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Reuters / April 7, 2016 A rebound at MAN is drawing near after operating profit dropped by three quarters last year to 92 million euros Germany's MAN SE expects to revive profit and sales in coming years as the Volkswagen-owned truck maker's efforts to slim down and cut costs are finally starting to work, its chief executive said. MAN announced plans last year to cut 1,800 jobs at its main trucks division and reshuffle production in Europe as part of a VW-led revamp to tackle high fixed costs and boost languishing profitability at the Munich-based firm. A rebound at MAN is drawing near after operating profit dropped by three quarters last year to 92 million Euros (US$105 million) because of restructuring costs and plunging demand in Brazil, according to Chief Executive Joachim Drees. "We are targeting an operating margin of 8 percent by 2021" (at the truck & bus division), Drees said in an interview. "There will already be a significant improvement in 2016 results if markets develop reasonably well." A revival of MAN's truck business, which accounts for two-thirds of the group's sales, would be welcome news for parent VW, grappling with the fallout of its emissions scandal. Europe's largest automaker spent billions of euros on expanding stakes in MAN and Swedish peer Scania and a year ago aligned the two brands in a truck holding company to better compete with market leaders Daimler and Volvo . To boost performance, CEO Drees is counting on growing benefits from MAN's integration with Scania, steps to improve product quality and greater efficiency in production. MAN is reorganising production at truck and component factories in Germany, Austria and Poland to avoid costly overlaps. The steps will help increase cost savings at the trucks division by 880 million Euros (US$999.7 million) through the end of 2017, Drees said. "That's the only way for us to generate the means we need to invest in the future," said Drees, who heads MAN's trucks unit and the group which also makes diesel engines and turbines. VW's truck holding, which includes MAN and Scania, said on Monday it will spend about half a billion euros by the end of the decade to improve connectivity and automated features for heavy-goods vehicles. MAN is also expanding into light commercial vehicles with the new TGE van, a sister model to the next-generation VW Crafter to go on sale next year. The TGE will help boost deliveries of MAN trucks and busses by more than half to 125,000 vehicles by 2021, from 79,000 last year, Drees said. The operating margin at MAN Truck & Bus is expected to surge to 8 percent by 2021 from a dismal 0.2 percent last year, putting the company on a par with Daimler which posted a 7.3 percent margin for 2015. MAN is more exposed than Daimler and Volvo to problems in Brazil, where it’s Volkswagen brand has been the market leader for trucks of more than 5 metric tonnes for over a decade, because it lacks a presence in the growing North American market. "I don't believe that the crisis (in Brazil) will come to an end this year," Drees said. "The market is at rock bottom. This will negatively impact the MAN group results" in 2016.

Scania gang takes over Volvo Dagens Industri / April 6, 2016 In their struggle for higher profitability, the Volvo Group flick excellence from arch rival Scania. "It is not unnatural that you look at those who have experience in commercial vehicles. It is even healthy, "says Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of Volvo. He himself had spent his entire career at Scania until last year when he agreed to join Volvo as president and CEO. At Wednesday's annual shareholder’s meeting at the Gothenburg concert hall, Lundstedt greeted a former Scania colleague - Hakan Samuelsson, current president of the car manufacturer Volvo Cars and former CEO of MAN - who was elected to Volvo Group's Board of Directors. At the meeting, Lundstedt announced that another former Scania colleague, Lars Stenqvist, would join Volvo as the technology and product development director of the Volvo Group Executive Committee. With the recruitment of Lars Stenqvist, Volvo is once again taking a key worker from the heart of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes Scania and German truck giant MAN. Lars Stenqvist was appointed in September last year as head of Research and Development at VW Trucks, an extremely important position in the coordination of MAN and Scania. Between 2007 and 2015 he was director of development and continuous quality improvements at Scania. Scania has over the years been far more successful than Volvo in terms of profitability and efficiency of production. Volvo Board Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg sees the benefits of recruiting from Scania. "That it comes in Scania, Volvo People of course depend on the changes that have been at Scania, where people which is looking for new work, and then we are a natural alternative," said Svanberg. He added, "We also wanted to change the culture a little bit [at Volvo] and focus more on efficiency and the customer. And, it’s also exciting to bring in people from outside Volvo with fresh thinking. To look at how the customer thinks, Scania has been very strong and it can be coming in to contribute. " Volvo has been able to take advantage of Scania takeover by Volkswagen, leaving the stock market in 2014. It has not only attracted Martin Lundstedt and Lars Stenqvist to Volvo, but lower level employees as well. Last year, Volvo recruited Scania’s Frederick Ljungdahl, who now is the head of Treasury and Corporate Finance. Mats Ekberg, of the Swedish Shareholders' Association says Volvo is in favor of recruitment from Scania. "They take ideas from Scania and it is good. Volvo has a lot to learn, especially with respect to modular custom manufacturing. " Mats Ekberg sees several reasons. "It certainly reflects dissatisfaction with the ownership of Scania and Martin Lundstedt helps, of course, too." It is clear that the Volvo Group's strategy in recent years has been to replace large sections of the board and senior management. 2013 had the whole group management has made a long career in Volvo, after it has several external recruitments have been made to management. Last year when Martin Lundstedt agreed to become the new president of Volvo, he received SEK 5 million (US$612,700). He viewed the compensation as a sign-on bonus similar to those encountered in the sports world. "It was a compensation for a number of elements that froze inside when I agreed to become president of Volvo. Then they thought it was fair that I was replaced. I do not want to be seen as greedy, "said Martin Lundstedt. Was it a requirement that you would go to Volvo? "No, it was not." During the meeting, he described Volvo’s tough savings program where costs have been reduced by SEK 10 billion (US$1.2 billion) between 2012 and 2016, and several thousand employees have been let go. He highlighted how Volvo is now focusing on organic growth and increased profitability. Even on Volvo's Board under Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg's leadership, there have been major changes. After the shareholder’s meeting yesterday, only three of the nine board members are left over from 2013. Hakan Samuelsson was clearly pleased with his new assignment. "It's great to be back in the truck world," he says. His appointment to the board has been seen as a plan to have a new chairman when his contract as CEO of Volvo Cars expires at the end of 2017. The question is whether he is prepared to grab the helm of Volvo. His short answer is, "It is not a current issue." Industrivärden's CEO Helena Stjernholm, a new member of the board, is expected to put increased pressure on profitability. She also improves gender equality on the board to four women out of eleven people. New to Volvo’s Executive Committee since 2013 Name Arrived Previous work background Jan Gurander, 2014 Finance Director Volvo Cars, Scania, MAN Financial Officer Martin Lundstedt, 2015 CEO Scania CEO, president Henry Stenson, 2015 Communications SAS, Ericsson Communications Sustainability Director Bruno Blin, Head 2016 Internally recruited from Renault Trucks Lars Stenqvist, Head 2016 Volkswagen, Scania Group Technology * Jan Ohlsson, chief 2016 Internally recruited group Truck Production Claes Nilsson, 2016 Internally recruited head of Volvo Trucks * Effective formally later this year People who have left Volvo’s Executive Board since 2013 Name Departed Worked at Volvo since Olof Persson, President and CEO 2015 2006 Peter Charles Stone, truck head of Europe 2014 2001 Torbjörn Holmström, Chief Technology Group * 2016 1979 Mikael Bratt, chief global truck production 2016 1988 Håkan Karlsson, Head of business 2013 1986 Anders Osberg, CFO 2016 1992 Karin Falk, head of strategy 2014 1998 (employed elsewhere 1999-2008) Marten Wikforss, Director of Communications 2014 2001 Niklas Gustavsson, Director of Sustainability 2014 1987 (employed elsewhere 1999-2008) Magnus Carlander, IT Director 2014 1985 .

