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Kenworth remains optimistic about truck market Truck News / May 18, 2016 Class 8 truck orders have fallen sharply in the early months of 2016, but Kurt Swihart, director of marketing for Kenworth, is maintaining an optimistic view. Speaking to trade press journalists today, Swihart said Kenworth predicts Canada/US Class 8 retail sales to total between 220,000 and 250,000 units this year. That’s down from about 280,000 last year, but Swihart pointed out this year is still likely to be the third best year in the past decade. “It’s still a very healthy market, a very good market for the truck industry,” he said. Swihart gave a number of reasons why he thinks demand for new trucks will remain healthy, including an uptick in US for-hire truck tonnage, the return of manufacturing activity to positive territory and strong housing and construction activity. There has also been lots of road and commercial construction in the US, driving demand for vocational trucks. “Anecdotally, we hear stories from dealers saying it’s difficult for them to keep stock dump trucks on their lots,” Swihart related. “As soon as they get T880 dump trucks in stock, they’re able to sell those.” And with oil prices on the rise, Swihart said he’s anticipating the return of demand in the oil and gas industry. “There are a lot of good indicators out in the market and we feel this year is off to a good start and that 2016 will be a very good year for Kenworth,” Swihart predicted. The Chillicothe truck plant, where Kenworth T680s and T880s are built, has been busy, producing 128 trucks a day. The day shift is running at capacity while the second shift is running at about half of capacity. Judy McTigue, plant manager, said Kenworth reacted quickly to softening market conditions, which allowed it to adjust its staffing levels in accordance with demand. That has kept things steady so far this year. There’s also a major construction project underway at the plant. A new 25,000 sq.-ft. parts management system and automated storage facility is being built on top of the existing plant, at a cost of US$17 million. Currently, Kenworth stores painted cabs and hoods outside in the elements, but the new storage facility will allow it to free up outside space while keeping painted components protected from the elements. “Painted product will never go outside anymore,” McTigue said. The new facility is expected to be up and running by November. Swihart said these are exciting times for Kenworth, which is riding the popularity of its new flagship T680 and T880 models. Those two trucks now comprise 90% of Kenworth truck production in Chillicothe.

The Guardian / May 18, 2016 The salary threshold for workers to qualify for overtime pay will double to $47,476 by December 2016, but the new rule has faced opposition More than four million working Americans could get a bigger paycheck by the end of the year, thanks to a new overtime rule to be finalized by the US Department of Labor on Wednesday. Previously, only salaried workers who earned below $23,660 were eligible for overtime pay. As of December 2016, that threshold will double and be set at $47,476 a year. “If you work overtime, you should actually get paid for working overtime,” vice-president Joe Biden said. People who work more than 40 hours a week should be paid time and a half of their regular wages for the extra time. “In 1975, 62% of workers automatically qualified for overtime. Today, that’s 7%. Not a mistake, 65 to 7 – and you wonder why the middle class is struggling.” US secretary of labor Tom Perez said the current salary threshold is “woefully out of date” and that had it kept up with inflation, it would have been close to $57,000 a year by now. The rule was last updated 12 years ago. In future, the threshold will updated every three years. The labor department expects that due to such adjustments the threshold will grow to more than $51,000 by January 2020. “More than four million workers are either going to get paid more or get their time back to raise their family, go back to school or retrain to get a better job,” said Biden. The Obama administration predicts that the workers who will benefit from the new rule, such as retail manager and book keepers, will earns as much as $12bn more in higher wages over the next decade. Not everyone, however, believes that the new rule will help US economy move forward. In an attempt to block the new overtime rule from taking effect, Republicans in Congress led by South Carolina senator Tim Scott and Michigan congressman Tim Walberg have proposed a new bill that would require US labor secretary Tom Perez to carry out additional analysis on how the new rule would affect small businesses and their employees. “The Obama administration’s decision to drastically redefine overtime will hurt our workforce and our employers. It will lead to reduced hours, confusion for job creators, and will limit growth opportunities for employees,” Scott said in March, when he introduced the bill in Congress. A coalition of more than a dozen organizations, including Americans for Prosperity and Competitive Enterprise Institute, penned a letter to the US congress on Tuesday in support of the bill. “We write to express our strong support for the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act, and all efforts to defund, block and otherwise nullify the Obama Administration’s effort to change our nation’s overtime rules,” they wrote. On a call with reporters, Perez pointed out that prior to finalizing the rule the Obama administration listened to more than 270,000 public comments, many of which came from the US businesses. As a compromise, he said, the labor department made no changes to the “duties test” and allowed bonuses and incentive payments to count toward up to 10% of the new salary level. The “duties test” is a set of requirements that salaried workers must meet in order to be exempt from overtime pay. For example, it is not enough to just be classified as manager or a supervisor. These managers must actually be in charge of two or more full-time employees during a fraction of their work week in order to be exempt. Biden and Perez both pointed out that some US workers are misclassified as supervisors and miss out on overtime pay. Perez pointed out that when he was growing up, being a manager was a good job that meant being middle class. Managers worked long hours but were compensated for it. “These good paying middle class jobs were not a fluke brought about by an invisible market forces. They were good paying middle class jobs by design,” he said. While the White House won’t adjust the duties test, it is clarifying it in hopes of expanding overtime pay to more workers. According to Perez, there are an estimated 750,000 workers who are incorrectly classified as overtime exempt. The rule will go into effect on 1 December and the US labor department will immediately “pivot” to compliance assistance in order to help US businesses to meet its requirements by that time. “We don’t go out there with our ticket books trying to play the gotcha game,” Perez said on Tuesday. “We want to work together with employers.”

