kscarbel2

Magnificent. Looks as though it rolled off the line just last year.

Volvo to makes billions in Canada Goteborgs-Posten / June 29, 2016 Volvo Group company Mack Defence will deliver 1,500 [Renault Trucks Defense VAB MK 3] army trucks to Canada's armed forces, writes Dagens Industri. The contracts are worth 4.7 billion kronor (US$554.9 million). Deliveries will begin next summer and be completed in the fall of 2018. The trucks will be assembled in Sainte-Claire, Quebec, at Volvo, Prevost touring bus factory. According to Volvo, its Renault Trucks Defense unit had previously focused on dealing with the French military, but now has as a strategy to try and sell in other parts of the world. This is the first time that Volvo Group has sold a European military truck to a defense customer in North America.

Volvo Trucks Press Release / June 29, 2016 .

Scania Group Press Release / June 29, 2016 Scania is focusing on developing autonomous vehicles for controlled environments like mines, ports and terminals. .

Commercial Carrier Journal / June 29, 2016 Hino Trucks this week held a ceremony at its Williamstown, W.Va., plant to commemorate the production of the 50,000th Hino truck. The milestone 2017 model 268A caps a record growth period for Hino in which the company has seen a 30 percent increase in 2 years. Yoshinori Noguchi, Chairman of Hino Trucks, says the growth in sales can be attributed to a combination of improved vehicle offerings including a fully connected vehicle platform that is standard across all Hino models. “It’s gratifying for our sales team, our manufacturing team, and our production team to have reached this significant milestone in our company’s history,” he says. “This production level is testament to our trucks longevity and to the commitment of our customers to support a quality product. The Hino brand has risen from humble beginnings in the U.S. to become the premier leader in the medium duty truck market. We have built a solid foundation on which we plan to build consistently and substantially with the help of an ever expanding portfolio of standard features.” .

Truck News / June 28, 2016 Schneider has announced that of the company’s more than three million loads moved last year, 99.999% were theft-free. In an age when cargo thieves have run rampant, Schneider said it has incorporated multiple overlapping elements to prevent theft, with carriers and shippers working together from the beginning of a shipment to its final delivery. Schneider employs multiple technologies, procedures and training to strengthen the supply chain and achieve best results. “The technologies and processes we employ to keep freight safe are absolutely best-in-class, but our secret weapon is the careful and observant driver force we have behind the wheel of every load,” noted Brian Bobo, vice-president of enterprise security. “Schneider drivers’ skill-sets are kept sharp through a three-prong approach: We thoroughly train during on-boarding, we regularly communicate the locations and types of thefts that are occurring industry-wide and we incorporate theft prevention techniques into our quarterly training sessions.” Schneider said CargoNet’s annual theft analysis shows the industry lost 890 loads in 2015, averaging $185,297 per incident. “Schneider continues to lead by example with their layered approach to cargo security,” says Anthony Canale, general manager at CargoNet. “Through their understanding of technology, intelligence and application of cargo theft trend data, they truly have a unique safety and security application. Their use of CargoNet’s theft prevention and recovery network is just one example of their commitment to securing their customers’ freight. We are honored to be a part of Schneider’s continued success.”

Volvo has stated that the upcoming revised (available mid-2017) D13 that will feature turbo compounding (D13TC) provides a 6.5% fuel efficiency improvement over 2014 D13 engine. However, Volvo has yet to state how much more fuel efficient the D13TC will be over the revised D13 (available October 2016), which features common rail fuel injection, the new "wave" piston and new (lighter by 29lb) camshaft. In all fairness, I have to acknowledge that Scania introduced turbo compounding some 25 years ago in 1991, and XPI extra-high pressure common rail fuel injection way back in 2007.

Volvo’s I-Shift with Crawler Gears Boosts Performance, Productivity Heavy Duty Trucking / June 29, 2016 "Extreme startability" and low-rev cruising at highway speeds are the main advantages of a new crawler-gear option for Volvo Trucks’ I-Shift HD [aka. mDrive HD] automated manual transmission, demonstrated for customers and trade press reporters June 27-28. One or two added ratios to the builder’s 12-speed I-Shift allows easy starting under heavy loads and on steep grades, said Wade Long, director of product marketing, who oversaw the event at the North American headquarters of Volvo Construction Equipment at Shippensburg, Pa. The low-low ratios also allow very slow movement for special jobs like concrete and asphalt paving for mixer and dump trucks. With the “C-1” gear, a Volvo VHD with the 14-speed version of I-Shift crawled at 0.6 mph, compared to about 2 mph for a 12-speed gearbox. “This lets us go after more vocational applications than we formerly could,” Long said. Extreme startability also allows use in tractors pulling extra-heavy combination vehicles, as the transmission will be approved for gross combination weights of up to 220,000 pounds, with prior application approval by Volvo engineers. The I-Shift with Crawler Gears, as it’s formally designated, goes into production in October, and will be available in two versions: • 14 forward gears, including one low crawler (19.38 ratio) and one ultra-low crawler (32.04 ratio) with an overall ratio of 41.08 • 13 forward gears, including one low crawler (17.54 ratio) with an overall ratio of 22.35 Thanks to overdrive top gears, a Volvo truck “can go down the highway at 1,330 rpm at 70 mph” depending on axle ratio and tire and wheel size, said Magnus Koeck, vice president, marketing and brand management. This saves fuel, speeds trip times and boosts productivity. Heavy-duty versions of the I-Shift, whether in 14-, 13- or 12-speed configurations, have gears and other hardware that have been hardened to withstand frequent shifting in rugged operating environments. The transmission received additional updates to improve shift performance and overall durability, including improved split synchronizer components, an updated engaging sleeve and main box parts fashioned from reinforced material, Volvo executives said. A revised countershaft design helps enable faster shifting between gears, while new software enhancements – Volvo’s I-See predictive cruise control feature – can help improve fuel efficiency by learning and adapting to the road. Although I-Shift penetration in highway applications reached 83% in May, only about 25% of construction-truck customers chose automated transmissions, Koeck said. The crawler-gear options are expected to increase that percentage.