U.S. Dept. of Defense Contracts Release No: CR-060-16 March 31, 2016 Navistar Defense LLC, Lisle, Illinois, was awarded an $8,311,516 firm-fixed-price, foreign-military sales Iraq defense contract for 46 medium tactical trucks in two variations. One bid was solicited with one received. Work will be performed in Springfield, Ohio; West Point, Mississippi; and Ootlewah, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of July 29, 2016. Fiscal 2015 other procurement funds in the amount of $8,311,516 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-16-C-0096). http://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/710219

Fleet Owner / April 7, 2016 LED lighting is providing long-lasting options for better visibility Advances in lighting technology are lowering the bar for fleets that want to take advantage of the benefits of LED headlights, notes Mitchell Wilston, communications/product specialist at Truck-Lite. “Due to newer systems that are being produced at a lower cost, the savings are being passed onto fleets,” he says. “In addition, in the long run, LED headlights pay for themselves in lower maintenance costs and reduced downtime, not to mention the safety benefits that LED lighting provides.” LED headlights, Wilston explains further, are also more durable. “A halogen headlight has an expected life­span between 1,000 and 2,000 hours,” he states. “The light source is a fragile filament ... that breaks easily and rapidly loses light output. Comparatively, an LED will last over 30,000 hours, is extremely efficient and durable, and provides a much cleaner, whiter light.” In 2013, Truck-Lite unveiled its first custom-engineered LED headlight for the Freightliner Cascadia. Today, the LED headlight is available as a standard and aftermarket specification on Freightliner Cascadia and Navistar ProStar models, and as an aftermarket option on Volvo VN platforms. Truck-Lite’s 4x6-in. LED headlight systems utilize an innovative new design that combines the housing and reflector to produce a highly effective class beam pattern, Wilston notes. “We also continue to develop new headlight options for other models. Moving forward, there will be more opportunities to design and offer custom LED headlights for commercial vehicles.” Grote Industries offers LED headlights in 7-in. round and 5x7-in. rec­tangular designs. The DOT-approved systems have a three-pin, H4 connector and a UV-protected, high impact-resistant polycarbonate lens. “Grote White Light will deliver safe and efficient lighting solutions that strategically fill gaps in our product range, including modular LED solutions to meet OEM and aftermarket lighting needs,” Joe Weingarten, BDM of Forward Lighting, says. “We have discussed high- and low-beam modules as replacements for halogen lamps in the most common sizes.” Peterson Manufacturing’s 701C 7-in. round headlight is a drop-in LED replacement for all PAR56 standard headlights, including H6014, H5024 and H6024 halogen sealed beams, found primarily on Class 6 and 7 vocational trucks. The company also offers 4x6-in. 702C and 703C LED rec­tangular headlights in a four-lamp system that fit many older Class 8 truck models, and it is planning to offer a 5x7-in. LED headlight replacement. According to John Hansen, senior project engineer, Peterson’s LED headlights produce light in a wide, even pattern with a color temperature close to natural daylight. The lamps feature the company’s most advanced diode technology and H4 three-blade terminals integrated directly into a cast alloy housing. Optronics introduced its newly designed second-generation LED headlights in early March. The high-style 7-in. round and 4x6-in. rectangular LED headlight models feature daytime running lights and are covered by a lifetime LED warranty. Optronics utilized the same SMD (surface mount device) LED technology used on its other lighting products to ensure reliability and performance. Each LED headlight features a die cast aluminum housing coating that resists corrosion and a tough polycarbonate lens that withstands harsh road conditions. The manufacturers note that today’s LED headlamp systems are benefiting fleets, their drivers and other motorists by providing more light for improved object recognition at night. They also offer better control of light through improved beam patterns that cause less glare to oncoming traffic and reduce eyestrain and driver fatigue.

