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SARTA: TWU members are quitting, pulling super Owner/Driver / June 19, 2016 The union's recent campaign that places a family in the path of a truck has been critised by the industry and, SARTA says, from its own members South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) executive director Steve Shearer has taken a second swipe at the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) over its "appalling misleading scare-mongering campaign" that sees a fatigued driver crash into a family-packed car. Reaffirming his disappointment at the campaign, Shearer says it has "disillusioned" its members – shown by "social media comments and from what we are hearing directly within the industry" – resulting in "TWU members … leaving the union and pulling out from its Super fund in droves". "The TWU is in disarray over its false and misleading claims and outrageously manipulative TV and radio campaign," he says. The SARTA chief was joined by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell in slamming the TWU’s advertisements that link the removal of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) with the death of children. Watch it here. He says the ads fly "in the face of what the TWU know is the actual truth and its members are increasingly fed up with them." "In stooping to new lows, using images of children in a car, in its desperate and misleading advertisements as it tries to prop up its bid to have a Labor Government do its bidding and re-instate the disastrous Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, the TWU has offended not only the great bulk of the trucking industry but also many of its own members." The latest round of criticism comes as the union protested the end of the RSRT and its 2016 ‘safe rates’ Order in a number of locations across the country. The protests, which included convoys across the Bridge in Sydney, the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne, and a go-slow on the South-Eastern Freeway in Adelaide, were backed by rallies in Perth, Brisbane, and Darwin, the union says. Its national secretary Tony Sheldon says "the trucking community is coming together to say enough is enough." "With the highest fatality rate of any industry, drivers want to be safe at work and they don’t want to risk the lives of others. "Drivers are being pushed to speed, drive long hours, skip mandatory rest breaks and skip maintenance on their vehicles. "This is so wealthy clients at the top can make massive profits by cutting transport costs." According to the TWU, "the Government’s own reports published in April show the link between road safety and the pay rates of drivers and that the safe rates system would reduce truck crashes by 28 per cent." Numbers Shearer rejects. "Today’s protest shows the TWU is still happy to thumb its nose at the truth and the public, as well as to many of its own members, and keep peddling its false and grossly exaggerated claims of accident rates," Shearer says. The industry body chief says the union "knows [the statistics it is using] are completely at odds with government figures, including from the SA Labor Government." Shearer says the TWU is choosing to "ignore" a "report released by Road Safety Minister, Michael O'Brien in 2013; that 74 per cent of fatal car-truck crashes are caused by the motorists involved, not by the truck driver." He says "the TWU knows the truth but they … want to fool the public."

Steve Skinner, Owner/Driver / June 20, 2016 Volvo’s global head of trucks says Australia is an important market in more ways than one Australia is a unique market for Volvo in a couple of ways. For one thing, it’s the only country in the world where group products Volvo, Mack, and UD are sold together. More significant, though, is the fact that much of Australia has the unique combination of hot climate, rough roads and heavy weights. To take an extreme example, where else in the world is a prime mover expected to haul 300 tonnes in 45 degree heat on corrugated dirt roads? It’s as tough a testing ground for global product development as you’ll get. "Australia has been a very important market in terms of developing new features and testing a lot of new things," says Claes Nilsson, global president of Volvo Trucks. "So that’s been one of the important aspects of Australia for us, in addition to being an important market in itself. "We are in more than 140 countries, so each country is important to us. "In Australia we have had a very successful history … our image, our market share, our performance there is important. "If you look at Asia-Pacific, Australia is definitely one of the two or three most important countries in that region." Nilsson was speaking with Owner//Driver during a recent trip to Sweden courtesy of Volvo. If 40-plus degree heat is a big issue for trucking in the remote heart of Australia, Sweden has the opposite problem. In the remote north temperatures can plunge below -30 degrees. So if your truck breaks down in winter, you could die. Nilsson rates this as one of the factors behind the global success of Swedish brands Volvo and Scania – having to develop premium products that can cope with the climate in the Nordic countries and northern Europe in general. "And like in Australia, we have heavy loads and long vehicles," Nilsson says. "So that has meant that our vehicles have been developed to withstand a lot of challenges from a quality point of view."