ZF, WABCO unveil collision avoidance system that autonomously steers trucks around stopped vehicles Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / June 28, 2016 Global truck components suppliers ZF and WABCO unveiled June 28 the next progression in rear-end collision avoidance technology. The Evasive Maneuver Assist system goes beyond active braking systems by giving tractor-trailers the ability to autonomously steer around a stopped vehicle should the truck detect it cannot brake quickly enough to avoid the crash. The EMA active steering system is the next “critical step” in bringing autonomous vehicles to real-world application, the companies said in a joint statement. The system was announced at a global ZF press event being held this week in Aachen, Germany. ZF CEO Stefan Sommer says the EMA system should be ready for deployment in three to four years. EMA combines WABCO’s OnGuard active braking system, which has been available in the U.S. market for several years, with ZF’s electrohydraulic ReAX steering system. The EMA system uses sensory data, like radar, to detect a stopped vehicle ahead and offer drivers visual, audio and tactile signals if the truck senses an impending rear-end collision. Should the driver not take action quick enough to avoid the crash — and should the truck detect that road conditions or stopping distance prevent the system’s automated braking system from stopping the truck in time to prevent the accident — the EMA system will take control of the truck’s steering system to steer around the stopped vehicle and prevent the looming rear-end crash. If the system detects that adjacent lanes are occupied, it will brake as hard as it can in an attempt to prevent the crash or at least mitigate the impact. Drivers can override the EMA system at any time during the autonomous evasive maneuver by simply taking control of the steering wheel, brakes or throttle. “Our innovative function simultaneously evades, brakes and stabilizes automatically — at all speeds, with any load in the semi-trailer truck and with any type of semi-trailer,” says Mitja Schhulz, senior VP and general manager of commercial vehicle steering at ZF TRW. The EMA system is designed to find a middle ground between steering too lightly to avoid a crash and too heavily to swerve across multiple lanes of traffic. The system will steer either into an open lane or onto a hard shoulder and bring the truck and trailer to a safe stop, ZF says. Per the companies’ joint press release: “The system constantly calculates the optimal evasion route and adjusts the steering angle accordingly. The software algorithm continuously monitors and compares the calculated and actual steering trajectory.” The EMA system also leverages existing electronic stability control systems to prevent rollovers.

Fleet Owner / June 29, 2016 AACHEN, GERMANY. Integrating the latest innovations in vehicle sensors, braking, and steering systems, ZF Friedrichshafen AG (ZF) and WABCO Holdings Inc. (WABCO) on Wednesday will demonstrate the prototype of an “industry first” collision avoidance technology for commercial vehicles, the Evasive Maneuver Assist (EMA). EMA marks another critical step toward enabling autonomous driving in the commercial vehicle industry, as ZF CEO Dr. Stefan Sommer outlined during the company’s Global Press Event here this week. The system is being introduced for the first time in the prototype vehicle ZF Innovation Truck 2016. “We try to have strong partnerships with companies that have technologies we don’t have or don’t want to produce on our own,” Sommer said. “We try to combine those technologies so that, at the end, we are able to provide the overall system of intelligent or autonomous driving vehicles.” EMA combines the capabilities of WABCO's OnGuardACTIVE, the advanced, radar-only collision mitigation system, with ZF's electrohydraulic ReAX power steering system. A radar sensor identifies moving or stationary vehicles ahead and alerts the driver via visual, audio and haptic signals of impending rear-end collisions. EMA controls both the longitudinal and lateral movements of trucks and trailers in challenging driving situations at high-speed, thereby, helping to avoid rear-end collisions. The assistant function detects if the automatic emergency braking system or driver braking is sufficient to enable a stop before hitting the obstacle. If braking is insufficient, as may be the case on slippery roads or if traffic hazards appear suddenly in blind curves or after hill crests, the EMA directs the truck with its trailer (initiated by the steering motion of the driver to the right or left) independently and safely toward the desired open lane or hard shoulder, even at maximum speed. “Our innovative function simultaneously evades, brakes and stabilizes automatically—at all speeds, with any load in the semitrailer truck and with any type of semi-trailer,” says Mitja Schulz, senior vice president and general manager, Commercial Steering Systems at ZF TRW. With sudden manual avoidance maneuvers, there is always the risk that the driver steers too lightly to avoid the obstruction, causing a truly critical collision with an offset crash. Alternatively, the driver may steer too abruptly, heavily turning in, causing the truck to swerve or even tip over or crossing more than one lane and endangering others. EMA is designed to be able to prevent these scenarios. During automated control, the software constantly calculates the optimal evasion route and adjusts the steering angle accordingly. The software algorithm continuously monitors and compares the calculated and actual steering trajectory. The integrated roll-over protection function in the EMA is adapted for such extreme driving situations. The system also is designed so that the driver can override EMA at any time during the autonomous evasive maneuver by simply taking control of the steering wheel, brakes or throttle. “We are ready to apply this with any OEM,” Sommer said. “Normal development lead time is three years, so by 2019 or 2020 we could be in the market with these technologies.” Fleet Owner will have additional coverage from the demonstration later on Wednesday. Video - http://www.zf.com/corporate/en_de/press/list/release/media_23233.html Press Release - http://www.wabco-auto.com/media/media-center/press-releases/press-releases-single-view/news-article/wabco-and-zf-unveil-breakthrough-evasive-maneuver-assist-safety-technology-for-commercial-vehicles/?cHash=6cc475d51339fc89462495f22e5c9646