200th Kenworth added to the McColl’s fleet Paccar Australia Press Release / May 16, 2016 On April 29 2016, McColl’s Transport took delivery of its 200th Kenworth truck, which was painted in the company’s traditional Rich Blue and Ice White fleet colours to commemorate the milestone. The K200 was handed over at the Kenworth plant in Bayswater, Melbourne by PACCAR Australia’s Managing Director Andrew Hadjikakou. The production line was stopped while the Kenworth staff, along with McColl’s Transport executives, gathered for the official ceremony. Andrew Hadjikakou thanked McColl’s Transport for their business and made note of the important history between the two companies. “We are very proud of the long history between the two companies and particularly honoured to have been able to assist McColl’s in their endeavour to support their customers in the best way they can. We are pleased to be handing over this 200th truck today, and we look forward to working together on the next two hundred.” Jamie Bolton, Chief Executive Officer of McColl’s, received the keys from Andrew and acknowledged the Kenworth Trucks staff for a job well done. “For 20 years McColl’s Transport has been buying new Kenworth trucks. Over that period the quality of the trucks and the support experience we’ve had with Kenworth has been extremely good for us. Kenworth builds trucks to suit the conditions we work in, and they have always been reliable – that’s why we are standing here today taking ownership of our 200th vehicle.” During the official presentation, a 200th commemorative decal dedicated to both companies was applied to the side of the K200, which will now start its service in McColl’s chemical line haul operation that runs along the eastern seaboard of Australia. Features of the 200th Kenworth include a 2.8 metre Sleeper Cab with a king single bed. The cab-over model is driven by a Cummins ISXe5 engine rated at 550HP, and comes with a manual RTLO20918 Eaton transmission, a 4500 wheel base with a Jost ballrace turntable, Meritor RT46-160 rear axle, and Alcoa Dura-Bright rims. Kenworth Electronic Brake Safety System (EBSS) has also been specced with the truck regulated for Class 3 Dangerous Goods, and set up for a GCM 97 tonne limit. “This truck is certainly all about safety,” said John Hovey, General Manager of McColl’s Fleet Division. “We spend a lot of money on quality and reliability, now more than ever, and that goes for just about everything we purchase. We buy quality trucks and quality tankers to get the safest and best lifetime out of the vehicle.” The K200 will be pulling a mixture of Byford and Tieman B-Double tankers, and will clock up 240,000 kilometres a year, hauling between 64 and 68 tonne loads on trips throughout Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. “Our company runs on cents per kilometre,” explains Hovey. “We measure most of our costs by cents per kilometre and compared to other manufacturers, Kenworth stacks up the best in terms of maintenance, overall life of the truck and resale value.” Ron Ludbrook, new truck salesman at Kenworth DAF Melbourne in Laverton, facilitated the 200th sale in late 2015, which was part of a 15 unit order earmarked for delivery in April this year to replace some of the older vehicles in McColl’s fleet. “I took over the McColl’s account in 2003, and from 2008 to the start of 2016 the company has ordered 126 Kenworth trucks,” said Ron. “I met the previous owner, David Stevens in 2003, and around that time David said to me: ‘Ron, if you look after us, we will look after you.’ “Here we are, 130 plus trucks later, and we’re still doing business with McColl’s and we’re still discussing new concepts with them. It’s not just about the sale. It’s the after-sale support, the finance, and working with McColl’s to custom-build specialised equipment to suit their different requirements – it’s a whole package approach.” McColl’s specialises in bulk tanker haulage with three main divisions including bulk food transport, farm pickups and bulk chemicals. Their trailer and truck inventory tally up to more than 600 tankers and more than 200 vehicles, employing 400 staff plus 60 subcontractors to tow the tanks. The first Kenworth truck McColl’s took ownership of in 1996 was a K100 cab over model. Their 200th vehicle, the K200, happens to be another cab over. In addition to this, McColl’s also runs four bonneted models in their fleet including T359s, T409s, T409SARs and T609s. “Ever since I began at McColl’s 20 years ago we’ve had a great relationship with Kenworth Trucks and PACCAR Australia. We use PACCAR Financial to finance our prime movers and trailing equipment, and we use PACCAR Parts to supply all our workshops across the country,” said Hovey. Hovey signed off on the 200th truck and was sentimental about shifting back to the traditional McColl’s fleet colours; a design that stretches back to 1952 when Stuart McColl founded the company. “I’d like to thank Kenworth Trucks for the effort they’ve put into this 200th truck. We’ve gone back to our traditional blue and white fleet colours to revisit our history. This 200th Kenworth not only looks great, but it symbolises McColl’s true identity.” .