Automotive Business / June 17, 2016 Navistar insists that it is not giving up on assembling International trucks in Brazil. Despite having completely stopped the production of trucks at its Canoas plant since October last year, the truckmaker proved that it still wants to assemble trucks, at least until May 2017, by renewing its manufacturer's license in the Inovar-Auto (innovate-auto) incentive program, after being a year out of the program. Navistar’s renewal application was approved by the Ministry of Industry through Ordinance 129 published on May 31. "We continue with the intention of resuming production as soon as the market improves. We interrupted the line to adjust inventories that grew due to the sharp drop in sales. If there is demand, we can quickly put the plant into gear again," says Navistar South America head José Eduardo Luzzi. “The renewal of our qualification in the Inovar-Auto program shows our determination to continue local assembly, "he said. With an annual production capacity of up to 5,000 trucks, Navistar’s assembly plant in Canoas was inaugurated in June 2013. Prior to that, International’s two locally produced models, the medium-duty DuraStar and 9800i heavy tractor, were assembled in facility rented from truck and farm tractor producer Agrale in Caxias do Sul. During its first year of operation, production was largely sustained as a result of the truckmaker winning large government tender for almost 900 Durastar trucks for the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA). During 2014 and 2015, the truckmaker’s Brazilian sales collapsed from 954 to 67 units, making it impossible to continue production. After stopping Canoas production last year, Navistar continued sales through three dealerships and factory-direct sales, making use of unsold inventory. During the January thru May period of this year, 25 new Navistar trucks were registered by customers. This month, Navistar began a new TV-focused advertising campaign in Rio Grande do Sul, where the brand has a strong reputation with customers. After stopping the truck assembly line at Canoas, Navistar relocated the facilities other functions. The parts distribution center was transferred in November to the Santo Amaro plant in São Paulo. And the MWM engine production contract for the Chevrolet S10 pickup ended last March. Thus, almost all employees were laid off. There is still a team of employees to support plant maintenance and maintain unsold truck inventory. Navistar entertained the idea of leasing the plant to a Chinese truckmaker, or producing their trucks under contract, but most of the Chinese truckmakers including Foton, Sinotruk, JAC and Shacman all backed out with the collapse of Brazil’s economy. Foton finally decided to lease the very same Agrale facility that Navistar had rented for over a decade. .

KamAZ Trucks Press Release / June 17, 2016 Russian truckmaker KamAZ, global fast food giant McDonald’s and its logistic partner HAVI Logistics Russia have signed a truck supply agreement at the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2016) in Russia. The two Euro-5 natural gas-powered KAMAZ-65207 6x4 rigids fitted with Thermo King refrigerated bodies represent the beginning of a pilot project on the use of natural gas-powered trucks. The agreement was concluded February 15, 2016 between KamAZ, HAVI Logistics Russia, Gasprom gas-engine fuel and McDonald's. Within the framework of the project, HAVI Logistics Russia will purchase KamAZ natural gas-powered trucks, and Gasprom will provide refueling via a network of service points along McDonalds delivery routes to its chain of restaurants. For KamAZ, the deal is an important step which will lead to the formation of other natural gas truck programs in Russia. The deal confirms that the world's largest food chain, known for its high demands on the quality of services, trust delivery of its products via KamAZ trucks. KamAZ Director General Sergey Kogogin noted the special significance of the project for the truckmaker. “McDonald's is a leader in the foodservice industry in our country, said Kogogin. In turn, Xavi Logistics provides procurement, storage and delivery of goods to McDonald’s restaurants nationwide. We see these partners working as a single coherent mechanism, and I am very happy that now KamAZ has become a part of this mechanism. I hope that our cooperation will continue to be productive and surpass all expectations." “The McDonald's project will be another step in the implementation of the overall strategy of the company, aimed at the localization supply chain and sustainable development of the business, taking care of people and the environment,” he said.. "McDonald's" is actively expanding its operations in Russia, and it is extremely important for our logistics partners to meet our rigorous standards, including environmental, as well as at all stages of production,” said McDonald’s Russia head Khamzat Khasbulatov. “Over McDonald’s past 26 years of serving the Russian market, we have developed a network of local suppliers which today provide over 85% of production in Russia. Our partners, the best Russian enterprises, correspond to the most stringent international quality standards. " "The choice of natural gas was defined by the desire provide the highest quality services at the lowest cost, and the widespread availability of natural gas which allows for delivery routes over long distances. In addition, natural gas trucks are characterized as having a low impact on the environment, which is also one of our business goals of sustainable development", said HAVI Logistics CEO Kristian Novak. .