Fleet Owner / April 7, 2016 Lubricant makers aim for the “Goldilocks solution” when it comes to the right engine oil additive mix If you wonder about the purpose of all the chemical additives blended into truck engine oils—especially the new PC-11 formulations coming to market this December—it helps to think about barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce? “Think about the spices that get added to barbecue sauce to create a specific flavor,” explains Dan Arcy, OEM technical manager for Shell Lubricants. He says such spices—cayenne pepper, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and prepared mustard, just to name a few—need to be added in just the right amounts and at just the right time in the sauce-making process so they don’t overwhelm each other in terms of flavor. Those formulations also take into account what kinds of meats they’ll be used with, as well as the heat levels of the particular cooking procedure involved, Arcy notes. A similar brand of thinking occurs when blending chemical additives into engine oils, an effort he calls aiming for the “Goldilocks solution,” to ensure the additives balance one another in terms of their properties. “You’ve got detergents, dispersants, corrosion inhibitors, anti-wear chemicals, and viscosity modifiers among the many additives in the PC-11 engine oil blends,” he points out. “And we’re trying to balance them for specific purposes.” Gary Parsons, global OEM and industry liaison manager for Chevron Oronite Co., emphasizes that fully formulated engine oil—one containing specific additives—serves four primary purposes: - It lubricates by keeping metal surfaces within the engine from coming into contact with one another. - It cools engine components. - It removes or neutralizes combustion by-products and contaminants from the engine. - It prevents oil degradation due to oxidation, which is the absorption of oxygen. “Additives play a major role in each of these performance areas,” Parsons says. Additive classifications include anti­oxidants, detergents, dispersants, anti-­wear compounds, friction modifiers, pour point depressants, antifoam, viscosity modifiers, and seal swell agents, he explains. During the development of engine oil, formulators optimize performance by carefully balancing the treat rates and performance of each component. “In the case of PC-11, the finished oil must be capable of passing 11 standard industry engine tests and six bench tests, all evaluating various aspects of engine oil performance,” Parsons notes. “In addition to the engine and bench tests, additive companies and lubricant suppliers also run extensive field trials to test the performance of oil formulations under a wide variety of conditions over millions of miles.” Marvin Kerkstra, manager of lubricants technology for Citgo, says that “finished” heavy-duty truck engine oil is typically comprised of 85% to 90% base oil, with the remaining balance made up of a concentration of chemical additives. “The additives provide several benefits, including keeping the engine clean by controlling deposit and sludge formation, providing wear protection, and preventing corrosion and oil aeration,” he explains. “The antioxidants help control oil breakdown or varnish formation resulting from sustained high engine operating temperatures.” Mark Betner, Citgo’s heavy-duty product line manager, points out that PC-11 oils will use more advanced additive technology designed to reduce oil oxidation by up to 60%, provide greater wear protection, and reduce the tendency for oil aeration. “Since newer diesel engines tend to break down multi-viscosity oils more rapidly due to design, PC-11 engine oils will provide greater viscosity shear stability, which means they have greater high temperature viscosity retention or resistance to viscosity breakdown due to viscosity shear,” he notes. Parsons adds that PC-11 is actually a category that will contain two distinct engine oils: - A conventional viscosity grade of oil, which will supersede CJ-4 and be commercialized as CK-4; and - A lower viscosity or thinner oil that will be commercialized as FA-4 and may not be backward compatible. “Each [truck and engine] OEM is anticipated to offer guidance on which model-year engines the oils can be used,” Parsons points out. “From a performance standpoint, CK-4 and FA-4 oils will pass all of the tests mentioned above. [But] depending on the additive supplier and formulations involved, some oils may contain new additives, and others may contain different combinations of existing additives.” Friction modifiers, for example, will be used to help improve fuel economy while maintaining the wear performance of the oil. “In the case of the thinner FA-4 oils, supplemental wear inhibitors may be necessary to provide wear performance with thinner oil films,” he notes. Brian Humphrey, OEM technical liaison-HD driveline for Petro-Canada Lubricants, adds that while lower viscosity oils are beneficial for improving fuel economy, there is concern thinner oils may not sufficiently keep engine surfaces separate to prevent wear due to rubbing. “Sufficient anti-wear compounds or other forms of chemical surface protection must be included in the oil,” he stresses. “All oils must be tested and certified for additive compatibility and long-term stability, no matter what base oils or additives are used,” Humphrey explains. “While synthetic oils may often use the same additive system as mineral oils, it may be desirable to use a specific additive package that takes maximum advantage of synthetic oil properties to create an even higher performance product.” In his view, lubricant formulation is a balance, and more additives don’t necessarily make engine oil better. “Each additive has different attributes and can impact the performance of oil,” Humphrey says. “It’s finding the right balance that is key. Of course, there are additives that may not be fit for purpose on their own but may provide benefits when used in a properly formulated lubricant.” No DIY Engine oil experts also strongly caution against engaging in a “do-it-yourself” additives strategy since after­market chemical additive packages may be fine on their own, but they can throw off the “careful balance” of fully formulated engine oils, especially where PC-11 is concerned. “For example, fully formulated engine oil contains detergents and anti-­wear compounds,” explains Parsons. “The anti-wear component works by attaching to the surface [while] the detergent wants to keep the surface clean. That’s why [engine oil] formulators strike a careful balance between the detergent and anti-wear [additives] to make certain the anti-wear can do its job without interference from the detergent. That’s also why the use of a supplemental additive could potentially throw off that balance and actually lead to problems.” Citgo’s Kerkstra agrees with that view. “Most major engine manufacturers do not recommend adding additional additives to engine oil,” he says. “Think of it this way: If we get a prescription from our doctor, do we go to the pharmacy and grab an off-the-shelf medication to add to our prescription thinking that we will improve the prescription? Most likely we’ll end up with bad results by thinking that we know more than the doctor and pharmacist.” Another consideration is that engine oils are licensed by the American Petroleum Institute based on their specific formulation. “When aftermarket additives are added to that engine oil, the original oil formula has been altered, which results in that engine oil no longer being representative of the oil that was manufactured,” Kerkstra emphasizes. “If for any reason there is an engine warranty dispute involving a lubrication-related failure, the equipment owner’s warranty for both the engine and the engine oil could be denied.” More isn’t better Lastly, “more is not better,” he stresses, so attempting to add any aftermarket additive to the engine oil can result in poor engine startup lubrication or even promote greater engine deposits since the aftermarket additive may not be compatible with the original engine oil formula. As always, the primary recommendation is to use the engine oil that’s approved and suggested in a vehicle’s operating manual, Petro-Canada’s Humphrey notes. “What makes PC-11 special is that these products are the culmination of considerable research into lowering viscosity while maintaining their ability to withstand a high-shear engine environment. [This means] that although thinner, especially with the FA-4 tier but not with the CK-4 tier, they are stronger and may require fewer regular oil changes [as they] provide engine protection for longer periods,” Humphrey says. ”The opportunity for extending drain intervals will exist, but it will have to be proven viable for each fleet.” The final lap for PC-11 With the first licensing date for the new PC-11 truck engine oil standard still officially pegged for Dec. 1 of this year, Shawn Whitacre, senior staff engineer of engine oil technology for Chevron Lubricants, says by now most formulations are “locked in” and awaiting final results from various OEM-specific bench tests. “To have products ready for Dec. 1, testing needs to be wrapped up by April or May,” he explains. One last avenue being pursued by several lubricant makers is crafting PC-11 oils that can be used in both diesel and gasoline truck engines. “That’s more challenging because of the phosphorus limits due to the three-way catalysts used in gasoline engines,” which are 33% lower compared to diesel engines, Whitacre points out. “The flexibility regarding phosphorus limits goes away” when lubricant makers seek to craft such dual-performance oils, he stresses. “That also forces you to use more additive chemistry.” Whitacre, who also serves as chairman for the American Society for Testing and Materials heavy-duty engine oil classification panel tasked with the final development of PC-11 oil requirements, stresses that only one of the two PC-11 blends being developed—CK-4, a 10W-30 blend—will be considered backward compatible. “CK-4 will be able to claim compatibility with older 15W-40 specifications in terms of viscosity,” he says. CK-4 oils will be approved for use in many of the same engines and applications that currently recommend CJ-4. The second PC-11 oil blend (FA-4), however, is of a thinner viscosity than CK-4 and won’t be as backward compatible. “FA-4 will be at a lower viscosity level than today’s oils, offering more optimized fuel economy for engines that are designed to use these thinner oils,” Whitacre notes. “Like with other low viscosity oils, we don’t expect that engine makers will allow these oils across the board.” He said it seems that OEMs are still working on their own engine test programs at this point to determine to what extent the new FA-4 oils can be recommended—if at all. Other issues to note include the following: - Now that the “rules of the game” are officially established, the lubrication industry effectively goes into a commercialization phase for CK-4 and FA-4. - Both PC-11 oils will be formulated to be more resistant to oxidation, meaning that they can stand up to elevated temperatures for longer periods of time without breaking down. “This is something that engine makers identified as a priority because of the greater demands that new engines are placing on the oil and because engine makers continue to push for longer oil change intervals,” Whitacre notes. - Engines need to be specifically designed to operate with thinner oils, especially the FA-4 blend, which is why the new PC-11 oils may not meet all the lubricant specs established for some older engine models.