Trade Trucks.AU / May 17, 2016 Milestone marked with a Kenworth K200 delivery ceremony held at Paccar Australia headquarters Transport operator McColl’s Transport has received the keys to its 200th Kenworth from Paccar Australia, marking a long-serving relationship with a milestone celebration. The new Kenworth K200, decorated in the company’s blue and white fleet colours, was handed to McColl’s Transport at the manufacturer’s plant in Bayswater, Melbourne by managing director Andrew Hadjikakou. With the production line halted to commemorate the milestone, the Kenworth staff and McColl’s Transport executives attended the ceremony where McColl’s CEO Jamie Bolton took the keys. "For 20 years McColl’s Transport has been buying new Kenworth trucks," Bolton says. "Over that period the quality of the trucks and the support experience we’ve had with Kenworth has been extremely good for us. "Kenworth builds trucks to suit the conditions we work in, and they have always been reliable – that’s why we are standing here today taking ownership of our 200th vehicle." The vehicle, which will shortly start a chemical line haul run along the Australian eastern seaboard, was marked at the event with a 200th commemorative decal dedicated to both companies. The decal highlights a relationship that began in 1996 when McColl’s Transport received a K100 cab-over, and includes a range of bonneted models, such as T359s, T409s, T409SARs, and T609s. In the last six years alone, Kenworth has delivered 126 models to McColl’s. General manager of McColl’s fleet division John Hovey, who signed off on the milestone truck, says "ever since I began at McColl’s 20 years ago we’ve had a great relationship with Kenworth Trucks and PACCAR Australia." "We use PACCAR Financial to finance our prime movers and trailing equipment, and we use PACCAR Parts to supply all our workshops across the country," he says. The milestone truck features a 2.8m (9.2 ft) sleeper cab with a king single bed, a Cummins ISXe5 engine with 550hp, and a manual RTLO20918 Eaton transmission. Set up for a GCM 97 metric tonne limit (213,848 lb), the K200 also includes the Kenworth Electronic Brake Safety System (EBSS), a 4500 wheel base with a Jost ballrace turntable, Meritor RT46-160 rear axle, and Alcoa Dura-Bright rims. "This truck is certainly all about safety," Hover says. "We spend a lot of money on quality and reliability, now more than ever, and that goes for just about everything we purchase. "We buy quality trucks and quality tankers to get the safest and best lifetime out of the vehicle." The K200 will travel up to 240,000km (149,129 miles) annually on its runs through Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland, Hovey says, pulling a mixture of Byford and Tieman B-Double tankers weighing between 64- and 68-tonne per trip (141,096lb to 149,914lb). "Our company runs on cents per kilometre," he says. "We measure most of our costs by cents per kilometre and compared to other manufacturers, Kenworth stacks up the best in terms of maintenance, overall life of the truck and resale value. "I’d like to thank Kenworth Trucks for the effort they’ve put into this 200th truck. "We’ve gone back to our traditional blue and white fleet colours to revisit our history. "This 200th Kenworth not only looks great, but it symbolises McColl’s true identity." Thanking McColl’s Transport on its business, Hadjikakou says the Paccar team "are very proud of the long history between the two companies and particularly honoured to have been able to assist McColl’s in their endeavour to support their customers in the best way they can." "We are pleased to be handing over this 200th truck today, and we look forward to working together on the next two hundred," he says. .