Volvo Touts Fuel Efficiency, Driver Productivity of New Crawler-Gear Option on I-Shift AMTs for Off-Road Trucks Transport Topics / June 29, 2016 Managers of Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) talked up the improved fuel efficiency and increased driver productivity of their new crawler-gear option on the I-Shift automated manual transmission designed for applications where very slow speeds are used. Volvo hosted a ride-and-drive event for reporters and editors June 28 at its construction equipment facility here to demonstrate the capabilities of I-Shift with crawler gears on its VHD model vocational trucks. The press “had an opportunity to experience some of the very first ones we’ve built,” Wade Long, director of product marketing for VTNA, said in an interview with Transport Topics. The transmission is available on Volvo’s new 2017 engines that will have to comply with the federal greenhouse-gas update effective Jan. 1. It will be available in November on Volvo’s D13 engine and in January with the D11 and D16 engines. Volvo announced the I-Shift with crawler gears in March, saying the AMT would be “appropriate for both vocational and on-highway applications.” The new AMTs are intended for concrete mixers with curb-pouring capability, asphalt paving “and other low-speed tasks, as well as improved startability for heavy-haul,” the OEM said. The AMT comes in two versions: 14 forward gears, including one low crawler and one ultra-low crawler; and 13 forward gears, including one low crawler. The 13-speed is typically used for highway and heavy-haul, while the 14-speed is for off-road, vocational applications such as mixers and dump trucks, Long said. The event took place on the construction equipment demonstration area with a VHD off-road dump truck with the 14-speed, ultra-low crawler gear. A benefit of crawler gears on vocationals, Long said, is improved fuel efficiency. “It allows us to speed up the rear-axle ratio.” A typical dump truck, for example, would have a 3.73 or 3.90 rear-axle ratio so it could have “great startability,” but when it’s cruising down the highway at 60 to 65 mph, the engine would operate at 1,500 to 1,600 rpm, Long said. With the ultra-low crawler gear, “we allow you to spec a very fast ratio — down in the 3.07 to 3.21 rear-axle ratio,” Long said. But while a truck is cruising down the highway at 65 mph, “you could be running in a sweet spot of the engine — about 1,350 rpm. “So every 100 rpm we slow down the truck, we save about 1.5% in fuel efficiency.” “We are giving a vocational truck operation like a highway truck when it’s running down the highway,” Long said. The other benefit is driver productivity, he said. The crawler gears allow a driver to pull up with heavy loads on steep grades and operate at “very, very slow speeds,” as low as 0.6 mph, he said. This is ideal for applications such as concrete mixers doing curb pouring, Long said. Automated manuals do not require a clutch pedal for operation. Volvo introduced AMTs in 2001 and brought them to North America in 2007, Long said. Today, about 88% of VTNA’s trucks use I-Shift. As for cost, Long said automated manuals are more expensive than manual transmissions, due to electronics and other features. However, “in general, when we look at the driver productivity and the fuel-efficiency gains, we look at the total lifetime of product. That may be something that we can balance out a little bit when we look at a total cost of ownership.” When asked about challenges in developing the I-Shift, he said that “the biggest challenge really was not the product. The mechanical design of the product worked very well.” Rather, “it was convincing the operators that the product can do all the start and stop, can shift correctly. “Drivers like to have the sense of control of the vehicle. They were the biggest resistance to moving the product into the marketplace.” Ultimately, however, Long said that drivers feel “much more rested in a day. They’re not having to shift all the time.” Class 8 trucks have a place for classic manual transmissions, fully automatic transmissions and automated manuals, Long said. For example, automatics currently are very good for trucks with frequent starts and stops, such as trash pickup, he said, but AMTs fulfill “a big portion of the application requirements” needed today.

Volvo: Class 8 orders low, inventories growing, but '17 tech shows promise Fleet Owner / June 29, 2016 Noting, as many have, that retail sales for Class 8 trucks in North America have lagged this year, Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) execs say truck dealers' inventories are swelling and present a problem for the market picking back up. At the same time, the latest 2017 fuel-efficiency technologies that've come about thanks to federal Greenhouse Gas Phase I regulations are rolling out and opening new possibilities. "There's pretty slow order-taking in the industry overall," contends Magnus Koeck, vice president for marketing and brand management at VTNA. "Everyone is facing the same challenge." Manufacturers have continued churning out trucks at fairly high rates — as has Volvo, he notes — "and when the market slows down, it just builds up in terms of inventory out at dealerships." Still, the company continues to project North American Class 8 sales this year of 250,000 units. VTNA also sees some bright spots in the trucking industry spectrum, and the OEM just began this week demonstrating its latest advancements in engines and transmissions both with the first wave of customers and Tuesday morning with a group of reporters. The company specified when new 2017 tech unveiled earlier this year goes into production and did some show-and-tell with the hardware and how it works (watch for our breakout look next week). One standout has been VTNA's Wave Piston technology going into D11 and D13 heavy-duty diesel engines. The company essentially has built a better mouse trap in this case, redesigning the piston crown itself with six "tabs" or divots that better concentrate and shape the fuel mixture to promote combustion. In testing, the OEM was showing the new pistons reduce soot output by a very significant 90%, so VTNA got new testing equipment to check it again and make sure. "We thought our testing equipment might be faulty. It wasn't the equipment," says Wade Long, director of product marketing at VTNA. "What is soot? It's unburnt fuel," he points out, explaining that the Wave Piston improves flame propagation for improved fuel economy and greatly reduced soot. The technology going into Mack and Volvo engines could mean changes may be possible regarding the need for treatment like diesel particulate matter filtering. Volvo's I-Shift transmissions are another star of the show for 2017, particularly with new "Crawler" add-on gears designed as a lower-cost alternative to provide extreme slow-speed control valuable in vocational and heavy haul-type applications while allowing a rear-axle ratio that gives fuel efficiency at highway speeds. Vocational trucks "can drive down the highway at a decent rpm when they're cruising and they come back home instead of running at 1,700 rpm or so trying to do 65 mph," says John Moore, a product marketing manager at VTNA. "Lots of people say, 'It's a dump truck, I don't care.' Well, if you have 50 of them and you're talking a 3% gain in fuel efficiency, that adds up fast," Moore tells Fleet Owner. "We're excited even to be able to be talking about fuel efficiency with vocational vehicles. It also aids in engine longevity and reliability as well; it's less stress when you're running an engine at 1,500 rpm instead of 1,800 rpm, less vibration." With the flexibility it allows, VTNA's Koeck contends that the I-Shift transmissions "definitely can do all the work that the customer needs." VTNA has six more predictions and observations for the heavy truck market: 1. The prices of diesel/ crude oil will remain on the low side. "We anticipate overall that diesel prices on average will remain low at about $2.27/gal. and [the price of crude oil] about $50/barrel; I think it was around $47 yesterday (Monday)," Koeck notes. 2. Manufacturing will stay about even. The North American manufacturing market will remain about flat for this year, VTNA predicts, part of the reason orders are flagging. 3. Long haul will decline as regional/ short haul gains. VTNA, like others, is tracking trends toward more regional- and short-haul — and likely also for day cabs and corresponding equipment — and away from long-haul. "Four, five, six years ahead, we see that long haul will come down a little bit, actually. It has been at roughly half [of the U.S. market] or a bit more, 53% or so, and that will continue to go down to about 43%," predicts Koeck. "Some of that is regionalization of distribution networks, and some is drivers wanting more home time; the driver shortage impacts it as well," he adds. As to what effect the now-expanded Panama Canal will have on North American freight transportation, however, "it's still early to be seen," notes Koeck, and some are skeptical. Should more — and/or larger — ships come to U.S. Eastern Seaboard ports rather than West Coast ones, "that will impact transportation distances, and ultimately product offerings," he adds. 4. Construction will gain. The construction industry is a bright spot VTNA sees for trucking, and is targeting higher vocational sales as a result. "Construction spending will grow," Koeck says. "That we see now and in the coming years." 5. Bargain diesel likely means marginal near-term outlook for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and other alt fuels. "Eventually, diesel prices and oil prices will come up and [alternative fuels] will grow, but today CNG is about 2% overall in the U.S. [heavy trucking] market. We monitor that as well as anyone else, but we think that will remain flat for now," says Koeck. 6. Proprietary power and transmission installations also are gaining. Particularly now that OEMs have had to address their heavy duty engines' fuel efficiency as part of the last wave of GHG regulations, heavy trucks may see more vertical integration. VTNA has, according to Koeck. In 2008, the first year its I-Shift transmissions were built in North America, Volvo installed them in about 15% of new trucks. As of May 2016, the company says I-Shifts are now going into 88.8% of new trucks. Volvo engines, meanwhile, went into about 53% of new trucks in 2008, and Volvo power now goes into 94.5%. .