Cummins-led team awarded $4.5M to develop Class 6 PHEV that reduces fuel use by 50% Green Car Congress / April 7, 2016 Cummins has been awarded a $4.5-million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop a Class 6 commercial plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can reduce fuel consumption by at least 50% over conventional Class 6 vehicles. When fully loaded, Class 6 vehicles weigh between approximately 19,000 and 26,000 pounds; typical examples include school buses or single-axle work trucks. With their expertise in internal combustion engines and related products, Cummins researchers will optimize the powertrain by selecting the engine with the best architecture to use as an electric commercial vehicle range extender, using the engine to manage the charge level of the all-electric drive battery pack. The range extender will be integrated, using advanced vehicle controls, with the electrified powertrain and other applicable technologies. Ultimately, the researchers aim to demonstrate improved fuel consumption and state of the art drivability and performance regardless of environmental conditions. Cummins is partnering with PACCAR on the project, and the full team includes representatives from The Ohio State University, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. The close integration and control of the electrified powertrain with an appropriately selected engine is critically important to developing a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle system. We believe that through the team’s efforts we can soon make these innovations commercially available. —Wayne Eckerle, Vice President, Research and Technology, Cummins The reduction of fuel consumption will be met or exceeded during a wide-range of drive cycles designed to meet the needs of a wide variety of commercial fleet operators. The fuel reduction goals will be achieved through the use of an electrified vehicle powertrain, optimization of the internal combustion engine operation, and other technologies including intelligent transportation systems and electronic braking. Related reading - http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/03/20160302-supertruck.html

Heavy Duty Trucking / April 7, 2016 Cummins has been awarded a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a Class 6 commercial plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The trucks must reduce fuel consumption by at least 50% compared to conventional Class 6 vehicles. Cummins is partnering with Paccar on the project as well as representatives from Ohio State University, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Cummins researchers will optimize the powertrain by choosing the best suited engine for use with an electric commercial vehicle range extender that will be integrated with the electrified powertrain and other technologies. Cummins intends to achieve fuel consumption reduction that will meet or exceed expectations in a wide range of drive cycles in order to meet a variety of fleet needs. In addition to the electrification of the powertrain, Cummins will also optimize the internal combustion engine and use other technologies such as intelligent transportation systems and electronic braking. "The close integration and control of the electrified powertrain with an appropriately selected engine is critically important to developing a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle system," said Wayne Eckerle, vice president of research and technology at Cummins. "We believe that through the team’s efforts we can soon make these innovations commercially available, which has the potential to translate into substantial savings annually per vehicle, helping our customers and the environment." Cummins Press Release - http://social.cummins.com/cummins-led-team-develop-plug-in-hybrid-reduces-fuel-50-percent/