Radio Free Europe / May 12, 2016 A journey with the men who make their living on "thin ice" As temperatures dip below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, the rivers of Russia's Arctic north freeze solid. While for most it's an excuse to stay indoors, winter is when the trucking business truly comes to life. Truck drivers ferrying supplies to the farthest, coldest reaches of Russia hop into their vehicles and drive over those frozen arteries. The work is dangerous — especially as the ice eventually melts and thins — and lonely. Photographer Amos Chapple of Radio Free Europe recently joined one young truck driver on a 12-day journey to deliver groceries to Russia's Arctic north. See what it's like to do one of the most dangerous jobs in Russia. http://www.rferl.org/fullinfographics/infographics/on-siberias-ice-highway/27706633.html#

"Europe is now thinking about piloting the European Modular System. There is already a 'pilot' up and running in Sweden. It's been there for 50 years. In Scandinavia we are running trucks that are 25.25 metres long - 6.5 metres longer than in the rest of Europe. So we are able to replace three trucks with two, resulting in less congestion, less road-wear and a reduction in fuel consumption of 15 to 25 per cent. Even more important: we have no related safety issues." Scania CEO Martin Lundstedt October 2014

Volvo Trucks Press Release / May 17, 2016

If the U.S. government didn’t allow Mexican drug cartels to operate in our country, the whole event would never have taken place. This all begs two questions: Why does the government refuse to eradicate the Mexican drug cartels operating in the United States? Is the U.S. government unable to eradicate the Mexican drug cartels operating in the United States , i.e., does it no longer have the ability to “govern” within our borders?

Fleet Owner / May 17, 2016 The owner of a small Texas trucking company, whose semi was commandeered without his knowledge by the Drug Enforcement Administration in a botched drug sting, has petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case for damages to his truck. He is also asking for police protection from retaliation by the Zetas Cartel who were involved in the drug sale. His case was recently dismissed by a federal appeals court in New Orleans leaving the Supreme Court as his last option. During the 2011 incident in Houston, not only was Craig Patty's truck damaged but his driver, Lawrence Chapa – a confidential informant for the DEA – was killed and a sheriff's deputy was shot and wounded by a plainclothes Houston Police officer. Four men were convicted in Chapa's death. Patty is seeking up to $6.4 million in damages but stated on several occasions that he was more interested in letting the public know about how the DEA operates – without regard for citizens' property and rights, he says. Many of the documents surrounding the case were sealed from public view. He is also seeking police protection as the drug cartel may believe he was in on the raid and could seek vengeance. Lower courts have so far sided with the government arguing that federal agents acted within their rights to use discretionary action during their operations and this includes placing a confidential informant in the driver's seat of truck without the owner's permission or knowledge and not having to pay for damages to the truck. Read the full story: Feds not liable for truck damaged during botched drug sting

Ex-Google Engineers Form Startup to Develop Kit for Autonomous Driving Trucks Transport Topics / May 17, 2016 Otto, a startup led by former Google engineers, is working on getting the millions of trucks already on the road to drive themselves. Founded by former Google engineers with employees from Tesla and Amazon, the San Francisco-based company is developing an autonomous driving aftermarket kit for trucks. The firm already has several trucks on the road testing the technology. “We are developing a suite of sensors, software and truck enhancements coming together in a product that can be quickly outfitted on existing trucks," the company wrote on its website. "Testing the technology is currently underway on highways with our research fleet, and we recently completed an autonomous demo of the technology on a public highway.” The company finished the first extensive test of its trucks May 14-15 on public highways in Nevada, where the state’s regulations allow the autonomous technology for big-rigs, the Associated Press reported. “We intend to enhance the capabilities of the Otto truck, collect safety data to demonstrate its benefits and bring this technology to every corner of the U.S. highway system,” the company said. Otto is looking for 1,000 volunteer professional truck drivers to have the kits installed on their cabs, at no cost to them, to help fine-tune the technology. “To speed the adoption of self-driving technology, we began by equipping existing trucks on the road with our unique self-driving kit, designed to empower truck drivers to drive more safely and efficiently,” Otto said.