The Wall Street Journal / June 29, 2016 Industry pushes to get emissions credits for making gains to A/C, brakes, wiring Newer air conditioners are playing an outsize role helping auto makers earn credits toward meeting federal fuel-economy standards, prompting more to adopt cutting edge refrigerants while calling on regulators to let other commonplace parts get similar treatment. The car industry has been racing to make cars more efficient, investing billions of dollars in battery development or aluminum-body designs capable of closing the gap between today’s fuel-economy requirements and more stringent standards set for coming years. Changing the way cars are cooled was responsible for about 40% of the U.S. emissions credits reported by the industry in 2014, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent data. “It seems funny to single out air conditioning as a way to get credits since improving it is only a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of tons of carbon dioxide vehicles put out each year,” said Brandon Schoettle, project manager at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. “But it isn’t fiction—air conditioners generate greenhouse gases and they cut fuel economy since they draw energy off the engine.” The EPA rewards auto makers willing to change the refrigerant in air conditioners, upgrading compressors and using lighter-weight designs. Up to 7% of the credits auto makers can earn to offset vehicles sold with higher emissions can come from these tweaks. Air conditioning’s influence in helping meet standards is only expected to grow, Mr. Schoettle said. The EPA with other agencies will this summer launch a review of rigid standards taking effect by 2025, with any revisions expected by 2018. Auto makers will argue that other parts—ranging from electric door latches that use less copper to electronic steering systems that eliminate hydraulic components—should get credit, too. Those changes are among a long list of moves being made to lower vehicle weights and curb energy consumption. Consumers, now paying low prices for gasoline, are showing little appetite for efficient cars. The average vehicle sold in May achieved 25.4 miles a gallon, according to Transportation Research Institute data, essentially flat from a year earlier. EPA standards require fuel-economy to more than double by 2025 to 54.5 mpg. “We urge the government to focus on aligning their standards with the marketplace realities of consumer demand,” says Gloria Bergquist, a lobbyist for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The air conditioning credit is just one example of a “holistic” approach to lowering the harmful greenhouse gasses that automobiles produce. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers lobbies on behalf of General Motors Co. , Toyota Motor Corp. and others. The group also has argued auto makers should get credit for autonomous-driving features, such as automatic braking. As those components lead to better traffic flow, emissions could be cut by a third. The EPA focuses on air conditioners because of the hydroflourocarbons gasses they produce. These gases are believed to be a major contributor to global warming since they take years to dissipate in the earth’s atmosphere, a spokeswoman said. The agency estimates AC improvements can eliminate up to 9% of greenhouse gases generated by vehicles. The air conditioning credit scheme has had its critics, but auto makers say the skepticism is unfounded. “You hear glib comments that this is nothing but a gimmick and it’s frustrating,” Gary Oshnock, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s manager of fuel economy, said. “This is something we put a lot of resources in.” To earn credits, auto makers rely on auto suppliers to provide new solutions. Honeywell Inc., for instance, invested $300 million to increase production of HFO-1234yf, a new refrigerant that is 10-times as expensive as R134a, the formula widely used by the industry. However, R134a can take up to 13 years to dissipate in the atmosphere, HFO-1234yf dissipates in a few weeks. “Moving the world’s car production to a low global warming refrigerant is equivalent to removing 30 million cars from the road,” said Ken Gayer, a Honeywell executive in its refrigerants business. He expects 18 million vehicles to use HFO-1234yf by year’s end, just a fraction of the globe’s light-vehicle population. Jaguar-Land Rover has switched all of its 2016 models to the new refrigerant. Fiat Chrysler has moved about 80% of its fleet and GM expects its entire fleet to change by 2021. Another move is to retool compressors. Variable compressors, built by companies including Japan’s Denso Corp. , draw less energy from the engine because they don't operate like old compressors that operate at full power until the desired temperature is reached, shut down and then restart that process all over again. (In both car and home HVAC applications, variable compressors have the ability to adjust power output to the compressor, rather than merely on-off functionality in traditional systems) “Next to the engine, air conditioning is one of the most complicated systems in a car,” Andrew Clemence, Denso’s thermal engineering vice president, said. It is “one of the contributors between a car’s real-world fuel-efficiency and what is listed on the [window] sticker.”