Fleets racing to align with shipper needs Fleet Owner / April 7, 2016 Data demands, regulatory compliance driving battle for freight business. Many trucking companies are speeding up technology deployment efforts and regulatory compliance initiatives as they discover shippers are making such moves mandatory prerequisites for keeping current freight business and earning more down the line. For example, Louisville, KY-based Mercer Transportation recently noted that its 2,500 owner-operators will need to install and use electronic logging devices (ELDs) by July of this year – well ahead of the mandated mid-December 2017 deadline – as well as download the carrier’s smart phone mobile app by July as well in order to provide critical shipment transit data to customers. “What is important for us is to get more freight,” explained Dale Corum, Mercer’s operations manager during the carrier’s annual drivers meeting ahead of the 2016 Mid America Trucking Show last week. “We’re in the digital age now; many don’t like it but it’s where we are at,” he said. “Our customers tell us we have very few problems and very few claims, so we’d be getting more business if our [data] reporting was better.” Corum added 1,600 of Mercer’s 2,500 current drivers have already downloaded the carrier’s mobile app, but only 1,200 of them use it consistently. He emphasized that ELDs will need to be used in conjunction with the company’s mobile app in order to document to shippers compliant time and location transit information regarding their cargoes. He also stressed that Mercer drivers who don’t install ELDs or the app simply won’t be matched to that often-lucrative freight. “We don’t want them knocked out of that opportunity,” Corum emphasized. John Larkin, managing director and head of transportation capital markets research at Stifel Financial Corp., noted that some shippers have decided that it is too risky to wait until the middle of December 2017 to see if core carriers have sufficiently progressed in installing ELDs as those carriers who have not completed installation would be considered non-compliant. “Most shippers have little interest in using non-compliant carriers,” he noted in a presentation at the 2016 Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) annual meeting in Las Vegas last month. “We mention this fairly widespread trend to suggest that the impact associated with ELD implementation may be felt a little earlier than some had projected,” Larkin said. Data demands from key Mercer customers are also at the heart of this technology-adoption push, noted Joel Franklin, Mercer’s general manager of sales. “Better information determines the [freight] sale and ultimately whether we get the load,” he explained. “A lot of our biggest customers are telling us that if we want to keep their business, as well as get more of it, we’ve got to give them more data.” Franklin noted those customers represent a quarter of Mercer’s overall freight volume: 57,487 loads in 2015, worth $102.4 million in gross revenue. “Three years ago, they were telling us they’d like to know where their loads were in transit. Then two years ago they said they really needed to know,” he added. “Last year, that turned into a demand to know.” Franklin said Mercer’s core shippers want automatic arrival/departure times, plus 15 minute load transit updates. “They’re not asking for the world: they want real-time visibility of their loads and they want to be able to go online and see it,” he pointed out. Yet Stifel’s Larkin believes companies able to deliver on such demands will be the winners in the freight business going forward. “Carriers and logistics companies will have to be responsive to the changing demand profile of market,” he explained. “But those that can be responsive should have ample opportunities to take outsized price increases and gain market share either through organic or acquisition-driven growth.”

The Wall Street Journal / April 7, 2016 Analysts say that plentiful capacity in the truckload sector has shipping customers pressing carriers to cut prices Share prices in truckload freight carriers dipped sharply on Thursday after analysts at Stifel Inc. downgraded several operators, saying that pricing for long-haul trucking services is expected to remain weak for the rest of the year. Truckload carriers fill their trailers with products from one individual shipper and typically carry them from a port or a warehouse to a distribution center. The four companies Stifel targeted for downgrades Thursday morning were USA Truck Inc., Hub Group Inc., Marten Transport Ltd. and Universal Truckload Services Inc. Shares of USA Truck, which received the most severe downgrade—from “hold” to “sell”—fell 11.2% on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Thursday. The other three, all downgraded from “buy” to “hold,” fell between 4% and 6% each. Shares in other companies in the sector, including Werner Enterprises Inc., Knight Transportation Inc., Heartland Express Inc., Covenant Transportation Group Inc. and Celadon Group Inc., also were dragged down, with each falling from just under 2% to 5% by midday. Stifel last week released a report targeting the entire truckload industry, writing that “pricing pressure is rampant in the generic freight market,” which includes most types of trucking services, while railroad carload pricing and freight rates among parcel carriers are on the rise. “Many shippers have effectively elected to toss to the wayside any talk of partnerships, relationships, cooperation, collaboration, etc.,” the report read. “Shippers are under enormous pressure to cut transportation costs and seem not to be satisfied with the massive fuel surcharge reductions racked up over the past year and a half.” John Larkin, a Stifel managing director and the report’s lead author, declined to comment. Shares of most trucking companies have been rising since mid-January, when retailer s showed signs that they had resumed restocking after the holiday shopping season and some manufacturing measures began turning upward. But several trucking industry research groups have said capacity in the market remains relatively plentiful, giving shipping customers more leverage. The downgrades wiped out the 8% year-to-date gain that USA Truck achieved in late March. Universal Truckload’s shares settled at $14.98, down 5.2% on the day, but still up about 6% since Jan. 1. Marten, which specializes in hauling refrigerated shipments, had seen its shares rise as high as $18.72 at the end of last month, by Thursday afternoon had ventured into the red on the year, with its stock price falling 6.1% to $17.15. Hub Group, which in February hired bankers to help it identify companies it could acquire to diversify operations, is still up by more than 13% since Jan. 1, although its share price fell 4.6% on Thursday. “It’s bid season, and the contract bids that are coming in are not looking that good,” said Jason Seidl, an analyst with Cowen & Co. who has downgraded two of the largest truckload carrier stocks, Knight and Landstar System Inc., in the last three weeks. “We’ve gotten slightly more negative on the trucking in the last month…. The pendulum has swung in the favor of the shippers, and they’re clawing back some of the rates.”