Autoblog / May 17, 2016 Self-driving cars are very much a part of the future of tech, with Google, Uber, Apple and plenty of other top names working to develop autonomous vehicles. But what about trucks? That's where Otto is aiming to shape the future. Founded by former Google employees Anthony Levandowski, Lior Ron, Don Burnette, and Claire Delaunay, Otto wants to "rethink" the commercial trucking industry. In a Medium post, Levandowski, who lead Google's self-driving car efforts, and Ron, formerly with Google Maps and Motorola, explained that not only do trucks account for an oversized slice of pollution in the U.S. — 28 percent of road pollution despite making up just one percent of all traffic, they claim — but they cause a large number of fatalities, are inefficient and, to top it off, there's an increasing shortage of drivers. That creates the perfect storm for a tech-based solution, Otto's founders believe. Otto started out with tools to help truck drivers perform their job with increased safety, but now it is working on technology that, in time, can automate parts of the drive on highways. Unlike others, which are designing new vehicles that drive autonomously, Otto focuses on technology that can be fitted into trucks that are on the road now. Rather than eradicating drivers by making them obsolete, the immediate goal is assistance. The duo told Backchannel that, among many things, they aim to let drivers safely take a sleep break while leaving their truck driving autonomously. The company said it has already completed one public highway demo of its system, and it is hatching grander plans beyond that. "We intend to enhance the capabilities of the Otto truck, collect safety data to demonstrate its benefits, and bring this technology to every corner of the U.S. highway system," Levandowski and Lior wrote. Otto's team of 40 includes many former Googlers, as you might expect, and other staffers have worked at Tesla, HERE, Apple, Cruise, and various automobile companies.The company has lurked under the radar before its unveiling today — many of its staff haven't updated their LinkedIn profiles with their new roles, for example — and there will be many questions about it, such as which investors are bankrolling it. .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hillary-clintons-viral-nightmare-a-video-of-her-lying-for-13-minutes/2016/05/17/ea59e32c-1c66-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Would you buy a truck.........from these people? Based on the video, their "brand" doesn't possess the qualities required to succeed.

Volvo Trucks Press Release / May 13, 2016

Volvo Group Press Release / May 13, 2016

You're 200 percent right in saying "the big reason we're seeing more and more autos in trucks because there is a bigger demand for drivers and it's easier to find an inexperienced driver to throw behind the wheel so they can try and drive a truck like their Camry". But you can't compare Eaton's first generation AMT, the 3-pedal Autoshift, to what's being sold today........it was introduced way back in 1999. Though let me say, the Autoshift after all these years still has a strong following in Oz and South Africa (it's always interesting how markets vary), When you speak of off road, the Autoshift wasn't designed for that. However, today's AMTs are. In Eaton's case, they have a purpose-designed UltraShift Plus vocational range. http://www.roadranger.com/rr/ProductsServices/ProductsbyCategory/Transmissions/UltraShiftPLUS/Vocational/index.htm For years now, Scania's superb AMT has had a "rock free" mode which allows the driver to free the truck when it becomes stuck by rocking it back and forth with the accelerator (Volvo and others then copied us.......we always say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).

6900HD with German Liebherr dump body In Johannesburg, South Africa. (Liebherr builds good mixer bodies as well) .

Eaton sells fully synchronized twin-countershaft heavy truck transmissions in the global market, but doesn't try to sell them in the US. Synchronized trannies always had a shorter life, but the Europeans and South Americans were willing to tolerate that, while the US, Australian and Chinese markets preferred the longer life, greater simplicity and lower overall cost of non-synchronized units. In both cases of course, the advancement of gear oils has extended the lives of both transmission types. To each his own.

It seems that what I've said is not what you want to hear, but I will repeat, for a low-boy tractor application, you should give serious thought to a Granite tractor. In that application, it combines form with function. Why don't you talk with the folks at Watts, or the Worldwide Equipment representative (Jim Toussaint) who also recommended a Granite (on page 2).