“You look at what happened in the Turkish airport, these were suicide vests. It's not that difficult to actually construct and fabricate a suicide vest.” “So if you have a determined enemy and individuals who are not concerned about escape, that they are going into it with a sense that they are going to die, that really does complicate your strategy in terms of preventing attacks.” “I am worried from the standpoint of an intelligence professional who looks at the capabilities of Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIS] … and their determination to kill as many as people as possible and to carry out attacks abroad.” “I'd be surprised if Daesh is not trying to carry out that kind of attack in the United States.” “If anybody here believes the U.S. homeland is hermetically sealed and that (ISIS) would not consider that, I would guard against it.” “We've yet to really thwart Daesh's ability to reach beyond the Syria-Iraqi borders and put in place some of the plans and preparations to carry out attacks. I am very concerned we have not had the success against Daesh in that environment as we've had in the core areas of Syria and Iraq.” “Turkey has been cracking down on some of the transit of foreign fighters who are flowing into, as well as out of, Turkey, and they are part of the coalition providing support, allowing their territory to be used by coalition aircraft, so there are a lot of reasons why Daesh would want to strike back. It was a suicide bombing [which] is usually more a Daesh technique.” CIA director John Brennan

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They're calling your name Tim. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tiny New Zealand town with 'too many jobs' launches drive to recruit outsiders The Guardian / June 29, 2016 Kaitangata, on the South Island, is offering new residents attractively priced house and land packages in the hope of tempting city-dwellers to relocate A tiny New Zealand town has a unique problem – too many jobs, too many affordable houses and not enough people to fill them. So the 800 residents of picturesque Kaitangata, on the South Island, have launched a recruitment drive to lure new residents to the town. The scheme involves offering house and land packages in the rural community for an attractive NZ$230,000 (£122,000) in the hope that Kiwis struggling with life in big cities will be tempted to relocate. Bryan Cadogan, mayor of the Clutha district, which includes Kaitangata, estimates there are upwards of 1,000 jobs vacant in his district and local residents are unable to meet demand. He said: “When I was unemployed and had a family to feed, the Clutha gave me a chance, and now we want to offer that opportunity to other Kiwi families who might be struggling. “We have got youth unemployment down to two. Not 2% – just two unemployed young people.” The major employers in the Clutha distract are linked to primary industries – including a dairy processing plant and freezing works – and for many years they have been forced to bus in workers from the provincial hub of Dunedin, which is over an hour away. “I despair over the way many Kiwi families are forced to live these days,” said Cadogan, who is a born and bred local. Map of Kaitangata “So many of the things Kiwis value, such as owning your own home and providing for your family, have become an impossible dream. For a lot of people in New Zealand life is just an endless slog. And that really saddens me.” Dairy farmer Evan Dick is a third-generation resident of Kaitangata and he is spearheading the town’s recruitment drive. He is offering house and land packages and has the bank, lawyers and local community services on stand-by to streamline the relocation process for any blue-collar workers interested in shifting to the town. “The housing crisis in New Zealand has made the Kiwi dream unattainable for many people, but in Kaitangata the Kiwi dream is still a reality,” said Dick. “This is an old-fashioned community, we don’t lock our houses, we let kids run free. We have jobs, we have houses, but we don’t have people. We want to make this town vibrant again, we are waiting with open arms.”