The KrAZ model 5401N2-based vacuum truck .

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / June 17, 2016-06-20 The KrAZ model 6511S4 rigid and full trailer combination for grain haulage. .

Mercedes-Benz Trucks Press Release / June 17, 2016 Mercedes-Benz Trucks at the 2016 IAA: advanced in efficiency, safety and connectivity http://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko.xhtml?oid=12358042&ls=L2VuL2luc3RhbmNlL2tvLnhodG1sP29pZD00ODM2MjU4JnJlbElkPTYwODI5JmZyb21PaWQ9NDgzNjI1OCZib3JkZXJzPXRydWUmcmVzdWx0SW5mb1R5cGVJZD00MDYyNiZ2aWV3VHlwZT10aHVtYnM!&rs=0

Ford Trucks Press Release / June 17, 2016 Ford Truck’s Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system acts as a second pair of eyes to enhance driving safety. The system monitors steering wheel movements, taking into account driver behavior and adverse weather conditions. Ford LDW is able to differentiate between active steering input, and inattention. . Ford Trucks and You – "Sharing the Load" At Ford Trucks, we’re serious about trucking. It's why we designed the new 2016 Cargo heavy truck range from the ground up to meet your needs and expectations. See your authorized Ford heavy truck dealer for details, or visit the global Ford heavy truck website at https://www.fordtrucks.com.tr/ .

Peterbilt Motors Press Release / June 17, 2016 .

The work ethic of the people at the Hayward plant was terrible. They were "California casual" about showing up for work......one never knew how many people were coming in. The Allentown people sent out there were in constant frustration. The workers would install cab screws with their power tools until the threads were stripped. They didn't care. The idea of setting up a west coast plant for west coast truck production was logical. However, there was a people problem. This is all why the plant was closed, and the 2nd gen Cruise-Liner was built at Macungie.......with significantly better quality. I believe one reason Peterbilt closed its plant at nearby Newark, California plant in 1986 was for the same reason, issues with assembly quality. Caterpillar, Ford, GM and International Harvester abandoned the Bay Area as well.

