.” .

Now (a day after the launch), the info-less MD Series video has been put on the Mack brand YouTube site. .

#Autocar is heading to Las Vegas for World of Concrete 2020! Come check out our ACX low cab forward and all-new DC-64 conventional cab vocational models. February 4-7 in booth #C6661 at the #LVCC. Always Up - Autocar Trucks .

A thousand pardons for not reporting this last year. When the former Mack Trucks opened its Winnsboro, South Carolina plant in August 1987, it required that many vendors build nearby plants within 100 miles. CVG chose Kings Mountain, North Carolina as a production location, just south of Gastonia and Charlotte off I-85, some 90 miles away.

CVG Press Release / March 19, 2019 NEW ALBANY, Ohio/PRNewswire/ -- Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (CVG) (NASDAQ: CVGI) announced that its Kings Mountain Manufacturing facility has produced its 500,000th Mack cab. The facility achieved the half million milestone on March 1 when the Mack C Series cab rolled off the production line. CVG's Kings Mountain facility, which employs 184 people, manufactures Mack sheet metal cab structures for Volvo Group using a variety of production processes including spot welding, MIG welding, assembly, sealing adhesive application, and E-Coat. "The Kings Mountain facility, and the customers and employees it supports, is an important part of our global manufacturing network," said Dale McKillop, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Trim, Wipers and Structures. "I am thrilled to celebrate this milestone achievement with the team and look forward to marking additional production milestones in the future." Kings Mountain employees, along with company officials and community leaders, gathered in the facility this week to celebrate the production milestone. The event included lunch, a formal unveiling of the cab, and an opportunity for the employees to permanently affix their name or initials on the cab. Plant Manager Shelby Evans offered his congratulations to the facility. "I am proud of the entire Kings Mountain team for this production milestone. The finished cab will be displayed at our Kings Mountain facility as a reminder of this legacy achievement and our ongoing commitment to quality products and service." About Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (through its subsidiaries) is a leading supplier of electrical wire harnesses, seating systems, and a full range of other cab related products for the global commercial vehicle markets, including the medium- and heavy-duty truck, medium-and heavy-construction vehicle, military, bus, agriculture, specialty transportation, mining, industrial equipment and off-road recreational markets. Information about the Company and its products is available on the internet at www.cvgrp.com.

Yes, we did sell them a few pedigreed trucks in the end. But very few. As you know, most had 2-stroke Detroit Diesels and Eaton transmissions.