Automotive News / June 28, 2016 48-volt electric systems will handle connectivity, hybridization and autonomous driving With fuel economy regulations tightening and connectivity and autonomous-driving capability proliferating, the old-fashioned 12-volt automobile electrical system has reached the end of the road. That’s the view of Mary Gustanski, Delphi Automotive’s vice president of engineering and program management. And I agree. Gustanski is charged with looking into the future and developing electrical architectures that will have to support: • All the components for autonomous driving -- cameras, radar, lidar sensors, computers, etc. • A greater array of drivetrain components, such as the oil and water pumps, that will switch from mechanical to electrical power. • An assortment of hybrid-drive parts that will propel the car under electric power. • More computing power that will improve vehicles’ connectivity, not just to the Internet, but to other vehicles and buildings, traffic signals and other structures in the environment. During a visit to Delphi’s North American engineering campus north of Detroit, I chatted with Gustanski on the changes coming to electrical systems. It isn’t clear yet how elevating 48-volt capability to handle some of a vehicle’s electricity-guzzling components will affect costs at the automaker and consumer levels. But it won’t be cheap. Delphi estimates that adding 48-volt capability could cost around $1,200. But that seems low to me. It’s no longer a question of the technology being fully baked. It is. Delphi engineers let me test drive a European 2016 Honda Civic diesel [1.6-liter i-DTEC] they converted to 48-volt power. The trunk contains a compact 48-volt lithium ion battery and a power converter. Under the hood, Delphi engineers installed a beefy belt-alternator stop-start system, an electric turbocharger and a few other components. In early testing, the car’s fuel economy improvement is averaging about 10 percent. That’s huge. Engineers struggle to wring out even a 1 percent gain. But the Civic test mule’s higher fuel economy does not come at the expense of performance. The electric turbocharger not only eliminates traditional low-end diesel turbo lag (the pause in acceleration as the turbocharger impeller reaches high rpm), but it enables the engine to pull strongly at low rpms. I drove the car around Delphi’s Troy, Mich., engineering center for about 45 minutes, testing not just acceleration, but the stop-start system and the car’s overall refinement. It’s clear that 48-volt systems offer significant advantages over today’s 12-volt electrical architectures. The Honda diesel engine has a 16:1 compression ratio, which makes it difficult to engineer a 12-volt stop-start system that is smooth and lightning fast. The Delphi system was nearly seamless. Gustanski believes hybridization and the electrification of energy-hungry components will be essential for most automakers to meet tighter fuel economy standards. By 2025, automakers must achieve a fleet average 54.5 mpg. But credits for such things as environmentally friendly air conditioners and stop-start systems means that the actual fuel economy rating on the window sticker will be less than 54.5 mpg in nine years, and vehicles still will meet the government’s mandates. But, generally, full-line automakers -- General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles -- that are heavily dependent on sales of pickups and SUVs have to improve their fuel economy by as much as 5 percent each year to meet the standard. Today’s electrical architectures are not going to be robust enough to carry the workload. Gustanski says the move to downsize and downspeed engines also has reduced the amount of power available for the ever-increasing electrical load. “Automakers have backed themselves in to the most effective and efficient engines ever, yet the pull for features and functionality is at its highest,” she said. Not every electrical component will switch to 48-volt. Lights, radios, electric windows and door locks, for example, would stay 12-volt. And Delphi’s vision is that vehicles with 48-volt systems would also have a strong regenerative braking system to capture much of the energy lost when a vehicle slows down. Around the turn of the last century, it looked like the 12-volt electrical system was at the end of its life, but engineers developed a new generation of alternators that amped up power output. LED lights actually reduced electrical demand. But now, with the electrification of the powertrain, with the components for autonomous driving already being installed and with connectivity increasing, 48-volt’s time appears to have arrived. “Electrical architecture is not just about getting the voltage, getting everything powered and getting the signals going, it’s about the data speed,” says Gustanski. “It’s about the computing power and how you lay out the electrical system.” Today’s cars, Gustanski says, process data at about 65 megabits, or 15,000 pieces of data, per second. “Tomorrow, it’s 1.5 gigabits,” she says, “or 100,000 pieces of data every time you blink your eyes.”

Big Rigs / June 29, 2016 The 2016 Kenworth Legends Lunch was one to be remembered, with two true heroes of the industry and a bit of unexpected entertainment in the form of a song. The seventh Legends Lunch kicked off with a brief history of the Kenworth brand in Australia, a brand that is undoubtedly one of the favourites here down under. The 2016 winners were Peter Wickham of Wickham Freight Lines and Phill Russell of Russell Transport. The two transport legends were equal parts humble and inspiring, and both still maintained that trucking was a truly great industry. Phillip Russell highlighted the problem today in getting young people into the industry, because you can no longer get them in the truck with you and teach them in the yard. "Somehow you've got to get the message across without letting them come into the yard and into your trucks, driving the forklift, and all those things that young blokes liked to do when they were in their teens," Phill said. "We unfortunately can't allow that to hapen, but the alternative is to find some way that you can introduce them into wanting to work in the transport industry." Peter Wickham offered words of widsom to those operating today and those that want to get into it, and it all centred around a love for trucks. "I think you must have a passion for the industry... if you're going to go into the trucking industry, you want a passion for trucks, you want to be able to do the job, do it right and cop the knocks," Peter said. "But, you must have a passion for trucks." When talking about the early days, Peter told us about the beginnings carting timber and logs with his brother Angus, when trucking was a bit trickier. "It really started in 1962...we had a truck there that Brown and Hurley had made up, it was a Leyland hippo front end, cut in half, with a Mack back end under it, alright," he said. "We put this big load of logs on it, and down we come with this big truck...Angus is taking it nice and steady across the rocks and one wheel got up on the slippery rock and that was it, no diff lock or nothing. "So she sat there the night and we walked two miles back to get the tractor to come back and give her a push. "So that's where we were in 1962." The two legends summed up their time at the Kenworth Legends Lunch in unique ways, with Peter giving us a ripper of a song he'd written that you can hear below, and Phillip jokingly giving us a bit of advice on heart health. "I've been told by at least one person that I don't have a heart, I have a pump, that i've got diesel instead of blood," Phillip said. "I'm not unhappy with that, because it's pretty easy to buy an overhaul kit for a pump. "The journey has been a great journey, i've enjoyed it, I really haven't got too much regrets, and I think the support of the industry and suppliers to the industry has been tremendous." .