Transport Topics / June 17, 2016 The heavy-duty engine oil specification that has been used for about 10 years is set to be replaced by two new ones: CK-4 and FA-4. The pair have been enhanced to withstand the rigors of lubricating hotter-running diesel engines and boost fuel efficiency better than the current offering, known as CJ-4 and marketed under many brands. Their ability to resist degrading in higher-temperature engines is the biggest improvement in their makeup compared to CJ-4, experts said. CJ-4 will be phased out of the supply chain while the two new engine oils are set to go on sale Dec. 1. For months, manufacturers have used outreach, including websites, to inform the trucking industry of the pending changes in the new specification, which once was known as PC-11. “I see a lot of heads bobbing up and down like they understand what’s going on . . . but we won’t know that answer until the December timeframe,” said Dan Arcy, global OEM technical manager for Shell Global Solutions, noting customers won’t see the oils until that time. One new oil, CK-4, will be backward compatible with existing engines that use CJ-4, but adds new capabilities. Compared with its predecessor, CK-4 will offer enhanced oxidation stability, aeration and shear stability — meaning it resists thickening and is less prone to foaming and breaking apart. The enhancements help the oil retain its viscosity and, as a result, improve fuel efficiency, experts said. CK-4 will be sold in the same viscosity grades and in the same conventional, full synthetic and synthetic blend oil types. The other new oil, FA-4, is designed to be used with model year 2017 diesel engines. It will come with the same oxidation stability, aeration and shear stability enhancements found in CK-4. However, FA-4 will be available in lower viscosity grades, which could lead to an additional increase in fuel efficiency. “I think we have turned a lot skeptics into people who now understand it and are excited by the performance benefits that it brings,” said Shawn Whitacre, Chevron Lubricant’s senior staff engineer. He said current lubricants made from the CJ-4 specification may be kept around for awhile. “It is kind of impractical to have an abrupt changeover because of the supply chains that have to run the course,” Whitacre said. However, most engine manufacturers, as of early May, had not said which oil will be the factory fill in their 2017 engines. And, could the other new oil be used as a service fill if it was not the factory fill? And what about new drain intervals? “ All of those positions are hopefully going to become more clear over the next three or four months,” Whitacre said in April. Whitacre is chairman of the ASTM Heavy Duty Engine Oil Classification Panel that developed the new oil specifications at the request of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. Among engine manufacturers, only Navistar International Corp. responded to questions from Equipment & Maintenance Update about its intentions for factory and service fills. “We have validated FA-4 and that will be an option for our customers with N13 engines,” spokeswoman Lyndi McMillan said. “However, our standard factory fill for 2017 will be CK-4.” A customer that has CK-4 as factory fill could use FA-4 as the service fill while the reverse is true as well, she added. As for fleets, they will need to pay closer attention to viscosity grades, said Brian Humphrey, OEM technical liaison, heavy-duty driveline for Petro-Canada Lubricants. Previously, identifying the SAE viscosity grade alone was all that was needed to be done to specify viscosity, he said. Now, CK-4 and FA-4 change that by adding another “viscometric property difference” called high temperature — high shear to the SAE XW-30 grades, he said. “This property becomes important in small, high pressure points of the engine and is slightly lower for the FA-4 oils to enable better fuel economy,” Humphrey said. This issue has all the engine makers “conducting lots of internal testing” to ensure which of their engines can use FA-4 oils, he added. The improvements in engine oil performance are intended to assist engine manufacturers in meeting the next step in Phase 1 of the federal greenhouse-gas emissions rule. The rule mandated an initial reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and improvement in mileage standards by 3%, from a 2010 baseline, by January 2014. That rises another 3% with the upcoming second step in January 2017. Shell’s Arcy said the key to improved performance is coupling the right base oil with the right additives, such as antioxidants. “And it could be two or three antioxidants making up the overall chemistry of the oil. We have found there are synergistic effects between them. Putting twice as much X amount of a certain type of antioxidant in might not be as good as if you put in some X and some of Y,” Arcy said, noting there are “a lot of moving pieces.” Zinc and phosphorus are anti-wear additives used in oils and have antioxidant capabilities. “So depending on how you balance out your zinc ‘antiwears,’ it’s going to also influence what is the best antioxidant to use and how much you need,” he said. PC-11 is “the most stringent standard ever. You never shed requirements, you only add to them,” Whitacre said, referring to earlier work done to develop CJ-4, once known as PC-10. There are nine engine tests that lubricant manufacturers have to run, and two of them were added to get to CK-4 and FA-4, Whitacre said. Seven were a part of the CJ-4 category that requires engine oils to stand up to high operating temperatures for 360 hours in a running engine. The oil pan, or sump, temperature has risen already to 115 degrees Celsius from 105 degrees Celsius, as engine manufacturers “have tried to squeeze a little more fuel economy out” with existing CJ-4 oil, Humphrey said. Engine makers will probably allow the oil pan temperature to go up another 10 degrees to 125 degrees Celsius as they strive for more gains in fuel efficiency, he said. Arcy suggested that not every new engine will be 10 degrees hotter, however. “One might be 10 degrees, one could be 2 degrees, one could be 5 degrees or no hotter.” Meanwhile, selective fleet testing of the new lubricants remains under way. “We have been hearing that some fleets already have been taking progressive steps and testing the lower viscosity FA-4 oils to get that [extra] fuel efficiency benefit,” said Randy Tumbarello, U.S. fleet director at Trimac Transportation Inc., whose parent company Trimac Group that ranks No. 45 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. He also is chairman of the engine study group at American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council. Arcy said Shell has worked with several on-highway fleets “that put on high mileage, 250,000 to 300,000 a year [per truck].” Shell began testing its low viscosity FA-4 type oils in 2012 and has accumulated more than 30 million miles of testing with every engine manufacturers’ on-highway product, he said. Some engines have been run out to 900,000 miles, with inspections along the way. Some owner-operators and fleets with older equipment may see only a small change switching their CJ-4 oils to the enhanced CK-4 oils. Other fleets with a combination of older and newer equipment may choose to stock both CK-4 and FA-4 oils until the older units are cycled out of the fleet, according a statement from Exxon Mobil. Filter manufacturers also have explained there should be no adverse effects on the filters currently in use, Tumbarello said, describing comments these manufacturers made during a recent TMC discussion of the pending changeover. Engine manufacturers have said that, at a minimum, they wanted to maintain drain intervals, Arcy said. “I think we have to wait for the OEMs to give their recommendations.”