Nice........DM6116S http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/15604-mack-military-truck/?page=2#comment-128142

The bloke who refused Oshkosh's offer to buy his truck back. (The story begins at 1:37)

The BMT Gas-Turbine Truck Library: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42905-turbine-trucks-50-years-ago-we-got-behind-the-wheel/#comment-313851 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40690-general-motors-introduces-futuristic-gas-turbine-heavy-truck-concept/#comment-294966 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31891-the-gas-turbine-general-motors-%E2%80%9Cbison-iii%E2%80%9D/#comment-193589 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/31898-the-gas-turbine-chevrolet-turbo-titan-iii/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/31951-the-gmc-astro-95-and-astro-ss-gas-turbine-tractors/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41095-general-motors-%E2%80%9Cprogress-of-power%E2%80%9D/#comment-298007 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/32060-the-ford-w-1000-gas-turbine/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/31978-freightliners-turboliners/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/32139-the-turbostar-from-international/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/32014-the-gt-601-gas-turbine-powered-macks/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/36024-the-autocar-gas-turbine-coe/?hl=turbine http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/32110-where-was-cummins-during-the-gas-turbine-truck-race/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/31883-paul-berliet-and-his-t100s/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/32038-ford%E2%80%99s-futuristic-gas-turbine-%E2%80%9Cbig-red%E2%80%9D/?page=1

Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44477-jeep-design-head-mark-allen-on-the-jeep-fc-150-concept-truck/

Trucks.com.au / April 7, 2016 Known as Mr ACCO, Lloyd Reeman recalls the turbulent history of International and Iveco, and that one truck that brought them back to the top Much of the media refers to Lloyd Reeman these days as ‘Mr ACCO’. Nice gesture I guess, but to my mind seriously short of the mark in describing a man whose commitment and dedication to a company and its customers go way beyond such a simplistic tag. Perhaps, like ACCO, it ties him to the heydays of International history when as an 18 year-old first employed in the International Harvester mailroom, he began a career which would stretch almost half a century and endure more corporate upheaval than most minds could even contemplate. However, neither of us particularly keen on revisiting the historical happenings of International and Iveco – there has been enough written on those events to fill a small library. Instead, it’s an occasion to glean through the eyes of a true and trusted toiler, some of the people and products that helped create one of the Australian trucking industry’s greatest stories of corporate evolution and survival. And likewise, the mindset and motivation that kept Lloyd Reeman turning up day after day, year after year when so many times it seemed the entire entity and all within it would be crushed in corporate collapse. While he says he’s "sorta retired", Lloyd is currently staying on the Iveco books as a contractor, working a few days a week with the somewhat reverential title of Brand Ambassador. He whispered at last year’s Brisbane Truck Show that with his 65th birthday approaching and an earlier health issue that caused something of a refocus on the quality of life, retirement was becoming a real possibility. And so it was that at the end of 2015, Lloyd Reeman decided to pull stumps. Wisely, Iveco wasn’t prepared to let all that experience just walk out the door, thus his engagement as a contractor. "I’m not stopping completely," he quips. "I’m just stepping aside from the 14 hour days and spending more time with my wife and grandkids. "Besides, it’s time. New people are coming into the company and exciting changes are coming with them. "Change doesn’t intimidate me, not at all, but they’re the sort of changes we need because they’ll bring greater stability to the company. Believe me, it’s happening." Change! Lloyd Reeman has seen more than his fair share of change as he reflects on a career starting in the halcyon years of International Harvester. "I actually had two stints with the company," he explains. "I started in 1969 and left in 1985 to go to a sales job with an International dealer in Tasmania. That was really good retail experience but after a couple of years I was bored and actually ran out of customers, seriously. "So when an invitation came up in 1988 to rejoin International, I grabbed it and have been here ever since. "It was the greatest experience, the greatest place to work and learn," he says with true affection for the giant that was International Harvester. "Even though it was a big corporate conglomerate based in the US, there was this amazing sense of family. "And it was hugely successful, very strong and very powerful, and the market leader in farm equipment and trucks. "As a young bloke you had marvellous mentors and I can still remember my first boss, George Jordan, a wonderful bloke, who told me ‘If you’re no good you’ll still be in the mail room in three months’. "I was out in six weeks," he recalls with a wink and a nod, "and went straight into a training course in the workshop, then other courses on service, sales and supply inventory. Everything … finance, admin, spare parts, retail. "You were taught the lot, provided you wanted to learn. It was up to you and the ladder was there to climb if you wanted to climb it. "But those opportunities aren’t there any more, or if they are I’m not seeing them, and the reason for that is because companies like International Harvester just don’t exist anymore. They’re gone." For the past decade and more, he has been Iveco’s front man. The sharp, quick-witted, motivated, confident orator and sales supremo of all things Iveco. At times the only solid, stable, strong and trusted influence in an outfit with unquestionably the best oiled revolving door in the business. It’s hard to know whether it’s more personal achievement or corporate indictment, but Lloyd Reeman has worked for no less than 18 different managing directors including current chief Michael Johnson. In fact, it wouldn’t be too weird to suggest that the two greatest constants at International and Iveco have been Lloyd Reeman and the march of new management. Reviving International Along that journey came the catastrophic collapse of International Harvester, a change that ripped the heart out of its people. "It hurt everyone and when I say hurt, I mean real hurt," he says firmly. "The transition from Inter to Iveco was tough. Definitely! It was a new culture, new processes and new products. We went from S-line to Powerstar, T-line to EuroTech, but we had to focus. "Without Iveco, the company would’ve just fallen in a deeper hole and never climbed out." As for all those managing directors, can you pick a couple that for one reason or another stand above the others? "There were plenty of good ones," he answers without hesitation. "Ben Lazerich was an American who did a good job in my opinion but I think the three who stand out are David Eagle, Stefan Schneider and Alain Gajnik. "As far as I’m concerned, they were all the right man at the right time." As for the generations of trucks, one model ranks above all others in Lloyd Reeman’s estimation. "S-line, Atkinson, ACCO, they all did great jobs," he asserts, "but as far as I’m concerned, the International [ACCO] 3070 is the truck that really stands out." "The 3070 put us back on top and as far as I’m concerned, it was a real game changer." Read the full interview with Lloyd Reeman in an upcoming version of ATN and Owner//Driver. Related reading: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/36017-the-legendary-acco-%E2%80%93-designed-and-built-by-australians/#comment-248844 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/30957-those-magnificent-aussie-international-transtar-4670s/#comment-182934