Owner/Driver / June 29, 2016 Scott Montgomery reckons his 1981 Mack Cruise-Liner has the first emissions rating released in Australia – Euro Zero Scott Montgomery owns a couple of not-so-young Macks – a 1994 Ultra-Liner and his latest showpiece, an ’81 Mack Cruise-Liner It’s not all show for the Cruise-Liner however, even though he had it on display at this year’s Sydney Classic and Antique Truck Show, which was held at Penrith's Museum of Fire on May 29. The Cruise-Liner is on full rego, and runs local out of Banksmeadow wharf, subcontracting to Johnstons Transport. However, the old cab-over Mack bears the nickname ‘The WayBack Machine’. "That came from watching too much TV as a child — Mr Peabody and Sherman — because when you get in it, you go way back," Scott says. Other peculiarities are the 5½ star energy rating sticker he transplanted from a fridge, and the ‘Euro Zero’ scroll on the side of the truck. "It was a bit of a dig at having no electronics, but it doesn’t blow plumes of black smoke. We all know we can’t do that anymore, and I don’t want to attract any EPA attention," he laughs. Scott bought the Cruise-Liner in October 2012 from Brian Taylor of Banana Coast Heavy Towing in Grafton. After floating it back to Sydney, the Cat-powered Mack spent around three years in the workshop. "The Cat motor was running, and when we brought it back home we were just going to freshen it, but we found that the crank had been machined beyond what we wanted. "So the only other way to go was to put a runner motor in it, and the first runner died going to Alice Springs." That was for last year’s Road Transport Reunion, and he made it as far as Marla in South Australia. "We got 40km out of town, and luckily I’ve got a mate up there with a cattle property, so it was a good place to break down," says Scott, who made it to Alice in a ute and consigned the Mack down to Adelaide. "I found a running engine in Victoria which I freighted over, and Doug Hampton Diesel swapped that over down there," he says. "Then I went over with my other truck and my tipping trailer to cart grain over in South Australia, which I have done for the last six years. On the way back I called in and it was all finished, so I flew a mate over and we brought both of them back to Sydney." In addition to the engine, now a 425 Cat with intercooler, Scott made a few alterations to the interior. Now it boasts an Isringhausen seat and a Red Dot rooftop air-conditioner. "It had air bags already on it, Neway, Hyway Diffs — it was still pretty capable," Scott says. "When I bought it, it had a massive four-post bull bar on it. I thought ‘I’m getting rid of that’. It took two men to lift it off." Scott’s Cruise-Liner attracted plenty of attention at the Sydney Classic and Antique Truck Show. These cab-over Macks are a rare breed these days, especially those with a Cat engine. For more on Scott’s Cruise-Liner and the Sydney Classic and Antique Truck Show, see the July 2016 edition of Owner//Driver. Photo gallery - http://www.ownerdriver.com.au/industry-news/1606/emissions-control-how-about-‘euro-zero’!/

Ontario First in Canada to Introduce Mandatory Entry-Level Training for Class A Truck Drivers Ontario Ministry of Transportation / June 28, 2016 To keep the province's roads among the safest in North America, Ontario is introducing mandatory entry-level training for new commercial Class A truck drivers. Individuals seeking a Class A licence in Ontario on or after July 1, 2017 will need to successfully complete mandatory entry-level training before attempting the Class A road test. Individuals who already have a Class A licence before this date will not be required to take training. The mandatory entry-level course will take approximately four to six weeks to complete and course fees will be set by individual training providers. Schools approved by the province have a year to develop a curriculum using a consistent provincial training standard. The new Commercial Truck Driver Training Standard (Class A) will be available early July, 2016. These changes will improve road safety and address the trucking industry's need for qualified and well trained commercial Class A truck drivers while eliminating inadequate training through unregistered truck schools. Investing in mandatory entry-level training is part of the government's economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit in Ontario's history and is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement. Quick Facts Mandatory entry-level training will be delivered by Private Career Colleges, Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology and recognized authorities under the Ministry of Transportation’s Driver Certification Program. A Class A licence is needed to drive a commercial motor vehicle towing a trailer that exceeds 4,600 kg. Mandatory entry-level training course completion will be recorded by approved training providers on a provincial web-based system and verified by Drive Test Centres prior to allowing an applicant to attempt a Class A road test. In 2014, there were approximately 291,155 large trucks in Ontario and 191,291 Class A drivers, representing 1.83 per cent of the entire driving population. Quotes “The safety of all users of Ontario's roads and highways is our top priority. The introduction of mandatory training in addition to knowledge and road tests is designed to ensure that commercial truck drivers are properly trained before they are tested.” Steven Del Duca Minister of Transportation “By being the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce mandatory entry-level training for commercial truck drivers, Ontario is leading the way in terms of further improving highway safety and helping the industry to ensure it has an adequate supply of consistently trained, quality new drivers in the future. This is a game-changer.” David Bradley CEO, Ontario Trucking Association “The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario which represents the majority of Truck Driving Schools in Ontario, was very pleased to be invited and involved from the grass roots discussions of mandatory entry-level training. The TTSAO would like to thank the Ministry of Transportation and all of the industry stakeholders that have dedicated their time and resources in developing the components of the new standard. The new standard will help to produce higher quality commercial drivers and ultimately make our roads safer for everyone.” Kim Richardson TTSAO Chairman of the Board “The Ministry of Transportation and its team are to be applauded for their stakeholder engagement in regards to the mandatory entry-level training standard. The ministry included many levels of the industry in the meetings to develop the standard, and made it clear from the beginning that the industries view was not only wanted, but necessary. Overall the mandatory entry-level training standard is a great win for the industry and will help to raise the profile of the job of the professional driver in our industry. The standard will also go a long way in removing the unqualified licensing mill training schools from our industry.” Mike Millian President, Private Motor Truck Council of Canada