U-S-A! U-S-A! Ford Steamrolls GTE Class at 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans! Car & Driver / June 19, 2016 What a difference a day—and 2890 miles—makes. After the first hour at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours it looked as if Ford’s expensively bought return to the world’s most famous endurance race, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the brand’s first overall victory, was set to unravel in dramatic fashion in front of a record-breaking 265,000 fans. Before the race even began, the No. 67 GT had been pushed off the grid and back to its garage with a gearbox fault. It was eventually fixed, but with a delay that took it out of contention for class honors. Torrential rain meant the race began behind a trio of safety cars, and when these were eventually called in 52 minutes later the remaining three Fords looked to be off the pace. It took just four minutes for the No. 66 GT that was running second in class to be passed by the No. 51 Ferrari 458. The leading GT, No. 68, soon proved equally powerless to keep the Ferrari at bay, and before long both they and the Ferraris were overwhelmed by the flying Porsche Motorsport 911 RSRs, which proved to be particularly happy in the damp conditions. The grins that had been worn by the senior executives in Ford’s corporate hospitality unit faded. Although this is Ford’s first year in the World Endurance Championship we were in no doubt that Le Mans was the primary target. “It’s optimized not just for the class, but for here, it was designed for this track,” Raj Nair, Ford’s CTO told us before the race began, also admitting that it would have made more sense for the GT to make its debut a year earlier to gain experience for the bid to win on the 50th anniversary of the GT40’s first victory. “To be honest we had some false starts. We had a window there that could have allowed us to run in ’15, put the car out and then really make the run in 2016 for the 50th anniversary. But we didn’t get the program approved in time.” Yet against early expectations, the GTs came back to stage a return that took Ford to a victory that was both emotional and deserved, with the 2016 race becoming one of the closest and most exciting in the 84-year history of the event. While Toyota’s remarkable failure to win with three minutes left handed Porsche overall victory—the brand’s 18th at La Sarthe—until the very end of the race almost as much attention was being paid to the battle further down the order between Ford and Ferrari in GTE Pro. As Porsche’s early challenge faded, and it became clear that Aston Martin and Chevrolet’s GTE Pro cars were well off the pace (see our previous post on the controversy surrounding various “Balance of Performance” adjustments), so the race did indeed become another Ford-Ferrari duel in the mold of the classics of the 1960s, albeit one where Ford developed a strong numerical advantage. The No. 71 and No. 51 AF Corsa works Ferrari 488s dropped out after 143 and 179 laps respectively, the latter with a spectacular engine failure. By evening, Italy’s honor was being upheld by just the privateer No. 82 Risi Competizione 488, which surrendered its class lead at 7:30 pm to the No. 68 GT. Yet the pack of Fords didn’t have the remaining 20 hours of the race to themselves, with the No. 82 Ferrari fighting a remarkable rearguard action that saw the lead change several times as the two cars changed position. By 8:30 in the morning the Ferrari led the No. 68 car by just 13 seconds, with the gap increased to more than a minute as the GT was called in for a pitlane penalty for a refueling infringement. But it didn’t last. Ford increased the pace and took the class lead with under three hours to go, the No. 68 car’s margin increasing as the Ferrari suffered an unforced spin. For the final stint former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella took over in the 488 and managed to fend off the chasing No. 69 GT, denying Ford a 1-2 finish but allowing it to finish the race with first, third, and fourth in the GTE Pro class, with German Dirk Muller getting the honor of driving the victory. Even the No. 67 car was patched up to make it to the end of the race, albeit 78 laps behind the leaders. So was it worth it? The 2016 Le Mans is destined to be remembered as the race that Toyota lost in spectacular fashion, but it’s also one that effectively justified Ford’s decision to sign off the significant development budget for both the GTE racer and its roadgoing sister. We’re looking forward to seeing how that version builds on this momentum.

Yes, they use GM-based PSI engines, and the Cummins-Westport ISX12 G. http://www.psiengines.com/whatwedo/on-highway-engines/

I have not heard that from them.