Federal Court lifts stay on RSRO, new rules in force Australasian Transport News (ATN) / April 7, 2016 he Federal Court in Brisbane has lifted stay on the Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016 (RSRO), which means the new rules are effective immediately. The Court has scheduled further consideration hearings on May 9-10. The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) says it will now seek High Court intervention in the case. Further details to come. What has happened since last week? The ATA, SARTA and Ai Group called for the abolition of the tribunal owing to its flawed approach to road safety. Read the full story here. A Government-commissioned review of RSRT was released, wanting major changes made to the RSRT. Read the full story here. The review even pointed to the benefits in removing the tribunal. Read the full story here. The RSRT decided not to delay the introduction of mandatory rates for contractor drivers. Read the full breakdown here. The tribunal used its verdict to slam its opponents. Read the full story here. Industry bodies joined forces in condemning the decision of the RSRT. Read the full story here. Later that evening, the Federal Group in Brisbane put a temporary stay on RSRO following an urgent application by NatRoad and ATA. Read the full story here. Earlier this week, employment minister Michaelia Cash announced the government would push for legislation to delay the start of RSRO to January next year. Read the full story here. Members of the Transport Workers Union heckled minister Christopher Pyne at a press conference in Adelaide for his views supporting a delay to the RSRO. Read the full story here. The federal government to rely on Senate crossbenchers for legislative changes to delay the Order. Read the full story here. The government invites industry feedback on the Road Safety Remuneration System policy reforms, releases schedule of review forums. Read the full story here. Private contractor group Independent Contractors Australia seeks cash to challenge RSRT in the High Court. Read the full story here. Get daily updates on the industry by subscribing to the Fullyloaded newsletter.

Looking for Rationality Diesel News.com.au / April 7, 2016 In what has been a traumatic week for trucking with legal cases and threats in the air, it is nice to find a haven of rationality, where once there was none. An announcement this week by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator about vehicle testing shows just how far we have come from the chaotic days, not so long ago and still going on, of inconsistent vehicle standards. The NHVR is calling it a ‘Health Check’, a review of the state of a sample of the 520,000 trucks running around on our highways. It will be a national survey of heavy vehicle roadworthiness carried out in a consistent fashion by inspectors who have all been trained to look for the same safety related items on trucks. The teams expect to give a thorough going over to around 9,000 trucks of all creeds during August and September. They will all be singing from the same hymn book (The National Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual) and will have been trained to look at a truck in the same way whether it’s in Launceston or Longreach (also, importantly, in Marulan). The comprehensive inspections are expected to take about 45 minutes. At the end of this process, the NHVR will have enough data to give its people a true reflection of the effect of the diverse inspection regimes around Australia. From here the NHVR can identify what it needs to work on in each state to achieve the long hoped for nirvana of consistent roadside and roadworthy inspections. This consistency is the aim of the NHVR in the coming months. To move the states to a place where their inspectors, who are contracted as service providers to the NHVR, actually look at a truck in the same way. This isn’t much to ask for, is it? National consistency would seem to be the most rational of essential aspects of any inspection regime. However, there isn’t much support for rationality in our federal state system. Instead, we have had to bear the brunt of interstate intransigence for way too long. Each state has taken especial pride in being different, putting different priorities on defects (or non-defects, it depends where you are). Inspectors seemed to relish the situations where on arrival at a roadside inspection in one state, soon after a similar stop in another state, they could give you chapter and verse on why your truck would have to be grounded. The argument where you would tell them the other state didn’t see any problem with it seemed to give them extra pride in a job well done, at the same time as putting down an interstate rival. The situation has long been a joke, although those in the middle of it weren’t laughing. Let’s hope the NHVR can pull this one off. However, I think we need to give them a bit of leeway here. It is all very well to introduce a new inspection manual, and do a health check on the state of trucks and get all of the data into the system, but what will it look like in the flesh? One of the biggest problems with the interstate issues is the difference in culture. Each state has run its transport department in a different way and under different rules. Each has developed a deeply embedded culture, which has become ingrained in roadside teams over the years. Can the culture be changed? The answer has got to be yes, but the real question is, how long will it take?

Hino Trucks Australia / April 6, 2016

Quarrying, civil engineering and construction group Leiths has taken delivery of five Actros 2442 StreamSpace tractor units, all deliberately specified to maximise payload, fuel efficiency and safety. The Scottish operator chose small, 17.5-inch wheel mid-lift axles, with alloys all round, as well as light PTOs (power takeoffs) and blowing equipment, driven directly from the prop shaft. As a result, these tractors are almost a full tonne lighter than Leiths’ last batch of relatively ‘standard’ Actros trucks, which run with the usual 22.5-inch mid-lifts. “Our previous Actros are still performing very well, but these new trucks were chosen specifically for work with bulk powder tanks, where payload is all-important,” explains fleet manager Bob Adamson. “We did everything we could to minimise their unladen weight,” he continues, adding that Mercedes-Benz’s central technical team and sales engineers at the Aberdeen branch of dealership Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles were instrumental in achieving the final design. “As well as arranging fitment of the non-standard PTOs, [the dealer] handled all of the liaison with Gardner Denver, who supplied the blower equipment, and made the ordering process as easy and painless as possible,” states Adamson. “The trucks were duly delivered to the correct specification and in perfect condition, so we’re delighted with the outcome,” he continues. “The new trucks were also very competitively priced while the back-up from Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles’ Aberdeen, Nairn and Ayr workshops, along with others operated by the dealer’s parent company TOM, is excellent,” he adds. Finally, on safety Adamson points to the Actros standard equipment list, which includes: Stability Control Assist, which reduces risk of roll-over; Attention Assist, which warns against driver fatigue; and Lane Keeping Assist, which detects and alarms on lane drift. .