New Ontario truck drivers to receive mandatory training Toronto Star / June 28, 2016 The new rules are a breakthrough in safety standards, with training to come into effect on July 1, 2017. Aspiring truckers in Ontario will soon be required to hit the books before hitting the road. On Tuesday, Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca unveiled new mandatory entry-level training standards for future tractor trailer drivers who, by next summer, will be required to study at provincially licensed schools. Previously, no formal instruction was necessary before student drivers could take their road tests. Now, would-be truckers must spend more than 100 hours in training — in the classroom and behind the wheel — before they can book their test. “With the introduction of mandatory entry-level training, we are making sure that commercial truck drivers are properly trained before they are tested and allowed to drive on our roads,” Del Duca told reporters at a DriveTest Centre in Brampton. “We are making sure that trucking standards are kept high and that Ontario continues to lead in the commercial truck driving space.” The new standards, developed in consultation with the trucking industry, come after a Star investigation that found anyone could obtain a Class A licence — needed to drive tractor-trailers and commercial trucks — without any formal or mandatory training. The Star revealed that this lack of required driver education had allowed the growth of dozens of unregulated truck training schools across the GTA that teach just enough for students to pass the road test. These schools, known as “licensing mills” by trucking industry insiders, evade government detection by charging students just under $1,000 — the price threshold the province set for regulated courses at private career colleges and other schools. Now that the province will require all schools providing training to be licensed — and use provincially approved curriculum — these cut-rate schools will essentially be put out of business, said Del Duca. The minister said road and knowledge tests will also be beefed-up to reflect the new training standards. When tractor-trailers crash, the results can be devastating. Last Friday night, three big rigs were among 11 vehicles involved in a fiery collision on Highway 400 near Sheppard Ave. Four people were killed, including three from the same family. Transport ministry statistics show that in 2014, the latest year for which figures are available, large trucks were involved in 105 deaths, accounting for 22 per cent of all road fatalities in Ontario. The new mandatory course will be a minimum of 103.5 hours, including time spent in the classroom, in the yard and behind the wheel. Truck training schools now have one year to study the new standards and develop curriculum for provincial approval. The new standards come into effect on July 1, 2017. Truck training insiders told the Star courses are likely to cost between $5,000 and $6,000, but prices have not yet been set. David Bradley, CEO of the Ontario Trucking Association, hailed the new standards as “a game changer.” “Ontario is leading the way in terms of further improving highway safety and helping the industry to ensure it has an adequate supply of consistently trained, quality new drivers in the future,” said Bradley, whose organization helped lead the development of the new standards with the province. “The mere fact that a new driver holds a Class-A licence has not been indicative of the competency level of that driver. That’s been a concern of the industry for some time.” Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, which represents companies that use large truck fleets, said the new standards will help to raise the profile of the truck-driving profession. “The standard will also go a long way in removing the unqualified licensing mill training schools from our industry,” said Millian, who has worked as a driver, instructor and fleet manager over his 26 years in the industry. The changes, however, weren’t embraced by all in the truck training business. John Beaudry, owner of Transport Training Centres of Canada, said it was “absurd” that Del Duca settled on 103.5 hours of mandatory entry-level education when the current standard offered by private career colleges like Beaudry’s is 200 hours. “We don’t have enough training hours as it is,” said Beaudry, adding his 20 locations across Ontario train between 2,500 and 3,500 students annually. “There’s a 200-hour standard and we need every single minute of that devoted to delivering our best (instruction) in order to produce quality drivers. . . To cut it in half, it’s not going to be good.” Naeem Cheema, owner of Pine Valley Driving Academy in Etobicoke, said that while he is pleased the government is attempting to ensure some basic level of training, he is “surprised” schools weren’t mandated to provide air-brake training, needed to operate a tractor-trailer. The new rules make the inclusion of air-brake training optional in the curriculum. “It should be mandatory because drivers need to feel how air brakes are different from hydraulic brakes,” said Cheema. He said approved schools will probably just offer air-brake training as an add-on course. Tractor-trailer drivers need both a Class-A licence and a “Z” air brake endorsement. The Star’s investigation also found that Class-A licence seekers taking their road tests at the now-closed truck-testing facility in Woodbridge were not being tested on major expressways, despite the close proximity of the test centre to Highways 427 and 407. (The Woodbridge facility closed in April 2015 when the building’s lease expired.) The new standards state that road tests must include an expressway portion, or in areas where none are available, an alternative such as a highway with a speed limit of at least 80 km/h can be used. .

CBC News / June 28, 2016 Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca says training programs will last four-to-six weeks New commercial truck drivers in Ontario will have to take an approved entry-level training program before they can take the test for a Class A licence, starting July 1, 2017. Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca says the training programs will last four-to-six weeks, and fees will be set by private career colleges approved to provide the service. Del Duca says new, province-wide standards for trucker training were developed with industry representatives and road safety experts, and will be made public next week. He says the training will ensure all new commercial drivers have a consistent skill set to handle a big rig safely, and will eliminate unregistered trucking schools. Word that Ontario will become the first province to introduce mandatory entry-level training for truckers follows a 12-vehicle pileup Friday on Highway 400 near Highway 401 in Toronto, which claimed four lives, and involved three transport trucks. Del Duca says the number of fatalities in large truck collisions fell 40 per cent in the last 10 years, even though the number of large trucks registered in Ontario increased 19 per cent in that time. There were about 291,155 large trucks in Ontario and 191,291 Class A drivers in 2014, representing just 1.83 per cent of the province's driving population.

Retlan Manufacturing: Toombridge-based firm sold to Chinese firm for undisclosed sum BBC / June 28, 2016 One of Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing firms has been sold to a Chinese company. Retlan Manufacturing, which trades as SDC Trailers, has been bought by CIMC Vehicles for an undisclosed sum. Retlan is based in Toomebridge, County Antrim, and also has a plant in Nottinghamshire. The company employs 950 people and showed an annual profit of £8.5m in its last accounts. It makes lorry trailers and its customers include major supermarkets. The firm was majority-owned by JJ Donnelly and his family while chief executive Mark Cuskeran also held a significant stake. CIMC Vehicles is part of a manufacturing group based in Shenzhen which has an annual turnover of about £8bn. .

Transport Engineer / June 28, 2016 China’s trailer-making giant CIMC Vehicles is acquiring Northern Ireland trailermaker Retlan Manufacturing. Retlan trades as SDC Trailers Limited (http://www.sdctrailers.com/). The sum of the purchase has not disclosed. David Li, general manager and director of CIMC, says SDC’s existing management team will remain in post and plans are in place to consolidate the company’s position and increase export sales. “We look forward to working with the existing management to continue its fine tradition of high quality UK-based manufacturing – and to the opportunity for further investment to help grow the business,” states Li. “This is a significant opportunity for the company, its staff and for the future,” adds Mark Cuskeran, CEO of Retlan Group. “We have been impressed by the approach of the new owners to the acquisition, and the company is now looking forward to a significant period of growth on a global scale.” According to consultancy Clear International, CIMC has been working on a market entry strategy for Europe for many years. The firm already owns a Dutch company but recently abandoned a plan to build a new trailer plant in Germany, it says. It opened a plant in Poland in October 2015. The European trailer industry is dominated by three German firms: Schmitz, Krone and Kögel. Behind these three comes Wielton, Schwarzmüller, Tirsan and SDC. .