Volvo Group Press Release / April 6, 2016 The Annual General Meeting of AB Volvo held on April 6, 2016, approved the Board of Directors’ motions that a dividend of SEK 3.00 per share be paid to the company’s shareholders. The record date for dividends was decided to be April 8, 2016. The income statement and balance sheet as well as the consolidated income statement and the consolidated balance sheet were adopted. In accordance with the Board of Directors’ motion, it was resolved that a dividend of SEK 3.00 per share would be paid to the shareholders. April 8, 2016, was decided as the record date for the right to receive dividends. Disbursement of the dividend by Euroclear Sweden AB is scheduled to occur on Wednesday April 13, 2016. The Board Members, Board Deputies and the President were discharged from liability for their administration during the 2015 fiscal year. Matti Alahuhta, Eckhard Cordes, James W. Griffith, Kathryn V. Marinello, Martina Merz, Hanne de Mora, Carl-Henric Svanberg and Lars Westerberg were reelected as members of the Board. Martin Lundstedt (ex-Scania President), Håkan Samuelsson (ex-Scania executive board member for development and production) and Helena Stjernholm (Chief Investment Officer at holding company Aktiebolaget Industrivärden) were elected as new members of the Board. Carl-Henric Svanberg* was reelected as Chairman of the Board. Individual fees payable to the members of the Board remain unchanged, meaning that the Chairman of the Board was allocated SEK 3,250,000 and each of the other members SEK 950,000 with the exception of the President who does not receive a director’s fee. In addition, the Chairman of the Audit Committee was allocated SEK 300,000, the other members of the Audit Committee SEK 150,000 each and the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee was allocated SEK 125,000 and the other members of the Remuneration Committee SEK 100,000 each. Bengt Kjell, representing AB Industrivärden, Lars Förberg, representing Cevian Capital, Yngve Slyngstad, representing Norges Bank Investment Management, Pär Boman, representing Handelsbanken, SHB Pension Fund, SHB Employee Fund, SHB Pensionskassa and Oktogonen, and the Chairman of the Board were elected members of the Election Committee. The Meeting resolved that no fees shall be paid to the members of the Election Committee. The Meeting also adopted the Election Committee’s motion to amend the Instructions for the AB Volvo Election Committee. The changes entail a certain modernization and update of the language used, as well as an adaptation to include amendments in the Swedish Corporate Governance Code. A remuneration policy for senior executives was adopted in accordance with the Board of Directors’ motion. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Volvo Group board chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg is also the chairman of British Petroleum. He previously was CEO of Ericsson (2003-2009). Svanberg is the catalyst behind the major changes taking place at Volvo. With profitability falling year-after-year during the Persson era, the status quo had to change.

Street Insider / April 6, 2016 Rush Enterprises, Inc. announced the implementation of a plan for consolidation of its Navistar Division dealership network that is intended to allow the company to significantly reduce expenses while still providing efficient service to its customers in the affected areas of operation. The plan includes closing Rush Truck Centers in the following locations on May 1, 2016: Kankakee, Decatur, Ottawa, Mount Vernon and Grayslake, Illinois; Ontario, Oregon; Findlay, Ohio; and Statesville, North Carolina. Rush Truck Centers formerly located in Brazil, Indiana; and Helper, Utah, were closed in the first quarter of 2016. Additionally, as a result of [dealer] acquisitions, the company currently has two locations in each of Augusta and Tifton, Georgia, which will be consolidated into one location in Augusta and one location in Tifton on June 1, 2016. The company also consolidated its Peterbilt location in Alice, Texas, into its newly constructed Corpus Christi, Texas, location in the first quarter of 2016. In total, the company expects to close 13 Rush Truck Centers in the first half of 2016. “It’s never easy to make the decision to close a Rush Truck Center,” stated W.M. "Rusty" Rush, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Rush Enterprises. “However, as we acquired dealership groups across the country in recent years, we acquired a number of small dealerships located in close proximity to one another. Many of these dealerships have been in existence for a long time, but with changes in technology and, in certain cases, the local markets, there is no longer an economic justification for the affected dealerships to operate in such close proximity to our other dealerships,” explained Rush. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of great employees who have worked hard for this Company at each of the affected Rush Truck Centers. We are hopeful that many of these employees will accept positions at nearby Rush Truck Centers,” Rush continued. “The 13 Rush Truck Centers we intend to close contributed approximately $55 million in revenue in 2015,” stated Rush. “We expect that we will be able to retain approximately 55% of the revenue from these locations through consolidation into other nearby locations. However, we anticipate that the closures will result in annual expense reductions of approximately $11.0 million. Importantly, we believe these expense reductions will be achieved without any significant reduction in our ability to service customers in our areas of responsibility,” Rush concluded. The facility consolidations are expected to result in a restructuring charge estimated at approximately $4.0 million to $6.0 million. A significant majority of the charge will be taken in the first quarter of 2016, with the remainder expected to occur in the second quarter of 2016. The charge is expected to consist of approximately $400,000 in severance and related benefits, plus $3.6 million to $5.6 million in facility exit costs, including impairment charges to certain fixed assets and the value of the real estate underlying the locations that will be classified as held-for-sale. Approximately $750,000 of the severance and related benefits and facility exit costs are cash costs, a significant majority of which are expected to be paid during fiscal year 2016. In addition, the company plans to classify certain excess real estate as held-for-sale, which will result in impairment charges of $4.9 million in the first quarter of 2016. “Over the years, we have accumulated some excess real estate as a result of acquisitions and our construction of new dealerships. We plan to sell this real estate, none of which is encumbered with debt, over the next 12 months and deploy the proceeds in a manner that creates long-term value for our shareholders,” explained Rush. “Consolidation of our dealership network is an important part of our plan to reduce expenses in 2016. As always, we remain committed to meeting the needs of our customers, and I commend our employees for maintaining excellent customer service while reducing costs across the organization,” concluded Rush.

It’s hard for Alkane, with its propane PSI 8.8-liter (GM big block) in a Chinese Foton, to compete with Ford-backed Roush. http://alkanetruckcompany.com/trucks/